Yonsei Academy students take home 4 gold, 3 silver in Tumon Bay music fest

  Students of Saipan’s Yonsei Academy won four gold and three silver medals in the Tumon Bay Music Festival in Guam held last weekend.

Kang San Kim, Ji Min Lee, A Young Kim, Cloency Chua, Youna Lee, Da Hyun Hyun, and Doyi Lee bagged the competition’s four gold and three silver medals in various solo competitions.

Twelfth grader Doyi Lee bagged the gold medal award for his remarkable performance of “I’d Give My Life for You” from the musical Miss Saigon. Lee is a student from Saipan Southern High School and was commended by the jurors for a great theatrical performance.

Also winning a gold medal was Ji Min Lee, a 10th grader from SSHS, who played “F. Liszt No. 3 in D flat Major.”

A pianist by heart, Lee told Saipan Tribune that music helps her better communicate and express herself.

Two other gold medalists in the competition were ninth grader Cloency Chua who played “F. Schumann Fantasy C Major Op. 17” and A Young Kim, also a ninth grader, who impressed adjudicators in his piece “F. Chopin Etude op. No. 12 C minor.” The two are from SSHS.

Yonsei Academy’s silver awardees were 12th grader Kang San Kim who played “F. Liszt Paganini-Etuden 3 La Campanella”; and Youna Lee, 8th grade from Marianas Baptist Academy and played “F. Chopin Fantasie-Impromptu op. 66.”

According to Youna Lee, the Tumon Bay fest was her first music competition after learning to play the piano. Although she admitted being nervous during the competition, she was thankful that she did well in her performance and met expectations.

Another silver medal recipient in the competition was Da Hyun Hyun, 7th grader from William S. Reyes Elementary School, who played “L. Van Beethoven Sonata in C minor op. 13.”

According to the academy’s instructor, Youngmi Han, the students spent six months in preparation for the Tumon Bay festival. This marked the academy’s third time to join the competition in Guam.

To showcase the academy students’ musical talents, Youngmi Han plans to hold a mini-concert on island in May this year.

Yonsei Academy is a school of piano, violin, and cello. Young Mi Han graduated from Gyeonsang National University in Korea with a bachelor’s degree in music education. Prior to coming to Saipan, she taught music in high school in Korea for 13 years.