Serra Miyeun Hwang (born 1962) is a Korean–American

composer A composer is a person who writes music. The term is especially used to indicate composers of Western classical music, or those who are composers by occupation. Many composers are, or were, also skilled performers of music. Etymology and Defi ...

. Her work uses elements of

Korean folk music Korea refers to music from the Korean peninsula ranging from prehistoric times to the division of Korea into South and North in 1945. It includes court music, folk music, poetic songs, and religious music used in shamanistic and Buddhist traditi ...

. She is also a

percussionist A percussion instrument is a musical instrument that is sounded by being struck or scraped by a beater including attached or enclosed beaters or rattles struck, scraped or rubbed by hand or struck against another similar instrument. Ex ...

, playing Korean drums.

Biography

Hwang was born in

Seoul Seoul (; ; ), officially known as the Seoul Special City, is the capital and largest metropolis of South Korea.Before 1972, Seoul was the ''de jure'' capital of the Democratic People's Republic of Korea (North Korea) as stated iArticle 103 ...

, South Korea and emigrated to the United States as a teen. In 1988, she was the composer who won the

University of Michigan , mottoeng = "Arts, Knowledge, Truth" , former_names = Catholepistemiad, or University of Michigania (1817–1821) , budget = $10.3 billion (2021) , endowment = $17 billion (2021)As o ...

's Concerto Competition. Hwang was also the winner of the 1992 Search for New Music Competition sponsored by the

International Alliance for Women in Music The International Alliance for Women in Music (IAWM) is an international membership organization of women and men dedicated to fostering and encouraging the activities of women in music, particularly in the areas of musical activity, such as compos ...

(IAWM). Hwang did her undergraduate work at the

University of California, Santa Barbara The University of California, Santa Barbara (UC Santa Barbara or UCSB) is a Public university, public Land-grant university, land-grant research university in Santa Barbara County, California, Santa Barbara, California with 23,196 undergraduate ...

. In 1993, she earned her PhD in Musical Arts in Musical Composition, along with a minor in

ethnomusicology Ethnomusicology is the study of music from the cultural and social aspects of the people who make it. It encompasses distinct theoretical and methodical approaches that emphasize cultural, social, material, cognitive, biological, and other dim ...

from the University of Michigan. After finishing her degrees, she spent time in

London London is the capital and largest city of England and the United Kingdom, with a population of just under 9 million. It stands on the River Thames in south-east England at the head of a estuary down to the North Sea, and has been a majo ...

and in

Jeonju Jeonju () is the 16th largest city in South Korea and the capital of North Jeolla Province. It is both urban and rural due to the closeness of Wanju County which almost entirely surrounds Jeonju (Wanju County has many residents who work in Jeonju) ...

as an adjunct professor at

Jeonju University Jeonju University (JJ) is a private Christian university in South Korea. The campus is located in 1200 Hyoja-dong, Wansan-gu, Jeonju, Jeollabuk-do. History Jeonju University was founded on January 9, 1964, as Jeonju Youngsaeng College (an eve ...

Work

Hwang's work incorporates both drums and folk music from Korea in her compositions. Her work on ''Beckoning'' (2012) "augments solo cello with Korean drums to evoke memories of her childhood in Seoul, Korea." Her piece, ''Sojourn'' (2004), uses traditional Korean drum rhythms and the piano. Chan E. Park in ''The World of Music'', describes Hwang's compositions as "liberating" both Western-style music and the folk sounds of Korean ''kugak'' into something that becomes "'fresh music for foreigners' while 'returning to roots' by honoring past traditions."

References

External links

Official site
{{DEFAULTSORT:Hwang, Serra Miyeun 21st-century American composers South Korean composers Musicians from Seoul 1962 births Living people University of Michigan School of Music, Theatre & Dance alumni University of California, Santa Barbara alumni South Korean percussionists 21st-century American women composers