I am a student from South Korea seeking to study classical composition. I have previously majored in physics and mathematics and received a bachelor’s degree in both fields. Currently I am wrapping up my master’s degree in mathematics.

My interest in musical creation is not quite explainable. It has always been there along with my zeal for literary creation, and by the two means I most cherish I’ve always wanted to write and tell my stories. When I heard something beautiful I’ve always been seized by a desire to create something like it. It just took too long for me to realize it was my greatest passion and gift, and something I was meant to do all my life.

With music, along with the aid of literature, I would like to share the world I see and love. I would like to create realms of fantasy for those young at heart to travel, havens of warmth to put hope back in those who lost them, and stages, grand and small, where comedy and tragedy will played. The world I see is a beautiful one worth living, and I want one more person to think that at the end of my piece.

Since 2021, my interest in classical music (which dates back to the very early years of my life) has been rekindled, and since 2023, I have sought to study classical composition in depth. I began to teach myself historical composition in 2023, and after a month of studying applied for master’s programs in Seoul National University and Yonsei University. I got the interview for Yonsei but did not make it into either universities due to lack of background / understanding of contemporary classical music. I have since been studying on the side while working on my current degree program. (In 2024 I have been almost unable to write anything, due to a huge gap between what I want to write and what I am currently able to write.)

Despite not having a degree in music, nor prior professional education, I have always been greatly interested in music. I have played the violin since 2009 and the viola since 2012, and was awarded second place in the Seoul Royal Symphony Orchestra National Music Competition with a performance of Telemann Viola Concerto in G, Movement II. I am currently studying (as an amateur) viola and piano, under the belief that instrumental conduct is one of the greatest assets that a composer can have. I am currently studying Hoffmeister’s Viola Concerto in D on the viola, and scales and Mozart Sonatas on the piano.

The following are my preferred styles, study goals, and other relevant info.

Style and Interests:

I take interest in a slightly more traditional style of composition. I would like to learn from composers who take value in creating tonal works with sentimental and romantic moods, and those who write a lot of large scale orchestral pieces. I would like to learn from composers who share with me a great love for the world and its wonders, for humanity and its struggles, and seek to illustrate its radiance with burning passion.

I plan to study diverse styles and incorporate witty, experimental elements (along with scientific ideas) in a portion of my works, but would like the foundation of my music to be that it sounds good to the ear. I want my music to move hearts and give hope. My future creations will mostly be focused on neo-romantic styles, and I plan to write a variety of orchestral pieces including symphonies and concertos.

Strengths:

1. I play the viola and therefore have a sturdy understanding of the string instruments.
2. I have studied mathematics and physics, whose ideas, interests and methodology serve as a unique source of inspiration in musical creation. This is an advantage that not many composers have.
3. I am an extremely fast learner.
4. I am also a writer, and can tell interesting stories through my music. I will ultimately be able to combine these into a form of Gesamtkunstwerk as proposed by Richard Wagner.

Study goals:

1. I need to train to listen, read and write so I can transcribe the music I hear internally.
2. I need a lot of everything. I am inexperienced in counterpoint, and I am not good at transitions. I need to diversify my harmony and learn to work with a more dynamic tonal center.  I need to learn the ‘patterns’ or ‘building blocks’ (such as arpeggios, a bulk of repeated chords, etc.,) used to develop an idea. I need to learn orchestration in depth. I plan to study broadly, not limiting my studies to tonal music or styles I prefer.
3. The reason I would like professional education in the form of a degree program (or conservatory) is because a) Nowadays it’s hard to get your music listened to anyways; without a degree I feel like it will be close to impossible. b) I want to be good. Really good like Sergei Rachmaninoff. I cannot do that unless I indulge full time, and this is much easier to do while affiliated with a university and learning from the best composers, rather than at home by myself while all my peers are working and making a living. c) I simply want to put myself at the edge of a cliff where I will be most motivated to elevate my art and create.

Study Progress:

Forms of Music

• Sonata form (Youtube)
• Rondo form (Youtube)
• Theme and Variation (Youtube)

Harmony

• Mukyoung Song – Tonal Music Analysis for Instrumentalists I 
• Mukyoung Song – Tonal Music Analysis for Instrumentalists II 
• F. Chopin – Nocturnes (in progress)

Composition / Orchestration

• S. Rachmaninoff – 24 Preludes
• S. Rachmaninoff – Piano Concertos 1, 2, 3 and 4 (in progress)
• Samuel Adler – Orchestration (in progress)
• R. Wagner – The Ring of Nibelung (planned)

Aural / Sightsinging Training

• Various books and websites

Instrumental Studies – Viola

• Kayser – 36 Etudes
• G. Telemann – Concerto in G, mvts. I. Largo, II. Allegro
• J. C. Bach – Concerto in C Minor, mvt. I. Allegro
• L. v. Beethoven – Romance in F
• F. A. Hoffmeister – Concerto in B Flat, I. Allegro
• F. A. Hoffmeister – Concerto in D, I. Allegro (cadenza written by myself)

Instrumental Studies – Piano

• Hanon Etudes
• W. A. Mozart – Sonata No. 15 
• L. v. Beethoven – Sonata No. 8 (in progress)

Favorite Composers:

• Sergei Rachmaninoff
• Ludwig van Beethoven
• Cody Forrest
• Michael Gandolfi
• Karol Beffa
• Giovanni Sollima
• Joshua Kyan Aalampour
• Andrew Lloyd Webber
• Cody Fry