The 3rd Seoul International Music Competition – Final Summary

The 3rd Seoul International Music Competition was organized by Seoul Metropolitan Government and Dong-A Ilbo and was sponsored by LG. The Dong-A International Music Competition was discontinued due to IMF situation in Korea. This year it was revived in 10 years with a new name, Seoul International Music Competition.

In this year’s competition, 139 applicants from 30 countries applied and 49 applicants from 15 countries passed the preliminary round. A total of 39 competitors from 14 countries competed for 1st Stage. Twenty-four competitors made it to the 2nd Stage and 14 competitors went onto the Semifinal. In the Semifinal a total of six competitors were announced as finalist.

The 1st, 2nd and Semifinal stages were held in Recital Hall of Seoul Arts Center, and the Final Stage was held in Concert Hall of Seoul Arts Center.

The six finalists each sang 7 – 8 art songs in the first Final Stage on 6th December and in the second Final Stage on 7th December, each sang one operatic aria with Seoul Philharmonic Orchestra conducted by Seung Han Choi.

The nine jury members of the competition include Mr. Philip Kang (Chairman of the Jury Committee), Ms. Eugenia Anvelt, Ms. Jane Berbié, Ms. Siegfried Jerusalem, Ms.Bok-Joo Jeong, Young-Mi Kim, Guy Montavon, Christina Scheppelmann, and Cheryl Studer.

The winners of the competition are the following.

1st Prize : KONG Byung Woo(Baritone, Korea)
2nd Prize : HWANG Byoung Nam(Tenor, Korea)
3rd Prize : Gerardo GARCIACANO(Baritone, Mexico)
Joint Winners 4th Prize : KIM Joo Taek(Baritone, Korea)
Danielle TALAMANTES(Soprano, USA)
6th Prize : LEE Eung Kwang(Baritone, Korea)

The 3rd Seoul International Music Competition was played online from the 1st Stage till the Final Stage through donga.com. Ye-dang Art TV (cable TV channel), a supporting organization for the competition, will be playing the interviews of the jury members and competitors, and performances of the competition in a documentary form. The Final Stages of the competition were recorded and will be also played by the Yedang Art TV. Moreover, TBS radio station will be playing recorded interviews with the finalists and jury members.