"Hello, my name is Professor Jeehyun Kim," said the voice on the other end of the line, "and I am starting a winter music camp here in Seoul. I would like to talk to you about the availability of certain Juilliard faculty members to come and give private lessons and master classes for a week." Calls of this nature are routine for the Career Development Office. Some of the proposals we receive run the gamut from brilliant to semi-delusional. One of my responsibilities is to decipher the veracity of these proposals. This call, made in April 2001, had certainly passed the litmus test of persistence. The previous week Mrs. Kim had e-mailed nearly every department head at Juilliard… twice, and I had been forwarded each of her messages… twice.

Piano faculty member Martin Canin with Jiwhan Hong, a student who participated in the first Casual Classics music camp in Seoul. (Photo by Derek Mithaug)

Mrs. Kim was glad to have finally reached a live person who would listen to her proposal. She asked if I would be available for lunch the following week. If she was persistent enough to fly 6,000 miles for a lunch appointment, she must be serious! The following week we met to discuss her project, titled Casual Classics. In her words, she wanted to create a music camp where some of Korea’s most talented musicians could connect with Juilliard faculty members.

Over the course of last summer we had several conversations. By October, I had arranged meetings with the faculty members she was hoping to recruit. By November, contracts were negotiated and airline tickets were purchased. In the first week of January 2002, four faculty members—Stephen Clapp, Martin Canin, André Emelianoff, and Daniel Ferro—and one professional tourist (me) boarded a Korean Airlines flight to Seoul, on our way to inaugurate the first Casual Classics, which ran from January 6 through 12.

For the seasoned globetrotters of the group, this was just another trip. But for me, this was an adventure to a mysterious and exotic destination. O.K., exotic might be stretching it, but because of my inexperience with Far East travel, it seemed that way to me. My inexperience became blazingly obvious at Seoul’s Incheon International Airport’s luggage claim area. Luggage size tells a lot about an individualtravel experience. Martin’s, André’s, and Stephen’s bags were mere fanny packs compared to my OGRE-my nickname for the largest suitcase made by Samsonite. Heaving it off the carousel took both arms and a stiff upper lip which I tried futilely not to let curl. As the faculty strolled—and I lumbered—over to the customs desk, I could feel their eyes gawking at the OGRE. Searching for some lame excuse, I said, "Mrs. Kim wanted Juilliard sweatshirts for the students. I just couldn’t fit them in my usual suitcase." It was partly true, at least.

At the airport, Mrs. Kim and her associate Jung-soo Kim welcomed us to Seoul. A young student of Stephen’s was there with her parents to personally welcome him. There was lots of banter and laughter as we boarded the Hertz minivan and headed to our hotel. We had only a minute to put our bags in the room before racing to make a dinner reservation at a place called The Chinese Restaurant. At dinner, Mrs. Kim toasted our arrival and chatted over sundry items like schedules, rehearsals, and teaching loads.

The following day, we traveled to Myong Ji University where the music camp would be held. Posters of Clapp, Emelianoff, Canin, and Ferro hung in nearly every window and on every door. We were led to our campus accommodations, which were faculty apartments reserved for visiting professors. After a brief orientation and introduction to the students (there were 200 of them all in all, ranging in age from 7 to 30), the faculty made its way to various rooms to begin lessons.

I was quickly reminded how spoiled we are with our facilities here at Juilliard. It is easy to get caught up in what’s not quite right here. The rooms are too cold, or too hot. Maybe there are sluggish keys on some pianos. Maybe the cafeteria food is less than gourmet. But in comparison to the facilities at many other music schools, these problems pale. (I can state this as a fact because, as the child of a university professor, I have visited enough college campuses to know.) Despite some discomforts of Myong Ji Uni versity’s teaching studios, Stephen, André, Martin, and Daniel showed impeccable professionalism in their ability to adapt to any condition.

We ate in the cafeteria, where the food was remarkably good. To their credit, the cafeteria staff tried to accommodate our American tastes by preparing a "traditional American breakfast" each morning. This usually meant an assortment of hot dogs, tuna sandwiches, French fries, and fruit. (We didn’t have the heart to complain, and, actually, hot dogs and fruit for breakfast really aren’t that bad after the first few tries.)

In addition to Juilliard faculty, Mrs. Kim had recruited several well-known Korean teachers. Among them were five Juilliard alumni: Dae-jin Kim (B.M. ’86, M.M. ’86, D.M.A. ’91, piano), Seung-hee Kim (M.M. ’94, piano), In-hae Kim (M.M. ’88, voice), Kyung-ah Kim (B.M. ’90, M.M. ’92, violin), and Seung-eun Hong (B.M. ’82, M.M. ’83, cello). On one night, Martin Canin and I traveled to Seoul to hear Dae-jin Kim perform Beethoven’s Choral Fantasy with the Seoul Symphony Orchestra. Mr. Kim is a former student of Martin’s who enjoys a successful performing career in Korea. Last month he performed all five Beethoven concertos with the Seoul Orchestra…in one day! It is interesting to see so many young people attending classical-music concerts in Korea. It seems that classical music is far more popular among young Koreans than young Americans.

A faculty concert was scheduled on the next to last day of the camp. As the day neared, Martin, André, and Stephen began to look earnestly for time in their busy schedules to rehearse their programs. Teaching individual lessons and master classes and attending student performances usually kept them busy until late into the evening. However, despite the tight schedule, they managed to perform a spectacular concert to an enthusiastic audience. By the final day, everyone was exhausted and ready to go home.

There was one unfortunate mishap, however. On the day of the faculty concert, Mr. Ferro slipped on some ice and had to be rushed to an emergency room. I am happy to report that his injury was not life threatening but would require him to remain in Seoul for a couple of weeks. (Well-wishers are welcome to get in touch with me directly for his contact information.)

On the trip back home, I thought about Mrs. Kim’s mission for the camp, remembering the goal she had expressed to me in our initial phone conversation: to connect talented Korean music students with members of the Juilliard faculty. She succeeded in her mission, when 200 music students traveled from every region of Korea for the opportunity to study with Clapp, Canin, Emelianoff, and Ferro. Several of them proved to be extraordinarily talented and were encouraged to consider auditioning for Juilliard. Each of the faculty commented repeatedly on the general high caliber of musicianship that was displayed at the camp. If the success of the inaugural camp is any indication, Casual Classics has a bright future.

Derek Mithaug is the director of career development.