April Clayton, Korean cellist Jieun Chung, and Jihea Hong pose with a patient at Seoul National Center for the Cerebral Palsied after an educational outreach concert.

Ever since I was a child, I had always dreamed of organizing and performing in my own benefit concerts. My parents have taught me that music is all about "sharing," and how important it is to give back to the community. But I had no idea that I didn't have to wait until I was super-world-famous in order to pull off something big.

The turning point came when I enrolled in Derek Mithaug's and Wendy Chen's Career Skills class last fall. For one assignment, we were asked to invent a dream project and write a sample proposal. I decided to "dream" about a project that involved bringing music to children in the orphanages of my native Korea. Although I thought it nothing more than a class exercise, Derek and Wendy took my ideas seriously.

During winter break, while I was home in New Jersey, I began to wonder if I could really make that project happen. Suddenly recalling Juilliard's Summer Grant program, I sat down at the computer and began my research. After reading numerous articles on the orphanage situation in Korea, I realized that this was something I had to pursue—but where could I start? I didn't know anyone involved in this field at all. So I picked up the phone and started calling friends who might know someone who could help me.

Eventually, I got the e-mail address of someone associated with the Holt Foundation. But I was discouraged when he said, "So…you want to share your love for music. But how exactly do you plan to do that?" I had no idea! I was excited about the possibility, but had no plan or clear vision in my head. So, as soon as spring semester started, I went to see Derek again. With his assistance, buoyed by the love and support of Karen Wagner and my writing workshop colleagues, I began to write my proposal.

I called the project "Reaching for Our Stars," and envisioned it as a means to enhance the self-esteem of abandoned children in South Korea through the power of music and positive reinforcement. I planned a three-week stay, during which April Clayton (a Juilliard D.M.A. alumna in flute) and I would teach flute and piano to children in orphanages on a one-on-one basis, encouraging them to continue their musical studies. Not only would we be sharing our knowledge gained at Juilliard—a school well known and highly respected in Korea—but we would be reinforcing their sense of self-worth on a more personal level. We also planned to visit some of the orphanages with young, talented musicians in South Korea, inspiring them to follow Juilliard's lead in reaching out to the community, serving at these institutions long after we leave the country.

While Juilliard supports a select number of community-focused student projects through its Summer Grant program (Jihea Hong was the sole grant recipient in 2002), many other Juilliard students engage in summer activities that are educational and enriching. Four students recall the rewards of their summer projects in articles on Pages 8 and 9.

I spent a great deal of time on the Internet, reading child psychology books and magazines, meeting with various local librarians, and writing letters to those involved in this field. Since the project was to take place in Korea, I contacted many different Korean orphanages and other organizations for sponsorships. I had to come up with a clear plan of action. How many orphanages should we visit, and for how long? What would we do there? What repertoire should we play? Where would we stay? How could I recruit performers? How long would it take for us to get from one orphanage to another? How would I get a hall for our benefit concert? What about rehearsal space?

But the proposal was only the beginning. A month later, I had an interview with the Summer Grant Committee—as intense an experience as my master's entrance audition. Finally, I received happy news that my proposal was accepted, and I would have the opportunity to fulfill my dreams. I knew it would be challenging but I was ready to face any obstacles.

I left for Korea a month ahead of schedule, because I was feeling helpless in New York. The e-mails and phone calls had gotten frustrating, and I realized I would do much better if I were physically in Korea, running around, meeting people and working on my project. Arriving at Incheon International Airport on June 17 at 7:30 a.m., I headed to my aunt's place to get ready for my first appointment at 1 p.m. that day in Seoul.

While the country was in an uproar over the World Cup, I was busy meeting board members of Nanoomhweh (who graciously sponsored our benefit concert at Incheon Cultural and Arts Center), signing contracts for the hall, visiting different orphanages to introduce myself, planning various programs to meet the needs of the children, going back and forth between Seoul and Incheon daily to rehearse with the Korean musicians, searching for more sponsorships, designing layouts for programs and posters, etc. My heart was filled with unspeakable joy and excitement when the "Reaching for Our Stars" publicity materials for the Incheon benefit concert were ready to be put up around the city. It had been a mere dream a few months ago; now, it was about to become a reality.

I will never forget July 23, 2002. Despite the pouring rain, the hall, which seated 525, was completely packed. The hall director said he could not let any more people in. However, as people protested that they had traveled a great distance to attend this concert, he let in an additional 100, who sat in the stairwell or stood the entire time. (Alas, about 50 people still had to be turned away.) The performers who joined me in donating their time and energy for this great cause that night included April Clayton, Juilliard's Valentin Lanzrein (baritone) and Wonmin Kim (pianist), Korean cellist Jieun Chung, violinists Kyoungah Lee and Sunhee Kim, pianist Hyewon Ko, and the Onnooli Concert Choir. We raised more than $10,000 from that one concert, and donated the funds to four of the Incheon orphanages I was planning to visit and three institutions for the handicapped. Since we raised more money than we expected, we also donated some to those who had been affected by the great flood this summer. About a week before the Incheon concert, someone had said to me, "Jihea, you're not going to have even 100 people at your concert. Who would come in this hot weather? Everyone is on vacation. I'm sorry you put in all that hard work for nothing." Well, that night, I learned that nothing is impossible with faith, courage, and hard work.

Between July 24 and August 14, April and I—along with several Korean musicians—began our orphanage tours. The time I spent with these precious children was the highlight of my entire trip! In many cases, we had to travel far; to reach YongJong Orphanage, we walked to the subway station, took an hour-and-a-half train ride to Incheon, a 30-minute bus ride, then a 20-minute boat ride, plus a 10-minute drive—but it was all worth it when we saw the children's bright, smiling faces. To my surprise, we bonded really quickly. We sang together, played games, performed for each other, and even ate meals together. They shared their hopes and dreams, their struggles and worries. I enjoyed getting to know them more on a personal level during private lessons, and came to feel somewhat like their older sister.

I witnessed the power of music while at the House of Hope—an orphanage for mentally and physically handicapped children. As soon as I entered, I knew it would be a rowdy bunch. Some were screaming; some could not stopping jumping and running around; some were banging on the piano. They were pretty noisy even while we were introducing ourselves. But—the moment April played her first note in Debussy's Syrinx, silence fell over the room. It was amazing! Children who were screaming stopped and opened their mouths wide in awe; those who were running sat down. Their focus was entirely on April and the sound she was producing with her instrument. After the concert, the instructors told us that it was these children's first experience of a concert of any sort; they do not take them to any performances, for they would disturb other audience members. It was always difficult to say good-bye… and especially hard to hold back our tears as these children waved at us.

After leaving House of Hope, we had a two-hour trip to get to our second benefit concert. This one—sponsored by an organization called Casual-Classic—involved me, April, Valentin, Wonmin, and three Korean Juilliard alumni. It was a special treat to have Derek Mithaug there, to support all of us. As a result of this fund-raising event, we were able to donate digital pianos to three of the orphanages.

For April, one of the most emotionally powerful moments of this project came during our final performance, held at the Seoul Rehabilitation Center for the Cerebral Palsied. We had programmed "Mabobwi Sang"—a Korean pop song that our audience would have heard many times. As we began playing it, a growing murmur and general restlessness arose from the audience, and April feared that we were losing the crowd's attention. But she soon realized she had misconstrued the crescendo of noise around us. An increasing number of the patients had begun to sing along—cheerfully and unabashedly, in an unmistakable and deeply touching expression of their enjoyment of our performance.

What started out as six performances grew to 23 in three weeks! I grew tremendously as a person and as a performing artist while preparing and carrying out this project. From this trip, I learned the importance of families—especially, the ever-important role of a parent's love, which reinforces children's self-esteem and gives them the confidence to think and cope with the challenges of life, ultimately determining their ability to be happy. I also learned to be thankful for all my many blessings: my family, health, and the chance to have a great education and to fulfill my dreams.

I am very grateful for having had the opportunity to share my love for music with people of my homeland and realize what being a performing artist is all about. As members of the Juilliard community, we have all been given many unique gifts—along with the power to enrich the lives of those around us through our talents and make the world a better place.

I would like to thank the Summer Grant Committee—Stephen Clapp, Lynne Rutkin, Jane Gottlieb, Karen Wagner, and Laurie Carter—and all of my friends and teachers here at Juilliard for their love and support.