Song-Hee Kwon

Pansori Vocalist

Seoul, South Korea

With the caress of trembling, ineffable notes, Song-Hee Kwon beguiles ancient wisdom from times past for her very modern audience. An award-winning singer trained in the traditional Korean pansori vocal style, Song-Hee belts out soaring melodies, vivid trills, and cathartic narratives. Upon completing her music training at the Graduate School of Hanyang University, Song-Hee saw her dramatic talents recognized by the Korean Arts Council with a grant to further her study and practice of pansori. Outside of her formal training, she is an avid music fan who finds inspiration in Flamenco, the sounds of the Roma, and Gut (Korean shamanic music). While pansori is considered within traditional Korean culture to be a bastion of the cultivated elite, Song-Hee aims to share the ecstatic form with those of all socio-economic circumstances, including the disadvantaged in need of sagacity and encouragement. Replete with devout enthusiasm for her craft, Song-Hee seeks to share the operatic sounds of her tradition with audiences worldwide.