On a rainy Sunday evening on the first day of November, Min Pak and the Peace and Harmony Orchestra gave a performance at the Infinite Energy Center. The concert was sponsored by the Seoul National University Alumni Georgia Chapter to benefit the youth music education and featured several accomplished, talented performing artists such as Gary Menzies on piano, Chun Mi Sun on piano, and Felix Farrar on violin. Also featured were mezzo-soprano Helen Yu Park, baritone Greg Rhee as well as soprano Sarah Pak.
The concert kicked off with the musical vocal talents of mezzo-soprano Helen Yu Park as she gave a heart-wrenching performance of the classic "Memory" from Cats, transporting the audience into a world of hope. Next, baritone Greg Rhee's smooth, yet powerful voice filled the auditorium with the sounds of "Crane," and many audience members closed their eyes to soak in the somber musicality as they recalled scenes from "Hourglass," a prominent Korean tv drama from the 90s whose official soundtrack included the song. John Kang also gave a cello performance that left the audience in hopeful wonder. The piano performance given by Gary Menzies blew the audience away. His improvisational style and mastery of keys simply captivated the audience, with his performances drawing not one but two standing ovations.
Overall, the night was filled with many displays of musical talent and spontaneous whimsy. At one point, conductor Min Pak faced turned around and conducted an interactive performance in which the audience sang along. Furthermore, to close out the night, conductor Pak once again turned to the audience as a trio of bagpipers appeared from the balconies to accompany the sounds of the audiences voices in an uplifting rendition of "Amazing Grace." Overall, Min Pak's Peace and Harmony Orchestra a sincere performance that filled the audiences minds with hope, eyes with tears and hearts with love.
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