Ryu Hyeong-sun, a prominent gugak composer and producer, has become artistic director of the state-owned Creative Music Troupe.
Handpicked by Kim Hae-sook, chief of the National Gugak Center, Ryu took office Tuesday for a two-year term.
“I will seek out new possibilities by putting on stage performances that are new and of high quality yet based on traditions,” the 48-year-old composer said.
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Ryu Hyeong-sun |
The creative music troupe started a decade ago under the auspice of the NGC. It has been trying to add modern appeal to the traditional Korean music in a bid to broaden the audience base.
Ryu came from Western music background and started composing classical Korean music only in his late 30s.
Fusing gugak with modern pop, Western classical music and various other genres, his gugak works are credited for enticing new fans. Among them is a series of gugak-inspired lullabies and children’s songs on his “Ja-mi Jam-ie” albums. He has also composed and produced several gugak musicals.
By Lee Sun-young (
milaya@heraldcorp.com)
