Noriteo (Playground) (SATB)

Name: Noriteo (Playground) (SATB)
SKU: TW-012.1
Availability: InStock

GiUng Lee

Escape to the playful ambiance of Korea’s playgrounds as you groove to the rhythms of this irresistible song!

Choral

mixed choir

a cappella, percussion

Difficulty: 3

Duration: 3-5 min.

TW-012.1

Add to cart

Alternative Versions

Noriteo (Playground)

View SSA Version

for SATB choir and percussion
Download includes audio pronunciation track.

A dynamic piece that combines a Korean children’s game folk melody and a groove based on traditional Korean rhythms. This piece is part of a commission of four Asian-Canadian choral compositions by Dr. Tracy Wong, all of which are available on the Tracy Wong Series.

GiUng Lee 이기웅 is a Korean-Canadian jack-of-all- trades music educator and musician based in Winnipeg, Canada. GiUng currently teaches grade 6-12 music at St. John’s-Ravenscourt School, where he is designing and implementing a project-based music curriculum rooted in cultural relevance, and student creativity. As a choral leader, GiUng previously served as Artistic Director and Conductor of Prairie Voices, an award-winning youth/young adult community choir. He specializes in working with youth and young adult singers and is best known for his ensembles’ dynamic and innovative delivery of choral music. GiUng holds a Master of Music in Choral Conducting and a Bachelor of Music in Voice from the University of Manitoba, and a Bachelor of Education from the University of British Columbia.

GiUng’s work is rooted in three key principles: experience, community, agency.

Composer’s Notes

This piece is an exploration of the traditional Korean children’s game 무궁화 꽃이 피었습니다 (mugunghwa kkotchi pieotsseupnida) juxtaposed with its English/Canadian counterpart Red Light, Green Light. The Korean game comes with its own melody, which the player at the wall (‘it’) sings with their back turned while the rest of the players try to gain ground. The two games vary slightly in how they are played, but it shows the common experiences that we share from one culture to another.

From a personal perspective, this is a snapshot of my experience of moving to Canada from South Korea at the age of 9. It explores emotions such as joy, loneliness, conflict, confusion, and acceptance, which are shared emotions to those that have lived the immigrant experience. I hope this piece shows the the duality of excitement for the new, and the yearning for belonging as an immigrant child navigates the world of having to live a life with two parallel identities. Noriteo (playground) is one of the first places in the human development where we encounter these emotions, as we come in contact with others and begin to develop an understanding on how we can coexist. This piece aims to encapsulate that scene from the immigrant child’s perspective.

-GiUng Lee 이기웅