October is a time when connections to the spirit world become more real in many cultures, both East and West, and communication with those spirits more intensely personal.

In Korea, that dialogue between earthly and spiritual is mediated by the shamanic arts, where p’ansori singers perform dramatic vocal pieces accompanied by samil-nori percussionists, exhorting both audience and spirits.

The Korean Performing Arts Center (KPAC) will offer New York audiences a compelling glimpse into ancient Korean shamanic music in a program titled New York P’an: Spiritual Exuberance.

The concert, which celebrates the KPAC’s 20th Anniversary, will take place at the Peter Jay Sharp Theatre at Symphony Space on Saturday, October 25th at 8:00pm.

Highlighting the event will be appearances by celebrated traditional performing artists direct from Korea, including two legends of the shamanic arts rarely seen in the West: Master Shin Yeong-hee, a celebrated singer who has been designated a National Human Treasure for her mastery of the demanding P’an-sori repertoire, as well as samil-nori Master Lee Kwang-su, a famed percussionist and vocalist of shaman ritual and songs.

The program will also feature New York City-based ensemble Sounds of Korea, presenting folk songs, percussion ensemble music and a sampling of Korean folk dances, all directed by artist director and dancer, Master Sue Yeon Park, designated a 2008 National Heritage Fellow, the highest honors for an artist of traditional music and dance awarded by the National Endowment for the Arts (NEA).

Ms. Park made her first tour of the U.S. at age 25, joining a flamenco dance tour that featured traditional Korean dance in the intermissions for their shows. On moving to New York in 1981, she quickly immersed herself in the challenge of preserving Korean arts in the U.S.

The Symphony Space event spotlights the traditional concept of P’an, an indoor or outdoor open stage performance area where traditional spectacular performances are accessible to all social and economic classes. Breaking the boundaries between performers and audiences is important for the artistic, aesthetic and spiritual bonds of shamanistic rituals.

Connecting the thread between the large Korean populations concentrated in New York and New Jersey, the program will also include a percussion performance by the Korean Cultural Group of Rutgers University, from the university’s main New Brunswick, NJ campus.

Concert Details:
KPAC Presents New York P’An: Spiritual Exuberance
Saturday October 25 at 8:00pm
Peter Jay Sharp Theatre
Symphony Space
2537 Broadway
New York, NY 10025
Tickets: $35 – $100 / Student/Senior/Child: $25
Box Office 212:864-5400
www.symphonyspace.org ‘)}