Performers at the 50th Anniversary MLK Jr. ‘Symphony of Brotherhood’ Concert. Photo by Ralf Cheung
Pianist Phoenix Park-Kim and soprano Jumi Kim. Photo by Ralf Cheung
Cellist Kristen Yeon-Ji Yun. Photo by Ralf Cheung
Embodying the spirit of the 1963 March on Washington, African
American, Korean and Jewish artists convened for a special intercultural
concert to honor Martin Luther King, Jr., and pay homage to his message
of peace and unity—the relevance of which still resonates 50 years
later.
Several prominent Korean and Korean American musicians performed at
the Aug. 18 event, titled “Symphony of Brotherhood,” held at the Zipper
Concert Hall at the Colburn School in Los Angeles.
But as much as the concert was a celebration of the legacy of King, who incidentally had a deep appreciation for classical and operatic music, the combination of African American, Korean and Jewish artists was also a deliberate move to try to heal past wounds, according to John Malveaux, the African American founder of MusicUNTOLD, the educational nonprofit that organized the concert. The concert’s title is a reference to a phrase King used in his famous “I Have a Dream” speech, and it became the inspiration for the multiracial line-up of the event, which included Grammy Award-winning African-American bass-baritone Mark S. Doss, Korean American pianist Phoenix Park-Kim, Jewish virtuoso flutist Laurel Zucker and African/Japanese American violinist Annelle Kazumi Gregory, among many others.
“In 1965 there were devastating riots in Los Angeles, and the target of most of the rioting was the Jewish merchants,” said Malveaux. “So Dr. King came to L.A. in an effort to quell the violence, and he made clear in his comments the destructive nature and harmful nature [of the riots]. So we included somewhat of a healing segment as a tribute to the African American and Jewish communities for that ugly disruption in Dr. King’s vision of ‘symphony of brotherhood.’ We had two songs performed—one, a Jewish folk song and one, an African American spiritual.”
But as much as the concert was a celebration of the legacy of King, who incidentally had a deep appreciation for classical and operatic music, the combination of African American, Korean and Jewish artists was also a deliberate move to try to heal past wounds, according to John Malveaux, the African American founder of MusicUNTOLD, the educational nonprofit that organized the concert. The concert’s title is a reference to a phrase King used in his famous “I Have a Dream” speech, and it became the inspiration for the multiracial line-up of the event, which included Grammy Award-winning African-American bass-baritone Mark S. Doss, Korean American pianist Phoenix Park-Kim, Jewish virtuoso flutist Laurel Zucker and African/Japanese American violinist Annelle Kazumi Gregory, among many others.
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