I hope that title got you interested in our featured artist this week! Kim So Hyun. Originally from Korea and now based in Toronto Canada.Each day this week we will be posting a short excerpt from her interview in artofclass.online/blog:

Karen: I’ve noticed that many of your improvisations have jazz influences. Who are your musical heroes?

So Hyun : I always listen to as many genres of jazz as possible. So it’s hard to choose.But since I first started as a ballet pianist, the music I have heard the most is Nancy McDill’s (American ballet) . Nancy’s music is melodious, beautiful and emotional.And I really like Art Tatum’s music, so I imitated a lot of accents and harmonies, so I think it comes out naturally from me.While preparing for the second album, I studied and analyzed a lot about Poulenc. If someone asks who is your favorite musician now, I will answer Poulenc.If I work on my third album, it is expected that the influence of the Poulenc will be enormous.

Karen: When I played full-time at Scottish Ballet, I had a solo piano work to perform featuring Poulenc. It was one of the most difficult works I encountered! Also here is a link to the wonderful Sir Kenneth McMillan’s Poulenc Pas de Deuxhttps://www.kennethmacmillan.com/poulenc-pas-de-deux

Tomorrow let’s listen to a bit of Art Tatum!