Oberlin Portrait: Sungha Lee

Sungha has been a finalist in the National MTNA Competition, winner of the Ohio Graves Competition, and the grand prizewinner of all divisions at the 2000 Tuesday Musical Club. At Oberlin, she has received the Dean’s Talent Award, the Rudolf Serkin Award, and the Arthur Dann Competition. This summer she will be one of 15 international pianists to participate in the Van Cliburn Young Artists Program.
Photo By Al Fuchs

"Bravery characterizes Sungha as a musician," says her teacher and mentor, Associate Professor of Piano Haewon Song. "She really projects confidence when she plays."

Song believes that bravery and confidence (not to mention intelligence and physical dexterity) are fundamental keys to the senior piano major's success.

One of this year's Concerto Competition winners, Sungha recently performed Richard Strauss’s Burleske in D minor with the Oberlin Chamber Orchestra, conducted by Mitchell Arnold, visitng assistant professor of conducting.

Sungha, a native of Seoul, Korea, began studying piano at the age of four. Although initially motivated by her parents, she quickly became serious about the instrument. When she was ten years old, she took the exams for the Seoul Arts School, was admitted as a middle school student, and chosen to perform as soloist with the Seoul Arts Orchestra.

"My teacher was . . . worried that the school was so competitive," she says. "It’s hard to be serious about music in that environment. You start playing to win instead of because you love music."

So she left Korea, arriving in the United States at 16 and attending Lake Ridge Academy for two years before enrolling at Oberlin. "My teacher in Korea knew Haewon, and encouraged me to study with her," says Sungha. "She is such a hard working teacher; very sensitive and dedicated. I even lived with her for a while, so we are very close. In some ways, she is like a mother to me."

After completing her studies at Oberlin, Sungha plans to attend graduate school. "But it will be hard to find a teacher that I like as much as Haewon."

What inspired you to be a musician? What keeps you inspired on discouraging days?
My family, and their support, first inspired me. But now, I think music itself is the addiction! Being on the stage, practicing, everything I have to do for music is such a thrill.

What is the most memorable performance you have ever seen and why?
There are so many! One was the Cleveland Orchestra, conducted by Christoph Eschenbach, playing Ravel’s La Valse. When the conductor stood up on the podium, there was so much energy. I couldn’t even breathe during that performance.

If you could perform with any musician, living or dead, who would it be? What would you perform?
There are so many of those, too! The pianist Dinu Lipatti, or Vladimir Horowitz. Or Leonard Bernstein. I would play anything they wanted! How can I pick a piece? With Bernstein I guess it would be the concerto I played with the Oberlin Chamber Orchestra, Richard Strauss’s Burleske.

If you could master another instrument, what would it be?
I wanted so much to learn violin or cello, but now I want to learn to sing. It is so fascinating, to use one's whole body as an instrument. I want to be a jazz singer, because it’s so sexy.

If you could not be a musician, what other profession would you choose? What profession would you definitely not choose?
I used to want to be either an astronomer or an architect. But now, in my next life, I want to be a musician again. I would never be a doctor.

What do you listen to for inspiration? In your free time? After a long day?
Jazz, and pop singers too. I love Lauryn Hill.

What do you like to read?
Korean literature, short novels, poems.

What are three words that describe you?
Curious, straightforward, and daring.