The Korea-Canada Songbook

Concert

Korean and Canadian musical languages converge to create a rich and unique experience!

Celebrating the “2024-2025 KOREA-CANADA Year of Cultural Exchanges”, Jarasum Jazz Festival, The Ministry of Culture, Sports and Tourism, the Korean Foundation for International Cultural Exchange (KOFICE), and Orford Music are collaborating on the “KOREA X CANADA Cultural Program: Music”. As part of this initiative, the “Korea-Canada Songbook” project has been launched, featuring a group of six musicians from both countries who reinterpret songs reflecting the histories and cultures of Korea and Canada to create a new performance.

These musicians will participate in an artist residency at Orford Music before this concert. The Korean band leader is Younghoo Kim, a composer, arranger, and bassist known for his versatility with various ensembles. Representing Canada is trumpeter Jacques Kuba Séguin, a recipient of the prestigious Juno Award.

Artists

Hoo Kim
Kim Young Hoo entered Chung-Ang University in 2002, majoring in philosophy and orchestral music. In 2004, he received jazz training at the Seoul Jazz Academy. He went on to study abroad in the United States at the end of 2009, earning his bachelor’s degree from Berklee College of Music in 2013 and his master’s degree from Manhattan School of Music in New York in 2016. He was selected for the Berklee Global Jazz Institute program, studying under prestigious professors and gaining performance experience. Since returning to Korea in 2016, he has been active as a leader and performer. In 2021, Kim formed his Big Band and released the album Common Heritage of Humankind in 2022. He is also a member of Soojin Suh’s Coloris Trio and Chordless Quartet, and has performed at prestigious events such as the London Jazz Festival, K Music Festival in Korea, and in countries including Germany, Italy, Hungary, Belgium, Sweden, Canada, Singapore, among others. Currently, he serves as a full-time professor in the Department of Applied Music at Howon University.

Jacques Kuba Séguin
Versatile and adventurous, trumpeter Jacques Kuba Séguin composes for a variety of ensembles, including Odd Lot, Litania Projekt, and the quintet Migrations, as well as writing for symphony orchestras. Séguin’s repertoire is characterized by melodic, explosive, and complex yet accessible compositions. As a performer, he has a flair for showmanship and is regarded as one of the most brilliant trumpeters of his generation.

For his album Migrations, launched at the 2019 Montreal International Jazz Festival (FIJM), he received the 2020 JUNO Award for Best Solo Jazz Album and the 2020 FÉLIX Award for Jazz Album of the Year, along with multiple ADISQ and Opus award nominations for his previous albums. Séguin has been making a name for himself on both the national and international stages with his projects for over fifteen years.

This Polish-Canadian artist performs regularly in Poland, either with his own ensembles or with pianist Pawel Kaczmarczyk. His discography includes seven albums, as well as the recent Mikrokosmos EP, recorded with Norwegian musicians Jens Fossum, Hermund Nygård, and Anders Aarum. All of his recordings are released under ODD SOUND, the record label he founded and manages.

Presented by: