Now back from Korea, after a memorable visit which culminated in a performance by Steve of  Rolf Rudin's 'Hallows Concerto' with the Jeju Philharmonic at the 2009 Korean Music Festival. This prestigious concert was the third in a series of four high profile concerts , on successive nights in the Korean capital Seoul at the incredible Seoul Arts Centre.

The other three concerts featured world solo artists, in rep that included The Beethoven Violin Concerto (soloist Valeriy Sokolov), Rachmaninov Piano Concerto No.2 in C minor (soloist Fingin Collins) and Mozart Piano Concerto No.9 in Eb Major (soloist Oliver Kern), Brahms Double Concerto Op.102 (soloists Daniel Gaede and Julius Burger).

The Hallows Concerto went very well indeed, and special thanks go to conductor Dong-Ho Lee and the Jeju Philharmonic Orchestra for their excellent supportive role in this staggeringly powerful and dramatic concerto. The audience responded well to the 32 minute concerto demanding a solo encore from Steve who used the incredible acoustics of the Seoul Arts  Centre Concert Hall to good effect in an unaccompanied version of Stephen Foster's 'Jeannie With The Light Brown Hair'.

The performance was a culmination of 8 perfect days in South Korea for Steve, who was treated royally as a guest of the orchestra and of the Jeju Summer Music Festival and in particular thanks go to Mr. Lee Sang-cheol, the boss of the internationally recognised summer festival, who gave up so much of his time to show Steve more of Jeju Island, including a walk up one of the volcanic hills and a visit to an art museum.

Here are photos from the final rehearsal in Seoul:

There were also  masterclasses in Jeju and in Seoul, where Steve really enjoyed working with some of the brightest young euphonium talents in Korea.

Here are some photos from mondays rehearsal

Phtotos from the masterclasses:

Jeju

Seoul