South Korean realizes piano dream thanks to Fredonia alumni and friends
 Mi Kyung Kim, above, practices in the recently redesigned studio at Chautauqua Institution sponsored by Cathy Marion, alumna of the Class of 1979. |
The unique convergence of influential Fredonians is giving a South Korean immigrant a memorable chance to study the piano at Chautauqua Institution this summer.
Mi Kyung Kim, junior at SUNY Fredonia, moved to New York City at the age of 11 from South Korea. In New York City, she was unable to study piano until she received a scholarship with a well-known teacher in Manhattan, who was a friend of the late Claudette Sorel, concert pianist and SUNY Fredonia Distinguished Professor. As a result, she applied to SUNY Fredonia School of Music and was accepted with the help of two scholarships.
Kim is the recipient of both the Keeper of the Dream and Claudette Sorel Piano Scholarships. She was recruited by SUNY Fredonia in the summer of 2008 and entered as a Piano Performance major that fall. This summer, she also received a scholarship from Fredonia community members to attend Chautauqua Institution’s School of Music summer program.
At the Chautauqua Institution, Kim practices piano in a studio that coincidentally has just been sponsored and re-designed by Cathy Marion, a 1979 SUNY Fredonia graduate. Marion, alumni recipient of the SUNY Fredonia Outstanding Achievement Award in 2007, knew when she decided to sponsor a studio at the Chautauqua Institution that she wanted to transform it into something special.
She commissioned Kristen Briggs, a young local artist, and together they began to create a mural that is painted on all the walls and even the floor of the studio. The mural depicts scenes from movies such as The Wizard of Oz, movies stars like Lucille Ball and composers such as the Gershwin’s and Cole Porter.
The studio, which Marion describes as “very whimsical, with a lot of movement and color and a great sense of fun,” is her way of giving a nod to the creators of the American treasures she placed in the mural.
“It is my hope that the young musicians who spend long hours practicing at Chautauqua will enjoy working in this studio for many summers to come, inspired by the American pioneering giants who preceded them,” Marion said of her studio, not knowing one of Fredonia’s own students would practice in her studio only a few years later, supporting her hopes as her studio supports those of Mi Kyung Kim.
