EUN-MEE KO STANDPOINT FOR

CONSERVATORY OF MUSIC - CHAIR OF VOICE DEPARTMENT

PRE-COLLEGE

Interviewed by Ashley Johnson Lam

While the ILA is focused on singer training and development, its profsional-level experiences often shape artists in ways that help them discover their true path. Alumna Eun-Mee Ko, San Francisco Conservatory of Music’s Voice Department Chair for Pre-College and Continuing Education, credits her journey with the ILA as a key to her long-held role at SFCM and her love for teaching and inspiring young vocalists.

AJL: We hear a lot about superhero origin stories, but every singer has one too. What’s your origin story?

EMK: I grew up in a musical home. My father was a popular singer in Seoul, so music was always in my house and it’s deeply engrained in my culture. In Korea, I was a member of a girls chorus where I started my formal training. When I graduated high school, I came to California where I began studying voice at SFCM with Sylvia Anderson. It was there that Herman LeRoux introduced the ILA to me!

AJL: What an amazing journey you’ve had! It also included participating in the ILA in 2000 and 2001. What kind of support did your ILA immersion offer you as an emerging young singer?

EMK: Where do I start? I’m grateful to Mr. LeRoux for introducing me to the program and for Maestro Vignati’s amazing musicianship and expressiveness. To be able to work with such a skilled conductor who has created an environment so filled with passion for learning and opera and having so much opportunity to perform in lead roles as a young artist was priceless. And the level of the faculty was incredible – working with stars, master artists, and living legends like Fedora Barbieri and Giuseppe T addei was a dream!

AJL: You’ve dedicated yourself to the development of young artists through your role at SFCM – dare we say you’re paying it forward? How has the ILA shaped your path to where you are today?

EMK: Originally, I didn’t want to be a voice teacher; I wanted to be a performer. But the ILA opened the possibility of teaching to me: it helped me compare the lifestyles (of a professional singer and a teacher). I realized that the performer lifestyle wasn’t for me, and my two years of ILA experiences helped quench my thirst for being on the stage. I’ve been with SFCM for 23 years now and it’s home. The ILA felt like home, too, with it’s incredible people and environment and I try to provide that same experience for my students.

AJL: Studying music has an amazing way of leading each of us to our life paths and discovering our own superpowers. What advice would you give to young singers as they journey this path?

EMK: Be yourself and enjoy the journey. We spend a lot of time as singers perfecting our technique, learning the background of songs and operas and other singers’ interpretations, which is all very important. But we should learn those things so we can then bring our own selves to the music. This is what makes musical experiences powerful, and enjoyable for everyone, being able to create authentic experiences.