Dajeong Choi
Choi has been selected to a member in the Alpha Alpha Chapter of the Pi Kappa Lambda Music Honor Society (2007) and also was selected to the second place winner of Percussive Arts Society Composition Contest (2005) with Mons Montis (A Great Rock, 2005) for Multiple Percussion Solo with the accompaniment CD, one of the highest academic honors. The National Dean's List (2004) scholarship honor from Im Sik Kim Family Scholarship (2004), from Toulouse School of Graduate Studies, Graduate Fellowship from the University of North Texas (2007), Rutgers University and Dankook University. Prizes include honors from the Contemporary Composition Contest run by Joong-Ang Daily Newspaper (1st prize 1997), which is one of the greatest composition competitions in Korea, with Four Seasons for Fishermen (1996) for SATB Choir, and the composition contest for a Korean song run by MBC-Moon-Hwa Broadcast Company (Gold Prize 1994) with Fire (1994) for Baritone and Orchestra. Her works have appeared at such festivals as 4th Festival of the Society of Music Research (1997) with GASIRI (1997) for Soprano and Piano, 24th Pan Music Festival -ISCM in Korea (1996) with Delight Light (1996) for Woodwind Quintet, Pan-National Choir Festival (1995) with We Are All Sinners (1995) for SATB Choir, Seoul Music Festival (1995) with Direction (1995) for Chamber Music, and Pusan Music Festival (1995) with Sun (1995) for SATB Choir.
She was born in Seoul, South Korea and began conducting at the age of 14. She became interested in the expressive and creative possibilities of music and thus began to study composition. She studied with Prof. Jung-Sun Park at Dankook University in Seoul, South Korea, where she received her Bachelor of Music in composition. Wanting to broaden her experience in new styles of music, she came to the United States and studied composition under Prof. Gerald Chenoweth in the Master of Arts program at Rutgers, the State University of New Jersey. She has studied composition with Prof. Cindy Mc Tee and Prof. Joseph Klein in the DMA program at the University of North Texas and currently teaches at UNT as a teaching fellow. She is a member of ACF (American Composers Forum), BMI (Broadcast Music Inc,) and SEAMUS (Society for Electro-Acoustic Music in the United States). Publications: Different but One Body (2003) for Percussion Ensemble is published by KPP (Keyboard Percussion Publications) in Asbury Park, NJ. Also, Mons Montis (2005), A Great Rock for Multi percussion solo with the accompaniment CD is published by HoneyRock Publishing in Everett, PA. Lift up My Hands to You (2003/ revised (2005) for Four hands for Piano (Percussion arrangement by Peter J Saleh) published by KPP, Asbury Park, NJ. Recordings: Exploration of Time (2006) - CD Mons Montis (2005) included by HoneyRock Publishing.
Eight works of Choi's percussion music have been world premiered in USA and Different but One Body was reviewed through Percussive Notes, August 2006.
