IVI in the Media
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Donor Spotlight: Lee Sang-hee & Friends
Donor Spotlight: Lee Sang-hee & Friends
-Long-time IVI supporter and violinist Ms. Lee Sang-hee featured in the major Korean daily, JoongAng Ilbo
-Ms. Lee has been holding IVI charity concerts with her students for 12 years, raising close to $100,000
-Two Lee Sang-hee & Friends concerts in August and November this year
Below is an English translation of the JoongAng Ilbo article published on May 11, 2016.
http://m.media.daum.net/m/media/culture/newsview/20160511010804671
‘I will continue performances to help others until the last day I can move my fingers’
- Lee Sang-hee continues holding charity concerts for 12th year to support vaccines for developing countries
- Targets 100 million won in cumulative donations in August 2016; ‘we will promote value of life-saving vaccines’
Lee Sang-hee and Friends at ‘Lee Sang Hee Violin Recital with IVI’
Violinist Lee Sang-hee’s performances are ‘life-saving jabs.’ She has continued holding charity concerts for 12 consecutive years, and donated the entire proceeds to IVI.
IVI is a non-profit international organization that develops and deploys vaccines against infectious diseases such as cholera. The cumulative total of donations through Lee Sang Hee Violinist Recital with IVI’ amounts to about 88 million won. Lee aims to surpass 100 million won through the upcoming concert in August.
“I wanted to inform audiences of how important a drop of vaccine is to saving lives, and to mobilize and amass pennies to help children in developing countries.” She told the reporter in an interview in Seoul on May 6. She said, “I decided to offer a benefit concert upon hearing for the first time stories about children who are suffering from infectious diseases while participating in an event as performer at an IVI donation event in 2004.”
After graduating from Sunhwa Middle and High Schools of Arts in Korea, she graduated from the Paris National Music Academy of Excellence (Conservatoire National Superieur Musique De Paris) in France with honors. She currently is teaching at Chung-Ang University graduate school, Sangmyung University, and Sunhwa schools. She married in 2006 and has a three-year-old daughter.
She started holding concert alone initially, but since 2007, has been holding joint performance in collaboration with ‘Lee Sang Hee & Friends.’ While studying in France, she formed the ensemble ‘Uni Song’ with fellow students from Korea, and held concerts to help a Korean adoptees organization for seven years.
These days, she is also holding charity concerts at hospitals, orphanages, correctional houses, and welfare facilities for single moms. She says her philanthropy was due to influence from her parents. “When I was young, my father, a businessman, would take me to orphanages, present dolls to children, and play with them. My father told me to ‘use your talent to benefit the world.”
‘Lee Sang Hee & Friends’ started with five members, but now has more than 30. “My students’ families and friends, and their friends joined us. There is no restriction in terms of age or performing skills. It is our (warm) heart that we want to convey and communicate onstage to audience members.”
There are members from all walks of life, ranging from 10-year-old pianist, to a performer close to age 70. Musical instruments include cello, flute, viola, clarinet, and others. All of the members, including a middle-school student who donated her ‘piggy bank’ from monthly allowances and a student who got into medical school to become doctor’ as a result of her activities for the concert, joined hands to help me.”
In the beginning, it was not easy to sell tickets for 600 seats in a concert hall. But she was able to expand her audience by performing popular songs, in addition to original classical music. “I wish to continue staging concerts to help others until the last day I can move my fingers,as well as now.”
“Lee Sang Hee Violin Recital with IVI’ will take place at 2 p.m. on August 27 at Youngsan Arts Hall in Seoul. Tickets are priced at 10,000 won to 30,000 per seat.