As we return to school, the question we ask each other is ‘what did you do on your summer vacation’? Well, the School of Music clarinet players have a really good answer after they traveled to South Korea. What started as a visit to perform at the International Clarinet Association (ICA) conference turned into something else entirely; a community celebration arranged by the University of Utah’s Korean campus in Incheon, an international exchange with Korean musicians, and a trip of a lifetime. 
Courtesy of Laura Grantier
In 2022, Laura Grantier, PhD, became Assistant Professor, Clarinet, and Woodwind Area Head at the School of Music. Since forming the U of U Clarinet Choir in 2023, she’s arranged for the U’s clarinetists to perform at Clarinetfest, the ICA annual gathering — first in Dublin, Ireland, then in Fort Worth, Texas, and now in Inchon, Korea. This time, they pulled out all the stops. A student, Zane Jensen, composed an original work for the trip, several others arranged a special version of the classic repertoire piece “Variations on a Korean Folk Song,” and they even arranged a version of “Golden,” from the wildly popular animated film, “K-Pop Demon Hunters!”
What made this trip different was the ability to collaborate with U Asia in Korea, especially working with Jong-hun Bae, PhD, assistant professor at the campus in Incheon. In addition to their performance at the conference, Professor Bae was able to arrange for the choir to also perform at the Arts Center Incheon concert hall, accompanied by local musicians, including a children’s choir. Professor Bae directed this combined ensemble.
Each student from the U was partnered with one of the Korean musicians. It’s not easy to bridge a cultural gap when you are trying to work together, but music was what they had in common. Grantier put it this way: “I had everybody write a reflection, and they all said the same thing — I couldn’t really speak the language, but music is a universal language and we all understood music. We could make music together. We didn’t have to talk about it. We could sit down and make it happen.”
Student Zoe Kenner put it perfectly: “My absolute favorite thing was being in a room where we don’t speak the same language, but we were able to communicate through music and still have the same emotions with each other. It was crazy!”
“It took on a life of its own,” Grantier explained. “This is what happens when you have people working together who really want to help and really want to make this successful. We never dreamed that it would turn out the way that it did.”
The U students were able to do more than just play music though. They took day trips into Seoul and to the Demilitarized Zone for a look into North Korea, which was a sobering moment. “It’s not lost on us, the freedom to express ourselves that we have,” said Grantier.
Next summer, the University of Utah will play host to Clarinetfest. Two thousand clarinetists from around the world will come here to perform, socialize, educate each other, and experience Salt Lake’s rich music culture. Grantier explained it the best; “Clarinetfest is a time where you can come and be inspired by great performances, or lectures, or research, or play in a choir and sit by a friend or someone you don’t know.”
Even right here at the U, it should make for a great summer vacation.
Courtesy of Laura Grantier