Tori Ensemble

Do you like Seoul music?

As talent shows go, it's didn't exactly have the drama of The X Factor, but it was certainly infinitely more musically discerning. When Resonance Korea, an organisation dedicated to the propagation of South Korea's musical heritage, put out an open call for a competition with a prize of a fully funded WOMAD appearance, the field was both plentiful and of an exceedingly high grade. The eventual winners were Tori Ensemble, a quartet whose eerie yet beautiful compositions straddle Korean traditions, jazz and contemporary music. Led by the beguiling geomungo player Yoon-Jeong Heo (her instrument being a kind of zither), it's entirely fitting that the ensemble's prize should be a performance on the Charlie Gillett Stage. The late broadcaster made a visit to South Korea shortly before his untimely death and was no stranger to playing Yoon-Jeong Heo's records on his radio show. Charlie's spirit for championing the music that you don't yet know lives on.

(Biography written by Nige Tassell 2011)