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Born 1969 - Seoul/Korea
, the daughter of a conductor father and a classical singer mother, she was born into and grew up a musical family. She made her musical debut at 23 with a joint concert with the
Korean Symphony Orchestra. She then performed in numerous Korean musicals on a national stage, for which she has received numerous awards. However, because of all its constraints she did not find that musical environments fulfilling.
She decided to go to Paris in 1995 to study jazz and French chanson at the CIM school —one of the oldest jazz schools in Europe— and at the
National Music Institute of Beauvais, and at the
Nadia and Lili Boulanger Conservatory. Her innate talent for jazz revealed itself when she started playing in Parisian jazz clubs with her group YSN 5tet She made her rounds around the Paris club scene, performances that would earn her invitations to work together by many famous musicians. Youn Sun Nah made strong showing in a number of jazz concours like
La Defense, St. Maur and
Montmartre. She became the buzzword in theaters and festivals all over France, while also performing in Korea, essentially managing simultaneous careers in two countries.
Producing five albums in six years, she held numerous performances in France, Europe, and in Asia including Korea. Such vigorous activity would earn her the best artist prize in crossover music category in Korea in 2003. In 2004, the release of <So I am...> was widely celebrated by French audiences as well as the press, who regarded her as one of the most remarkable singers of this generation. Active touring and active musical performances finally came to fruition in the form of the Grand Prize at the reputable Jazz a Juan Concours in 2005, in addition to a prize of the best young artist of the year in Korea.
She is an artist who never fails to move audiences wherever she may be performing, which led her to over 100 successful performances in Europe, USA, Australia, and Asia in 2005 and 2006. Youn Sun Nah reestablished her position as a premier jazz artist in the Asian music scene and marketplace with the album <Memory Lane>, co-produced with Denmark’s top pianist
Niels Lan Doky and Korean bassist
Kim Jeong-ryul.
She also earned recognition from the American media and noted personalities from around the world with an invitation and performance at the
Jazz at Lincoln Center, which would launch her to world stardom. Meanwhile, she has worked with world-famous Swedish artists like
Ulf Wakenius and
Lars Danielsson on her newest album <Voyage>. The new album will hit the market in Korea in September 2008, and to the rest of the world in February 2009 through ACT, one of the top jazz labels in the world.
Education
1997-1999 Jazz Vocal diploma at Paris Nadia & Lili Boulanger Conservatory
1998-1999 CIM scholarship – Jazz Piano
1995-1998 Jazz Vocal diploma at CIM (Paris, France)
1996-1998 Studied classical vocal at Beauvais National Music Institute
1996-1997 Studied at the Jazz Vocal Ensemble at Centre d'art Polyphonique
Teaching
2001-2002 Lectured at Suwon Women’s College, Dongduk Women’s University, Dong-Ah Institute of Media and Arts, Seoul
1999-2000 Lectured at CIM in Paris
Awards
2005 The Young Artist of the year (Korea) Grand Prize at “Jazz a Juan Concours” (Antibes Juan-les-Pins, France)
2004 KOREA MUSIC AWARDS “The Best Cross-over”
1999 Grand Prize at "France St-Maur Jazz Concours" (France)
2000 The Best Solist Prize at “La Défense Jazz Concours” (France)
1998 2nd prize at "Jazz Montmartre Jazz Concours” (France)
1989 Grand Prize at “French Chanson Concours” (Korea)
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Youn Sun Nah : Vocals
Ulf Wakenius : Guitars
Lars Danielsson : Acoustic bass, Cello, Melodica
Xavier Desandre-Navarre : Percussion
Mathias Eick : Trumpet
http://www.younsunnah.com/down/Profile_eng.pdf
