Wayzata Elementary String Program Oral History Project: Interview with Sunwha Hong

Titles: Wayzata Elementary String Program Oral History Project: Interview with Sunwha Hong (Supplied title)

Description: BIOGRAPHICAL INFORMATION: Sunwha Hong was born in Seoul, Korea, and came to the United States in 1967. Prior to earning a Bachelor's degree in Medical Technology from the University of Cincinnati she interned at Christ Hospital and worked there following graduation. After her marriage in 1975 she was employed as a medical technologist in Butte, Montana, where the Hongs' three children were born. In the interview Sunny indicates that she and her husband, Hee-Hong, did not have the opportunity to study music as children but have been deeply committed to a solid music education for their family. They became aware of the advantages of the Suzuki method and enrolled their oldest son, Kee-Won, in a Suzuki piano program in Butte at the age of three. When the family moved to Plymouth, Minnesota in 1987 they were delighted to learn of the opportunity for Suzuki string training through the public schools and enrolled all three children at the time each one started kindergarten. As a result, each child has been actively involved in the Wayzata string program for a number of years. In addition to being a dedicated string parent, Sunwha has given many hours of her time to the string program in the schools. When not tending to the needs of her immediate family and her mother, Sunny continued to attend meetings of Wayzata Music Boosters and to volunteer for orchestral activities. At the time of the interview Kee-Won was studying at Northwestern University and son Kee-Ju was studying in a pre-dental program at Creighton University. Both Kee-Won and Kee-Ju were in a university orchestra for non-music majors and enjoyed playing violin for others. Daughter Yoon-Hee continued to participate in the Wayzata Orchestra and was treasurer for Tri-M in behalf of the orchestra. SUBJECTS DISCUSSED: Sunny describes participation of her three children in the Wayzata string program and talks about the significance of the offering to her family. She elaborates on the importance of the kindergarten start for string players, the impact of string music in the lives of her children, and her own volunteer efforts within the Wayzata strings.

Dates

• 01/15/2001 (Creation)

Creation

• interviewer: Weber, Lynne
• interviewee: Hong, Sunwha

Identifiers

• Library Call Number: OH 109
• Accession Number: AV2007.12.15

Holding Type: Oral History - Interview

Project

• Oral History - Project, MHS Collection, project: 'Wayzata Elementary String Program Oral History Project' <OH 109>

Quantity: 1.5 hours sound cassette 12 pages transcript

Format

• Content Category: sound recordings
• Content Category: text

Measurements

• 00:25:29 running time

Subjects

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