Bass prodigy takes home top honors from Russia

Sung Min-jae, 17, plays the double bass.

All his life, Sung Min-jae’s home has been filled by the deep tones of his father’s contrabass.
Now 17 years old, Sung’s passion for music struck a heavy chord with the judges at the second Sergey Koussevitzky Double-Bass Competition last week in St. Petersburg, Russia.
“Double bassists don’t have many chances to compete internationally, and I am really glad I won at this competition, which is my favorite one,” Sung said.
The young double bassist was last year’s winner at the International Johann Matthias Sperger Competition. There, he became the first Asian and the youngest winner in the contest’s seven-year history.
The Koussevitzky contest is one of the three major double bass competitions along with the Sperger contest and the Bottesini International Double Bass Competition in Lombardy, Italy, which is the oldest.
What really jumps out on Sung’s resume is that at 17, he is already a junior at university. He skipped high school to begin attending Korea National University of Arts right after finishing middle school.
Sung’s talent runs in the family. His father, Sung Yeong-seok, is a 24-year veteran of the double bass who plays with the Seoul Philharmonic Orchestra, and his younger sister Mi-gyeong plays the contrabass.
Sung said he began playing musical instruments at 10, influenced by his father. His father was also his teacher for his first four years.
Various institutes in Korea have noted Sung’s talent. The Kumho Asiana Cultural Foundation chose Sung as a top promising young talent and has become one of his sponsors.
“Double bass has this deep sound, and the more I play, the more I fall in love with it,” Sung said. “Many people say the instrument isn’t popular, but I’d like to show them how fascinating its sound can be.”
The young musician’s hopes do not stop here.
“My dream is to become a principal double bassist with a top orchestra like the New York Philharmonic Orchestra or the Berlin Philharmonic Orchestra,” Sung said.

By Kim Ho-jeong
JoongAng Ilbo
[enational@joongang.co.kr]