JANYA (2011)

In Sanskrit, JANYA means to be born, while in Korean, JANYA means around dawn. JANYA was created by four unique musicians— all derived from Korean descent and all women. The music is a fusion of East and West. The East: Seungmin Cha- Daegeum, Eun Sun Jung- Gayageum and Woonjung Sim- Janggo. The West: half-Korean American Singer Lola Jung Danza. Something magical exists between these four musician women and so, JANYA was born, around dawn.

 

Lola Danza is half-Korean and born in the USA. Danza has a Bachelors degree from Berklee College of Music and a Master’s degree from Aaron Copland School of Music. She has toured all over the world with her own musical projects and has played with legendary musicians including Ornette Coleman, Steve Kuhn, Sheila Jordan, Lewis Nash, Bob Moses, John Lockwood, Ben Monder, Mat Maneri, David Tronzo, Bob Gullotti, Luciana Souza and Leni Stern, to name a few.

Eunsun Jung, a Gayageum player, graduated from National School of Korean Traditional Music and earned both undergraduate and graduate degrees from Seoul National University. She actively performs worldwide, countries include France, Belgium, Germany, America and Japan.

Woonjung Sim is a percussionist working on her Master’s degree at Seoul National University and is a team member of Gong, which plays musikdrama. She plays not only traditional music but also theater music and contemporary music. She has a wide musical range and incredible performance skills.

Emerging as one of the most influential experimental daegeum (transverse bamboo flute) artists, Seungmin Cha was trained in traditional music and its discourse. A graduate of the School of Music at Seoul National University, Cha has developed her career as a solo daegeum artist, as well as a composer and illustrator.

JANYA has performed at the Kennedy Center in Washington D.C. They have also played all over New York City at various clubs and theaters.