INVERSIONS

29th November 2018, by Hojoon C. (G12)

On November 8th and 9th, Gold Pasta and Joe C. shared their musical talents with their first project of 2018-2019. “Inversions” happened in KISJ (Korea International School Jeju) elementary school basement. Joe C. worked on the project since fall 2017, and his efforts bore fruit finally. The performance started at 8 p.m., and KISJ students, other students in GEC, parents, teachers, KISJ dorm staffs came to watch Gold Pasta, and Joe C.’s performance.

Gold Pasta is composed of four musicians: Joe C. (guitarist), David K. (guitarist), Eric K. (pianist), and Gerard C (drummer). All four musicians and audience felt musical inspiration and bondings through two consecutive nights. Gold Pasta has been presenting performances in KISJ for more than 2 years. Nonetheless, “Inversions” was very special because it was the first time Joe C. released an official album, or EP (extended play record). Joe C. featured Gold Pasta at this moment.

Unlike previous concerts, the tickets were sold with their CD version album (EP), and those only cost 7,000 won. Joe C. sent out the information about his concert through email, and he also included a promotional video that showed Gold Pasta’s practice and the purpose of the album. Joe C. composed five music tracks, working hard in KISJ high school music lab. All five music tracks were along the genre of jazz. While Jazz is not a familiar genre for most of the students in KISJ, students gladly came to the concert to support the performers.

The “Inversions” concert was special in its location -- rather than choosing to perform on conventional stages, such as Performance Arts Center (PAC), Gold Pasta made a bold decision to perform in the elementary school basement. There were several advantages of the performing stage. The elementary school basement was large enough to accommodate about 100 people, and the audience could also watch the performance from a bird’s eyes view. Also, the distance between the audience and the performance was short, so the audience could feel the soul of Joe C. playing the guitar. The audience could also read facial expressions of musicians, and the closed place helped them engage in the melody of groovy jazz.

The performance started directly with the music. During the performance, Joe C. acted as both a narrator and guitarist. Joe thanked his parents and grandparents for coming to the concert to celebrate his first EP concert. Gold Pasta performed all five song tracks in the album, and it took about an hour. There was a guest performer in the concert. Coline C. (G12) came up to the stage and sang a song while Gold Pasta played musical instruments. Everyone seemed to enjoy jazz music mixed with Coline’s words. At that moment, students were entirely fan of jazz.

In the end, Joe finished with thankful comments. He said, “I am really thankful for performers, teachers, and any other persons concerned, to finish performance successfully.” The audience went up the stage to take photos and talk with the musicians. The audience congratulated and supported Gold Pasta, and the elementary school basement flooded with laughter and joy.

Students, teachers, parents, and dorm and school faculty members shared some positive comments about the performance afterwards. This year’s entering student Andy P. (G11) said, “I don’t know his name, but I liked the drummer. He was fantastic. I want to play the drum someday!” His parents commented, “Overall, it was great. It was pleasant and amazing to listen to the songs written by students, though I guess they didn’t have much time to do so.” A middle school student Hoseong N. (G6) said “I liked David playing the guitar. He was so cool, and he was even kind when I met him in club activity.” A high school senior Aiden S. (G12) said “overall, it was successful. Gerard showed a masterpiece.” Some teachers and faculty members shared their opinions, too. Mr. Gagnier, grade 12 English teacher, said “I usually go to school concerts to support students. At this moment, though I didn’t know any techniques about Jazz, I could feel Joe’s passion from his song.” Ms. Jessica, a dorm staff, said “I really love the concert! I thought the music was amazing and the location was really cool for the show.”

Gold Pasta’s first album performance over two nights finished successfully. Both audience and performers truly appreciated the experience. The success and appreciation are attributed to the passion of Gold Pasta members including Joe C., audience, and all the other staff students who administered the concert.

“Inversions” is available at

https://www.youtube.com/playlist?list=PLuQu_u8tSxJGYbo89heDjaS39HjZOPErX