UTC music professor Jooyong Ahn will go to great lengths to honor a late friend. Ahn went all the way to South Korea to premiere a new piece composed in remembrance of Vakhtang Jordania, a former conductor of Chattanooga Symphony.
“My colleague Mario Abril, another UTC professor of Music, composed this piece in memory of Jordania, who was a dear friend to both of us. When I took my sabbatical leave last fall, Mario handed me this piece and we talked about premiering sometime,” Ahn said.
While Ahn was on sabbatical, he found the perfect time to premiere the piece.
“When I received an invitation to work with the orchestra in Daegu, South Korea, where Jordania worked until his death, I programmed this piece with Kyungpook National University orchestra concert on November 10, 2011,” he said.
“Elegy Overture for Orchestra” contains a folk tune from Republic of Georgia, where Jordania was born and raised.
“The orchestra I conducted has seventy five instrumental performance majors. Their performing skill is impeccable and during preparation of this piece, the student players truly enjoyed to participating in the premier. I absolutely enjoyed every minute in this process,” Ahn said.
