Collaboration: So-Young Yoon reflects on her Navigator residency at An Grianán Theatre

Now, I find myself staring at my reflection in the window of Letterkenny bus station, waiting for the bus back to Dublin. Just ten days ago, on my way to An Grianán, I had to laugh at myself. I was vaguely imagining being one of those tragic Romantic protagonists—looking as wretched as can be, fixated on micro ideas, and madly writing in solitude. But now that I think about it, how fictional that thought was! What actually happened during the residency was, to my surprise, very different from what I had pictured in my head.

Slightly nervous but mostly excited, I arrived at An Grianán Theatre to start my first day of the residency. The reception hall was dazzling with sunlight, as the entire front of the building was constructed with glass panels. There, I was warmly greeted by Patricia, the director of An Grianán. She showed me to the main stage of the theatre, where the grand piano stood. This stage would be my workspace for the next seven days. A bit overwhelmed, I sat down at the piano, took out a bunch of scores, and started sight-reading for a few hours, hardly taking any breaks. I think it was my way of grounding myself and declaring my presence in such a grand setting. As I listened to my piano sound travel around the dark concert hall and return to me, I found myself gradually settling into the new environment.

The next day, I met with Seamus Gibson, an Irish fiddle virtuoso and composer from Donegal. A month before the residency, I had expressed my wish to collaborate with fiddle artists in Donegal. After learning that I had previously worked with Michelle O’Brien, one of Tommy Peoples’s protégés, Patricia recommended Seamus—whose uncle was the late Tommy Peoples! As a musician from the other side of the world, I was fascinated by Seamus’s stories about the music scene in Letterkenny in the ’80s and ’90s and what it means to be a trad musician in Donegal. Unfortunately, Seamus shared that since Dermot Toland, his music partner of over thirty years, had to stop performing due to medical conditions, the energy and drive for performing hadn’t been the same. “Well, how would you feel if a jazz pianist played harmonic interpretations of your compositions?” I asked. “Sure, let’s give it a go,” he replied, and we started playing. While Seamus led with the melody, I improvised around it, trying to find the “matching colours.” It took a few days for two musicians from different genres to finally swing together, but when it happened, it was magical. “Would you like to try improvising?” I asked. “I’ve never improvised in my life,” he said. But then he took off, improvising over his piece “George Peoples.” It was quite phenomenal to watch someone who had never improvised before suddenly burst with spontaneous phrases—Seamus looked absolutely surprised by himself, and it was a golden moment to remember.

As I got to know more people around the theatre, especially by playing with Seamus almost every day, I felt much more comfortable working there. Every morning, I walked down Main Street towards the theatre on Port Road, feeling less like a tourist and more like a local heading to work. It gave me a sense of belonging to the town. I would sit down at the piano and let my fingers flow up and down with the meditative voicings of McCoy Tyner; I loved the way the pentatonic sound travelled around the dark auditorium. I chose Kapustin’s Variations No. 41 for technical build-up as well as to trigger ideas for my compositions. After spending all day at the piano, I would return to the hotel, lying down with my muscles feeling like they were on fire!

When I think of my time in Letterkenny, I instantly feel warmth. Patricia, the director, and all the staff at the theatre were incredibly supportive at every level. The theatre even extended closing times for the rehearsals with the musicians I collaborated with. For the improvisation workshop and the final concert with Seamus, the theatre’s best sound engineer, Hugh, and video producer, Pete, were there to create a fantastic stage and sound system—we had such great rapport working together. Every suggestion I made during my residency was taken seriously and facilitated in detail, and I can’t thank them enough for this unbelievable opportunity. Ironically, I have never felt so connected with creative people in such a short period, and on top of that, unexpected opportunities emerged throughout the seven days of the residency.

The final day of the residency arrived. Seamus and Murrough O’Kane, a bodhran/flute player from Derry, joined me on stage as we were about to start the concert. The stage was bathed in beautiful purple lighting, surrounded by cameras and microphones set up by Hugh and Pete that morning—it was a splendid setting to perform. Seamus’s groove always reminds me of a strong wind, and I often felt a sensory illusion, as if I could actually feel the wind around us. The three of us were absolutely in sync, and the level of concentration and commitment to the music was supreme. Martin McGinley, the well-known Donegal fiddle virtuoso and journalist, came to congratulate us, and together with Patricia, we had the most beautiful afternoon tea, with conversation flowing non-stop. I wish to extend my deepest thanks to the IMC, Patricia McBride, and all the staff at An Grianán Theatre for giving me this wonderful opportunity and for their kind care and hands-on support during my residency.

So-Young Yoon’s Epistrophy Quintet will be performing the music of Thelonious Monk at Arthur’s on the 10th of October. Tickets are on sale here.