CONCERTS

NIGHT OUT

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M O N DAY, O C T O B E R 3 1 , 2 0 1 1

AROUND TOWN
Historic Halloween Spooktacular: Children can enjoy trick-or-treating through historic gardens. [3 p.m. Tudor Place, 1644 31st St. NW] An Expanding Subterra: Photographs of underground architecture by Wayne Barrar are exhibited. [10 a.m. Katzen Arts Center, 4400 Massachusetts Ave. NW] Some Like It Hot: The lm starring Marilyn Monroe is screened. [6:30 p.m. National Theatre, 1321 Pennsylvania Ave. NW] Staffordshire Hoard: Thirteen hundred-year-old golden artifacts found in England are exhibited. [10 a.m. National Geographic Museum, 17th and M streets NW]

T H E WA S H I N G T O N E X A M I N E R

The Black List: Photographic portraits of dynamic and inspiring personalities are exhibited. [11 a.m. National Portrait Gallery, Eighth and F street NW] Cabaret Macabre: The dark musical comedy is performed. [8 p.m. Round House Theatre, 8641 Colesville Road, Silver Spring] Domingo-Cafritz Young Artists: Emerging singers and pianists perform with the Washington National Opera. [6 p.m. Kennedy Center, 2700 F St. NW] More Than Meets the Eye: An exhibit showcases special tools and technologies used by scientists to observe the world. [10 a.m. National Museum of Natural History, 10th Street and Constitution Avenue NW] Ray Manzarek and Robby Krieger: The rock duo performs. [8 p.m. Birchmere, 3701 Mount Vernon Ave., Alexandria]

COURTESY PHOTO

Yoonie Han returns to Washington to perform Beethovens Piano Concerto No. 4 at the Kennedy Center Terrace Theater on Wednesday.

Personable piano prodigys Kennedy Center debut

By Emily Cary
Special to The Washington Examiner

Yoonie Han, winner of the 2011 Washington International Piano Competition, has sought new experiences ever since winning the Korea National Music Competition at age 15 and subsequently fending for herself in the United States. The vivacious pianist has chosen to perform Beethovens Piano Concerto No. 4 at her Kennedy Center debut simply because it is a new piece for her and one she has always wanted to perform. She began pursuing the arts as a child. Her rst choice was ballet, but she was thrown out of class at age 10 because she was so fat the boys couldnt lift her. Her next choice, the piano, proved far more successful. I was 14 when my father became an exchange professor at Rutgers University, she said. He had

always wanted a son, so being a traditional South Korean family, he and my mother decided to return home when my brother was born. I chose to remain and move to New York. Because I was too young to get an apartment lease, my English tutor became my guardian. Yoonie enrolled at Curtis Institute of Music in Philadelphia and quickly began accumulating the kinds of generous friends who have helped her along the way. Only one of a handful of pianists there, she grew attached to her classmates from many countries. Her host family continues to keep in regular touch and even traveled to Boston for her debut there. After graduating from Curtis, she earned her masters degree at Juilliard and began amassing dozens of honors that have introduced her to major cities in this country and Europe. Currently, she is pur-

IF YOU GO

Yoonie Han
Where: Kennedy Center Terrace Theater, 2700 F St. NW When: 7:30 p.m. Wednesday Info: Free at the door on a rst-come, rst-served basis suing a musical doctorate at SUNY Stony Brook and and a diploma at the Universite de Montreal. Along with the Washington International Competition sponsored by the Friday Morning Music Club, Yoonie won the rst prize and the audience prize at the Fulbright Concerto Competition earlier this year. It will send her on a concert tour the spring of 2012 to Los Angeles, Miami, London and Germany. All my awards have great meaning, she said. I love competing

because you meet so many people and have such wonderful host families. The one I had in Mississippi said I was like their daughter, but they couldnt pronounce Yoonjung, my Korean name, so they called me Yoonie. Ive used it ever since. Yoonie is such a people person that strangers are drawn to her instantly. Many become part of her life. There is the computer expert who traveled from California to attend a competition. He had not known of her previously, but he was so struck by her talent that he volunteered to set up her website, her YouTube site to host videos of her performances, and her Wikipedia page. When I come back to the Kennedy Center for the second concert in this series, Ill play some pieces from the Spanish program that Im performing at the Phillips Collection in January, Yoonie said.

Underground scene
Ron Pope: The blues rock singersongwriter performs with Zach Berkman, Alexis Babini, and Howard Jennings. [7:30 p.m. Jammin Java, 227 E. Maple Ave., Vienna] Panic At the Disco: The two-piece rock band from Las Vegas performs. [6:30 p.m. 9:30 Club, 815 V St. NW]