TAIPEI, Dec 27: Young musicians with disabilities from South Korea will perform with blind singers from Taiwan in a concert Tuesday to celebrate the achievements of disabled people in the performing arts, the Eden Social Welfare Foundation said Monday.

The "Love at First Sight" concert will feature 18 young musicians from South Korea's Beautiful Mind Music Academy and blind singers from the Taiwanese foundation, which is co-organizing the concert.

This will be the first overseas performance for the academy, established in 2008 to help children and young people with disabilities develop their musical potential and improve their social skills through music learning.

Kim Tae Uck, an 11-year-old visually impaired musician from the academy, said he decided to learn the gayageum, a traditional Korean zither-like string instrument, after being attracted to its sound one day two years ago.

"I like the traditional sound it makes," said the son of a violinist at a gathering at the foundation on Monday, at which he played the instrument.

"I hope to travel to many countries to play the gayageum," Kim said.

Kim Myung Sook, the mother of guitarist Hur Ji Yeon, said she was proud of the achievements of her daughter, with vision disabilities and pervasive developmental disorder.

Even though Hur has difficulty communicating with people, she has displayed extraordinary talent in music, the mother said. The 22-year-old Hur has studied classical guitar at the academy for three years.

Also impressing the audience Monday was 17-year-old Bae Sung Yeun, with autism and pervasive developmental disorder and plays the piano.

Bae's mother Kang Sun Ok said she decided to let her usually quiet son learn piano after realizing that he hummed to music.

The academy, which provides one-on-one music education, was established by the Beautiful Mind Charity, an organization that strives to promote South Korean culture and awareness for disadvantaged groups.

There are currently 28 students and 21 teachers at the academy.

The Taipei concert, open for free to the public, will be held at the Grace Baptist Church on Xinsheng South Road on Dec. 27 at


Source: http://focustaiwan.tw