A love for classical music drives sisters to share gift

By Vicki Viotti
Advertiser Staff Writer

The Ahn Trio, from left: Maria, Angella and Lucia. The sisters came to the United States from South Korea 22 years ago with their mother, who helped them develop their love for music at the Juilliard School in New York City. 'Ahn-Plugged' Featuring the Ahn Trio 11 a.m. Monday (youth concert), 7 p.m. Monday (public concert) Neal Blaisdell Center Concert Hall $15 (youth concert); $27-$57 (public concert) 526-4400 (tickets); 536-1539 (information)

Yet now they revel in the international realm of classical music, additionally equipped with first names that sound like they easily might have belonged to chamber musicians of an earlier age.

Next week, as part of the ongoing Korean Centennial celebration, they will try to inspire others to enter that realm, presenting concerts both to the general public and to students, with other school workshops planned. Many in their audience may have immigrant roots like their own.

And since we're on the subject, how on Earth did the Ahn Trio end up with first names like Maria, Lucia and Angella, anyway?

"Our mother is very religious, and she's Catholic," Lucia Ahn said in a telephone interview from Seoul, where the trio had a final performance slate before their arrival in Honolulu this week. "Our mother might have encouraged our dad to get married in the Catholic Church. She wanted us to have these names that are only Catholic.

"When we were growing up (in South Korea), Maria and I went to private Catholic school, so they were used to the names," she added. "But Angella ended up at a public school, and she was definitely teased by the kids."

It seems odd that this recollection from early childhood in their home country persists, while all the sisters remember immigration to a strange land as an unmitigated, unparalleled adventure.

"I thought it was the easiest move, but it must have been hard on my mom," Angella said. Their mother, Young Joo Rhee, had split from their father and was embarking on the big move as a single mother.

But the kids, by and large, were having a blast.

"It was very, very exciting for any child to go to a completely foreign place," Angella explained. "It was a giant amusement park.

"At first, we were very anxious. Lucia got a really bad stomach ache on the plane. I remember that I took the plastic utensils from the meal on the plane and took them to the bathroom to wash them, in case we needed them later," she added with a laugh.

Cellist Maria and pianist Lucia, identical twins, were 11 when they arrived in America; Angella, who grew up to be the trio's violinist, was 9. The age difference was enough that while the older sisters have slightly accented English, Angella doesn't. Otherwise, their experiences were quite similar: The sisters saw American children as comparatively undisciplined compared to their former South Korean classmates.

"I remember walking into a classroom the first day, and it sounded like bugs' noise," Maria said. "I was fascinated. But I felt the kids in America were not as mature. By the time we were 9 and 11, we had a lot of discipline. It was shocking to see kids our age behaving like much younger children."

Her sisters agreed, although the unfettered behavior started to look tempting later on.

And like so many immigrant youths, the Ahn girls soon found themselves in a bit of cultural conflict.

"Teachers are like God in Korea," Angella said. "It's not so much back and forth; your teacher is always right.

"Here, little girls were wearing makeup. It was things we were unused to. They were talking back to teachers, and I'm sure kids were throwing things.

"You go from, 'God, why are they acting like this?' to 'Wait! I want to be like them. Why can't I do what I want and say no to my mom?' I went from being an obedient child to being rebellious."

All three women admitted to some rebelliousness that still persists and that they see as not wholly a bad thing. Determination and individuality are underpinnings for any successful musician.

"Having a woman role model," Angella said, "made us independent."

Ultimately, their mother kept them on track well enough that they thrived at the Juilliard School at pre-college through postgraduate levels. She didn't push too hard, Maria said, but let their natural love of music find its place.

Feeling welcome in the world of music is an elusive attribute among students today and one they hope to foster in their concerts.

"We don't play down to them at all," Maria said. "If they don't have any preconceptions, they accept classical music much better."

The presentation purposely avoids a stiff, formal approach. The sisters choose comfortable, trendy fashions over black formal gowns, and they like colorful lighting to accentuate the music.

But they eschew the notion that this is "music for the MTV generation": Classical music, properly executed, can be exciting without a false "pop" front, they insist.

"We really strongly believe that music is so, so good for the children," Lucia said. "It's hard to raise kids these days. When you give them music, it's something kind of pure and innocent.

"It's also giving them discipline. You learn to read music, and you practice it. There's this sense of responsibility."

"We're trying to tell them that music is cool, that music is important, the arts are important," Angella added. "I'm so surprised that so many American children are not introduced to these things at a young age.

"If their parents won't bring them to our concerts, we'll go to their schools."

Correction: The Ahn Trio musicians pictured are, from left, Maria, Angella and Lucia Ahn. They were incorrectly identified in the caption on a previous version of this story because of an editor's error.