danse ma•ca•bre \\ another term for dance of death.

For this week's interview we managed to snag none other than the famed - and not to mention handsome - conductor, Park Bogum. He joins us now for a few exclusive questions regarding how this year's season has been unfolding, as well as some more personal details of the man himself. We hope you enjoy, readers.

1. If you could describe this year's season in one word, Mr. Park, what would it be? Hm...Fluttering? it all just seems to have gone by so fast, but that's what happens when you're having fun. A lot of our music this year has been fast-paced, so futtering is the first word to come to mind. Like butterfly wings. 

2. What has been your favorite piece to conduct so far? Oh, that's hard. We've had a lot of good ones, but if I have to choose then it would probably have to be pachelbel's canon in d? I know, I know - most people find it boring, especially the cellos, but It's a piece that's I've always held close to my heart. It used to help me sleep at night as a kid, so there's nostalgia in it as well. Not all slow pieces are boring, mind you.

3. speaking of your childhood, have you always been interested in classical music? Was it your dream to be a conductor? Yes and No. While I'd always had a love for music, my initial childhood dream was...ah, don't laugh, but I wanted to be a power ranger. You see, I also had a great appreciation for television, but once my parents enrolled me into weekend music classes I started to gravitate towards that. I began on piano, like most kids, and then moved onto whatever intrsument called to me. At some point I even thought I'd be a professional soloist, until the accident. That's when my private teacher suggested conducting, and, well, here i am.

4. the accident? Ah, yes...most people know about it, as I'm sure you do. I was helping my parents move into their new house, and my left hand was crushed by one of the cabinets we were moving. That's all.

5. Moving on then, how did you come to be the current conductor of the xxxxx Symphony orchestra? It's kind of a funny story, actually. I was going to see a performance with the private teacher I mentioned before, since we meet up from time to time, and as it turned out the original conductor hadn't shown up at all. When my teacher heard this he told the staff that I would do it, and, let me tell you, I was so nervous. Here I was, just barely through college, and I was being told to conduct an entire show? The only thing that kept me from backing out was the fact that my teacher believed I could do it, and it turned out he was right, considering everything went well. Footage of that night shows it went more than well, Mr. Park. No, no - I mean, people liked it, yes, but I wasn't all that good. Still learning. It just gave me the opportunity to be noticed by the previous xso director, and she contacted me with an offer to take over once I finished my degree program.

6. Then, would you consider yourself where you are now because of skill or luck, mr. park? Skill or luck...hm, it must be, a little of both? I would like to hope I have some sort of skill when it comes to music, and I can't owe everything to luck. Maybe I did some-thing good in a past life to be where I am right now.

                                              ♦♦♦

The past will soon reveal itself...

Personality

Bogum is someone most people would describe as kind. He (more often than not) will go out of his way to help others, and make sure they're cared for. The man has a great deal of love for helping others in any sitution, especially when it comes to teaching them something new. When he's not busy with other people, bogum is rather quiet. Not in a shy way, but in a way that's comfortable. He's never too loud unless he's in a passionate phase, and he's very much aware of the people around him. Sometimes, Bogum can get hit with extreme bouts of melancholy. This is usually when he's not busy with performances, and so he's free to feel the sadness on his own (as he doesn't like to trouble others with his negative emotions). All in all...Bogum is just like any other typical person, albeit with a little more heart than most.
 

Likes

conducting, sweet foods & drinks, puppies, succulents, sunny days with a nice breeze, going on impromptu drives, happy surprises, learning, sweet alcohol (like champagne, cocktails, etc.), kindness.
 

Dislikes

cigarette smoke, cold rain, finding roadkill, practice sessions that are unproductive, rude people, being taken by the wrists / being manhandled, the cold in general, nightmares.
 

Hobbies

windowsill gardening, composing, taking walks.
 

Secrets

Questioning his uality, has very frequent auditory hallucinations of a haunting melody (unaware that it is from a piece he wrote in his past life).
 

Fears

being unable to play music for good, being kidnapped.

The Quirks Fun Facts About Them.

— When holding writing utensils, chopsticks, etc. he has a bad habit of twirling them in his right hand.

— he likes sugary foods and drinks, to the point where you'll notice that he always has a few spare packets of sugar with him when he feels like adding to what he's ordered while eating out.

— talks to plants sometimes, usually in a quiet voice.

— gets easily lost in the music he's listening to, to the point where you have to physically shake him to get him to hear you.

— rubs his wrists a lot. no one knows why (unless you can look back in his forgotten past).

— sneezes a lot around cats, but not dogs.

Such sweet compulsion doth in music lie.

They call me — infatuated.

pos. friendship, slight humor, slice of life.

Ever since that first performance you attended, the one where Bogum wasn't even meant to conduct, you'd fallen head over heals for the conductor. Or, maybe just his passion for the arts. Whatever it is that draws you to him, you make it your goal to come to every show he stars in, eventually coming to meet the man by accident at a local coffee shop.

They call me — Inseparable.

friendship, slice of life.

You and bogum met during college at a house party gone wrong, and although you didn't think much of it you were paired for a gen-ed project just a week later. As you two got to know each other you somehow developed into best friends, known to be practically inseparable today.

they call me — unknown.

[ royal only ] slice of life, pos. humor, pos. friendship.

no, bogum does not live under a rock, but with how busy a life he leads it makes sense that he's barely aware of the royal line. Unaware of anything but your face, the "strange" conductor is a nice change of pace from those who constantly kiss your feet – though he still needs to make up for accidentally shoving your coffee into the sewage drain.

they call me — terrifying.

angst, drama, pos. blood & gore [ flashbacks ].

the both of you knew each other in the past life, but it was on much different terms than the good friendship you have now. No, instead of friendship you were the one drawing blood from bogum for information he didn't have, and he was the one begging at your feet to stop, please, stop until the day he escaped. You may not have killed him, when you tortured him all those decades ago, but you left enough wounds that not even time could have scabbed them over.

they call me — witch.

angst, drama, pos. friendship.

although the two of you are merely strangers in this life (so far), in the past you were the one that was accused of being a which, and subsequently the one to bring that same fate upon bogum when he tried to help you. While you were carried to some place else, bogum was left behind and tortured for information about you and other "witches." Ever since then you have not seen each other, until now.

They call me — jealous.

slight drama, slice of life.

Ever since bogum rocketed to fame in the classical music world, you've held nothing but a grudge. it doesn't matter if you're involved in music or not, but his popularity never ceases to irk you, and, as such, you make it quite clear whenever the two of you meet that you can't wait for the day he loses all that fame. have you ever though that maybe you just wanted it (or, alternatively, him) for yourself?

They call me — interesting.

pos. friendship, slice of life.

When bogum takes up a master class to fill in for another professor at the institute, he finds it so interesting that you have no desire to be there. even more so does he find it weird that you seem to like every genre other than classical. so, why were you there in the first place? As you two keep bumping into each other, Bogum makes it his goal to try and teach you there's more to classical music than just "boring, dead old people."

They call me — experiment.

[ male only ] pos. , exploration, light angst.

with how fast-paced his life has gone by, and now that it's seemed to slow down with bogum getting used to the schedule, it's finally come to his mind that he's not...well, he's not really sure about his uality. It's never really been all that important to him before, until he realized he'd been looking in the direction of a male colleague of his (already married no less). so, in an act of desperate need for direction, he turns to you to help guide him in how to figure this out.