Opera always elicits strong emotions. This is especially true for Professor Kyong Mee Choi’s new opera, Pale Courage, which premieres on March 18 at the Merle Reskin Theatre.

In this week’s episode, guest host Professor Andy Trees sits down with Professor Choi to talk about her composition. The three-act opera is based on the true story of her great-aunt, who chose starvation as a way to fight for her dreams.

Andy and Kyong Mee discuss the power of live performance, her family history and her journey into the arts.

Kyong Mee Choi is a Korean American composer, organist, poet, painter and visual artist. She has received several prestigious awards and grants such as the John Simon Guggenheim Memorial Foundation Fellowship, Robert Helps Prize and Aaron Copland Award, among many others. She teaches composition and electro-acoustic music at Roosevelt University.