Page 27 - Fiji Traveller Issue 1

SUNIA SOKO LOGA

Singer-teacher-survivor

Words: Sera Tikotikovatu-Sefeti

Classical operatic singing is becoming a regular feature of Fiji events, thanks to the talented vocal group,
Pasifika Prima Voce. Founded by Sunia Soko Loga, a classical vocalist who has returned to Fiji after years study-
ing music at Kosin University in Busan, Korea, the group leaves audiences rapt with their powerful, harmonious
voices and stagecraft.
Loga shot to prominence after winning a singing competition, ‘Immortal Songs’, on New Year’s Day this year.
Prior to that, he was the only Fijian to reach the semi-finals of another prestigious competition, ‘The Phantom
Singers’, which drew a competitive pool of entrants from countries like Italy, Germany, America and Korea. In
a country where music competitions are a staple, and indeed the genesis for many of K-pop’s most successful
groups, such contests are a big deal.
Loga has humble origins in Ogea, Lau. His journey began in 2010 when his talent was noticed by a mission-
ary from South Korea. According to Loga, “She recommended me to a music professor at Kosin University. After
the professor saw a few of my videos, he agreed [that I could study there], but under the condition that I learn
the Korean language like a native.”
This was easier said than done.
“My first hurdle was passing the language test, so I struggled for almost two years. I had to understand and
write Korean like a native because I would be attending lectures and writing research papers, and it was really
difficult. I tried five times and I failed all of them. I felt like I came to Korea for nothing. For two years, I gave my
all and it’s not working for me. I’m ashamed and I’m going home,” he said.
“So I called my dad because he is always the last person I talk to before making a decision. I told him that I’m
coming home and his reply was ‘What for?’ I told him it’s difficult studying in Korea and the exam is five hours,
and it has wrecked my brain for the last two years. But he kept saying for me to try one more time,” Loga said.
That phone call was a gift to the singer, who passed his sixth attempt at the test.
“Anyone who would’ve seen me on that day would probably freak out because I was crying like I won a lottery
or something,” he said.
Recalling this struggle is emotional for the singer. Loga was determined to prove his worth.
Asked if he could play the piano on the first day of classes, he told his tutor, “I can’t but I can show you
something?”
When he placed his fingers on the piano keys, his tutor looked at his hands and said, “What is that? Those
look like chicken legs. We have to start from scratch.”
Loga said his professors and tutors knew he had a passion for his art, so they helped him get to where he
needed to be musically. It was after finishing his studies that he decided to put what he had learned into prac-
tice. “I wanted to challenge myself,” he said, after Korean Broadcasting Service (KBS), which produced and aired
Phantom Singers, contacted him to participate.
KBS discouraged him from singing in his mother tongue, saying the song he had selected, the Fijian classic
‘Isa Isa’, “was not fit for a competition. They said that they wanted me to win and come out strong. You can win,
but not with that song,” Loga said.
Loga had spent years singing in Italian, German, French, Korean and English. “In all my 10 years of studies,
how I wished I could just sing in my own mother tongue on an international stage. So I told the producers, ‘It’s
either I sing this or don’t sing at all.’”
This renewed sense of courage and sense of being true to oneself has led him to come back to Fiji and share
his knowledge.
In fact, Loga only meant to stay for two weeks after an eleven-year absence, when he returned.

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