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Upon arriving in San Francisco, Ahn was jailed during the scanning process of the immigrants because he refused to hand his cello over to the officials. During the night, Ahn obtained permission from a prison guard to practice on his confiscated cello; unable to make a connection between a musician and a criminal, the prison guard investigated the cause of Ahn's imprisonment and arranged for his release the next day.
Back in San Francisco, Ahn went to a Korean church introduced by Dr. Mauri. During a service led by Pastor Hwang, Ahn heard the Korean national anthem, which, at that time, was sung to the tune of the Scottish song, "Auld Lang Syne". Ahn thought of the tune as unfit for a national anthem, and decided to try composing a new national anthem for Korea. As Ahn waited in the train station to head toward Cincinnati, Pastor Hwang gave him a black suitcase and a fountain pen with which to write the new national anthem.
As arranged by Pastor Hwang, Ahn met Park Wonjung, Ahn's senior alumnus at the Soongsil Middle School and the Kunitachi Music School, at the train station. Park, then a student at the University of Cincinnati College Conservatory of Music, assisted Ahn in entering the Conservatory. Ahn had to work at a restaurant for low wages in order to make a living, as expected during the Great Depression. In 1930, Ahn was accepted into the Cincinnati Symphony Orchestra as the first cellist, and, during the spring break of his second year, he toured the United States playing recitals in major cities. In New York City, Ahn was allowed to perform in Carnegie Hall, a show that New York newspapers wrote about with positive commentaries.
After his successful tour, Ahn changed his career goal from cellist to conductor. In 1935, Ahn transferred to the Curtis Institute of Music in Philadelphia, graduating in 1936. Around this time, Ahn successfully led a choir in Candem Church; having heard about Ahn and then attending a service at the church, conductor Leopold Stokowski invited him to join the Philadelphia Orchestra. Unfortunately, Ahn was unable to pay his rent, as he was focused on writing his first orchestral score called Symphonic Fantasy Korea; however, the Peables, Ahn's neighbors, offered to pay his rent for him.
Ahn successfully submitted Symphonic Fantasy Korea to a competition in Carnegie Hall, and Ahn was given the chance to conduct the New York Philharmonic for the work's premiere. However, the performance turned out to be chaotic, as the disrespectful orchestra body refused to fully cooperate. Greatly angered, Ahn threw down his baton. The audience followed with shouts requesting another fresh performance; Ahn refused, expressing his disappointment at the orchestra. The Peables praised Ahn's actions, and apologized on behalf of the Americans; they also offered to send Ahn to Europe to study and to pay his tuition.
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