The first regular concert of an orchestra made up of children from multicultural families

The first regular concert of ‘Hello?! Orchestra’ was held on December 16 at the Dalmaji Theater of Ansan Arts Center. ⓒ Gyeonggi G-News Yoo Je-hoon

The first regular concert of “Hello?! Orchestra,” which realizes the dreams of children from multicultural families, was held on December 16 at the Dalmaji Theater of Ansan Arts Center.

“Hello?! Orchestra” was founded in June as a part of the Dream Orchestra project, which is a culture and arts education project hosted by the Ministry of Culture, Sports and Tourism and supervised by the Korea Arts & Culture Education Service to actualize the artistic potential of children from multicultural families and pursue integration of the local community. The Dream Orchestra began in 2011 and has since supported children in cooperation with 30 organizations nationwide.

Members of the “Hello?! Orchestra” consist of 45 elementary school students in the higher grades in Ansan, with 70% of them from multicultural families and 30% from regular families. This year it was selected as a public project by the Ministry of Culture, Sports and Tourism (Korea Arts & Culture Education Service) and will receive governmental support of KRW 90 million every year for three years.

In particular, “Hello?! Orchestra” is receiving attention with the participation of experts such as the famous violist Richard Yongjae O’Neill as well as pianist Jun Ji-hoon, conductor Chae Eun-seok, and music director Kim Jung-seon.

Under the topic of  “Dream and the Beginning,” the first regular concert was hosted by the Ministry of Culture, Sports and Tourism and supervised by the Korea Arts & Culture Education Service and Ansan Cultural Foundation.

The regular concert included videos as well as the orchestra performance by the members. ⓒ Gyeonggi G-News Yoo Je-hoon

The concert began with a video introducing the Dream Orchestra, followed by the entrance of music director Kim Jung-seon and conductor Chae Eun-seok. The repertoire included over 20 pieces including OST from films and animation, waltz and march music. It consisted of four parts: “A Story of Stars,” “Fantasy 1,” “Guests” and “Fantasy 2,” showing videos as well as performances. Towards the end of the concert, the members played the Radetzky March as the encore.

“The performance of the members almost moved me to tears, and it was so impressive,” said Gyeonggi Governor Kim Moon-soo, giving them a big hand.

“Teaching young children who are just beginning to learn music was a new challenge and attempt for me, and it gave me a lot of great thoughts,” said violist Richard Yongjae O’Neill. “I will hold more concerts with children and make continuous efforts for “Hello?! Orchestra” to secure its position and further develop.”

There are approximately 440,700 foreign residents from 152 countries living in Gyeonggi Province, and 64,700 from 75 countries live in Ansan.

Reception after the first regular concert of “Hello?! Orchestra “ ⓒ Gyeonggi G-News Yoo Je-hoon

ⓒGyeonggi G-News | Lim Se-jin yh48635@nate.com 

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