Seocho-gu Young Artists Hold 'Autumn Music Festival'

From the 13th, the classical-focused chamber music relay concert '2020 Seocho Chamber Music Festival' will be held... Providing diverse genre performance opportunities through the untact cultural performance 'Seoripul Youth Live'

[Asia Economy Reporter Jongil Park] Seocho-gu (Mayor Eunhee Cho) will operate the ‘2020 Seocho Chamber Music Festival,’ featuring 40 talented and skilled young artist teams, from the 13th through the end of the year.

The ‘Seocho Chamber Music Festival’ is a relay-style concert where young artists actively participate and perform various chamber music concerts centered on classical music in cultural spaces throughout the region, such as concert halls and cafes.

The performances will take place 3 to 4 times a week from the 13th until the end of December at small-scale venues within the Music Culture District and other locations.

Each of the 40 young artist teams selected through a public contest will be given a solo performance opportunity to showcase their skills, which is expected to quench the thirst of local residents who have long suffered from a slump in cultural performances.

The ‘Seocho Chamber Music Festival’ will be broadcast live on the YouTube channel ‘2020 Seocho Chamber Music Festival,’ and depending on the stability of the COVID-19 situation, some on-site viewing may be possible.

Advance reservations can be made through the integrated reservation (event reservation) link in the Communication/Participation menu on the Seocho-gu Office website, and if seats are not fully booked, visitors may also attend in person. However, to prevent the spread of local infections, social distancing between seats will be enforced, which may limit the number of attendees depending on the venue size.

Earlier, in August, Seocho-gu selected 40 teams to perform on the ‘2020 Seocho Chamber Music Festival’ stage through a preliminary screening process, with a remarkable 123 teams applying, demonstrating the strong interest of young artists in the festival.

Notably, five teams composed solely of university students were finally selected, promising a stage filled with the pure passion and vigor of young artists.

Additionally, the ‘Hanuri Orchestra,’ composed of musicians with developmental disabilities who have musical talents, and ‘Ensemble Joiners,’ which brings together disabled and non-disabled young artists to harmonize, were also selected among the final 40 teams participating in the ‘2020 Seocho Chamber Music Festival,’ promising moving performances.

This ‘Seocho Chamber Music Festival’ is expected to provide performance opportunities to young artists struggling due to the prolonged COVID-19 pandemic, laying a foundation for their independence and growth as artists.

Moreover, by holding all chamber music performances at private venues within the region, the festival is anticipated to revitalize the stagnant performance venues and inject new vitality into the cultural and artistic community.

Young artists participating in the ‘2020 Seocho Chamber Music Festival’ will receive performance fees of up to 250,000 KRW per individual and up to 1,000,000 KRW per team.

Furthermore, on December 4th, a year-end special concert will be held at the Seocho Cultural and Arts Center, featuring the ‘Seocho Chamber Music Festival Youth Orchestra (tentative name),’ composed of young artists who participated in the festival.

Meanwhile, Seocho-gu, in collaboration with Hyundai Motor Company Southern Regional Headquarters and the Seocho Cultural Foundation, will operate the untact online cultural performance YouTube channel ‘Seoripul Youth Live’ starting from the 13th to discover talented young artists and revitalize the stagnant performance venues. Videos will be streamed every Tuesday and Thursday at 2 PM on the YouTube channel. Ten young artist teams, who lost opportunities to perform due to COVID-19, were selected through a highly competitive public contest.

Performance fees ranging from 500,000 KRW to 1,000,000 KRW per team will be provided, offering diverse performance opportunities including popular music, classical, Korean traditional music, jazz, and a cappella.

The ‘Seoripul Youth Live’ is expected to be a valuable opportunity for young artists to promote their names and skills through untact live performances.

Seocho-gu Mayor Eunhee Cho stated, “We will continue to promote various untact cultural performances suitable for the ‘social distancing in daily life’ era and implement diverse support measures so that young artists, who are struggling due to performance cancellations, can freely showcase their passion and talents.”