"The Passion for Music Among People with Developmental Disabilities Continues Even in the COVID-19 Era"

Developmental Disability Music Festival Sponsored by SK Innovation Underway

[Asia Economy Reporter Hwang Yoon-joo] The 4th Great Music Festival (GMF; GREAT MUSIC FESTIVAL), a music festival for people with developmental disabilities organized by the Heart Heart Foundation and sponsored by SK Innovation and others, was held on the 28th at the Heart Heart Foundation Recital Hall in Songpa-gu.

The Great Music Festival is the largest music competition festival in Korea featuring performances by people with developmental disabilities. It began in 2017 and is now in its fourth year. The event is hosted by the Heart Heart Foundation and sponsored by SK Innovation, the Ministry of Culture, Sports and Tourism, SM Entertainment, the Korea Cable TV Broadcasting Association, and the Community Chest of Korea, among others.

This year’s event was uncertain due to the ongoing COVID-19 pandemic, but reflecting the requests of developmental disability music groups and parents who wished to perform and compete, the competition was decided to be held in a non-face-to-face format under strict quarantine guidelines.

The stage performances of the developmental disability music groups participating in the finals were pre-recorded on the 21st. The main competition held on the 28th was conducted as a talk concert where the panel and judges watched the recorded final performances without an audience.

A total of 240 participants from 24 teams nationwide took part in the preliminary competition. Through fair judging, six teams were selected: two ensembles (SEM Duo, Grato Flute Ensemble), two orchestras (Beautiful Mind Orchestra, Einsbaum Wind Chamber), and two bands (Malgeun Sori Harmonica, Acoustic Guitar Duet SHINE).

Mr. Lim Han-bin of the ‘Einsbaum Wind Chamber’ team, which advanced to this year’s finals, said, “I am very happy to participate in the finals,” adding, “Although I cannot watch other teams’ performances directly due to COVID-19, I will confidently showcase the performance I have prepared over the past year on stage.”

SK Innovation will live stream the finals, held at 1 p.m. on the 28th, on the company’s official YouTube channel (http://www.youtube.com/user/askinnovation). During the broadcast, viewers can participate in real-time events through comments and win prizes through a lottery.

Prizes totaling 20 million KRW will be awarded to six teams, including a grand prize of 10 million KRW for one team. Additionally, participants will be given opportunities to continue pursuing their musical dreams through performance opportunities. The first grand prize-winning team, ‘Dream With Ensemble,’ was invited by the UN last year to perform in New York at the ‘2018 MIKTA Welcome Event’ commemorating the International Day of Persons with Disabilities.

This year’s talk concert at the finals will be hosted by broadcaster Lee Soo-geun of SM C&C, who is volunteering his talent for the third consecutive year. Jea of the girl group Brown Eyed Girls, who participated as a judge last year, will join as a panelist for the second time. Lee Soo-geun and Jea will engage in conversations with the six developmental disability performers who advanced to the finals on themes such as gratitude and gifts. Meanwhile, the congratulatory speech by the Minister of Culture, Sports and Tourism and the congratulatory stage by the girl group Red Velvet will be shown as recorded videos during the talk concert.

Im Soo-gil, head of public relations at SK Innovation, said, “We are very proud that the Great Music Festival, which began to support the dreams and challenges of people with developmental disabilities in music, is being held for the fourth time despite COVID-19,” adding, “We will continue to provide unwavering support so that people with developmental disabilities can nurture their dreams and hopes through performances as the years go by.”