Gokseong County Youth Orchestra Inaugural Concert Draws High Interest from Residents

A Moving Moment Presented by the Children of Gokseong Through Music

[Gokseong=Asia Economy Honam Reporting Headquarters Reporter Kim Chunsu] On the 22nd, the Gokseong County Youth Orchestra held its inaugural concert.

The inaugural concert, hosted by traditional musician Oh Jeonghae and led by conductor Lee Junhaeng, received high praise for its well-structured program lasting 1 hour and 30 minutes.

Local residents showed great interest by watching the live-streamed performance on YouTube and posting real-time supportive comments.

The Gokseong County Youth Orchestra was founded in July last year. As Gokseong County has positioned education as a core policy, the orchestra aims to provide various experiences to discover the potential of youth.

The members consist of about 140 students mainly from Gokseong, Seokgok, and Okgwa Middle Schools. Due to COVID-19, only about 80 students participated in this inaugural concert. The performance was also held non-face-to-face via the Future Education Foundation’s YouTube channel.

The concert opened with congratulatory videos from the orchestra’s instructors. Then, General Director Yoo Seongwoo appeared to explain how the county youth orchestra was established, followed by the start of the performance.

The main performance proceeded in the order of ensemble pieces by the three middle schools and individual school performances.

The ensemble pieces included ▲The Gates of Kiev and Hopak ▲Waltz No. 2 ▲African Symphony. The school-specific performances featured ▲Avengers Theme ▲Hallamarch ▲Rose Festival Overture, among others.

Although the orchestra was founded only half a year ago, the students played beautiful melodies in harmony without discord, prompting a continuous stream of supportive comments on the live broadcast screen.

A collaboration with a famous local vocalist also shone. Baritone Kim Kihoon, a native of Gokseong and Okgwa High School alumnus who won 2nd place at the 2019 International Tchaikovsky Competition, participated as a guest performer. Accompanied by the orchestra, he performed ▲Hamangyeon and ▲Longing for Geumgangsan, delivering a moving stage shared by seniors and juniors.

Yoo Geunki, the head of the Gokseong County Youth Orchestra and county governor, said, “Today’s concert was a time to witness the children’s infinite potential and a stage that offered hope to local residents through music. We will strive to help more students develop sensitivity and grow into caring individuals through orchestra activities.”

The inaugural concert can be viewed again on the Gokseong County Future Education Foundation’s YouTube channel.