Mapo Cultural Foundation to Open the 6th Mapo M Classic Festival on the 5th of Next Month

The main performers of the 6th Mapo M Classic Festival (from left: cellist Yang Seongwon, cellist Lim Heeyoung, harmonica player Park Jongseong, baritone Go Seonghyun, Forte di Quattro, cellist Shim Junho, guitarist Park Jongho, Brass Arts Seoul, Volche Quartet, conductor Choi Youngseon, commentator Jang Ilbeom, Millennium Symphony Orchestra)

[Asia Economy Reporter Donghyun Choi] The Mapo Cultural Foundation announced on the 28th that it will hold the "6th Mapo M Classic Festival," featuring leading domestic artists, from October 5 to 30.

Now in its sixth year, the Mapo M Classic Festival is an unprecedented large-scale pure arts festival. So far, it has hosted a total of 310 performances with 4,663 artists participating and attracted 429,414 spectators. Notably, last year's festival surpassed 200,000 online viewers by utilizing cutting-edge digital programs such as augmented reality (AR) and virtual reality (VR), even as most festivals disappeared due to the COVID-19 pandemic.

This year's festival conveys an environmental protection message through classical music under the slogan "Green With Classic." The themed performances include "Mapo Four Seasons," which captures the beauty of the four seasons disappearing due to environmental pollution and climate crisis in the form of music videos combined with classical music. The classical "Main Concert - Danginri Passion Classic," held in a newly created park built by undergrounding Korea's first thermal power plant, and five relay classical concerts "Classic On Live" delivering environmental protection messages, will also decorate the festival with diverse classical repertoires. Renowned domestic classical artists such as Forte di Quattro, cellists Yang Sung-won and Lim Hee-young, harmonica player Park Jong-sung, classical guitarist Park Jong-ho, cellist Shim Jun-ho, Volche Quartet, Brass Arts Seoul, Millennium Symphony Orchestra (conducted by Choi Young-sun), and music critic Jang Il-beom will participate. In particular, this festival will also meet audiences on various platforms including the metaverse, Kakao's social networking service (SNS) eum(mm), and YouTube. Detailed performance information is available on the Mapo Cultural Foundation website.

Song Je-yong, CEO of the Mapo Cultural Foundation, said, "The 6th Mapo M Classic Festival aims to convey the message of environmental protection, a global issue," adding, "We hope that many people who found classical music difficult will come closer to it through this festival."