Gyeonggi-do, Closing of the '2024 DMZ OPEN International Music Festival'

Delivering a Message of Peace and the Future
with Deep Emotion to the Public

The ‘DMZ OPEN International Music Festival,’ which delivers messages of ecology, environment, peace, and harmony through music, concluded its performances on the 16th with an audience of over 3,800 attendees.

DMZ OPEN Festival Orchestra (Conductor Yurek Dybal). Provided by Gyeonggi Province

Held from the 9th to the 16th at Goyang Aram Nuri, the ‘DMZ OPEN International Music Festival’ featured top-tier domestic and international artists such as Baek Geon-woo (piano), Park Hye-sang (soprano), Dmytro Udovychenko (violin), and Sergey Nakariakov (trumpet). The overall planning was led by Lim Mi-jung, the general director of the DMZ OPEN Festival.

The opening concert on the 9th featured the KBS Symphony Orchestra (conducted by Leos Svarovsky) and Baek Geon-woo performing arrangements including Arirang Fantasy (arranged by Choi Seong-hwan), Scriabin’s Piano Concerto, and Dvo??k’s Symphony No. 8, creating a stage of harmony. The concert on the 10th was a ‘Cinema Concert’ themed around film music, featuring the DMZ OPEN Festival Orchestra (conducted by Ahn Doo-hyun), Park Jong-hae (piano), and Brandon Choi (saxophone). On the 12th, China’s Li Biao Percussion Group performed, followed on the 13th by Dmytro Udovychenko (violin) and Yoon Hong-chun (piano). On the 14th, the Radom Chamber Orchestra from Poland (conducted by Jurek Dybal) and Sergey Nakariakov (trumpet) performed. The 15th featured Brahms sonatas by Kim Seo-hyun (violin) and Bae Jin-woo (piano), along with a performance by the Incheon City Choir. The closing concert on the 16th was the finale, with the DMZ OPEN Festival Orchestra (conducted by Jurek Dybal), Park Hye-sang (soprano), and Dmytro Udovychenko (violin).

The participating artists shared various reflections on their involvement in this international music festival.

The Li Biao Percussion Group, performing in Korea for the first time, said, “The unique excitement of the percussion instruments we play combined with the passionate response of the Korean audience allowed us to deliver an even more dynamic performance.”

Dmytro Udovychenko, a violinist gaining worldwide attention after winning the Queen Elizabeth Competition, stated, “Participating in this international music festival made me think even more earnestly about anti-war and peace, recalling my homeland Ukraine, which is experiencing the horrors of war. I hope that music can convey messages of comfort and peace.”

Leos Svarovsky, a Czech conductor, expressed his admiration for collaborating with Korea’s master pianist Baek Geon-woo, while Sergey Nakariakov, known as the “Paganini of the trumpet,” joined in delivering the message of peace with his overwhelming performance skills.

An audience member who attended the performances shared, “It was the best concert with a diverse and popular program,” expressing their deep impression. Another viewer said, “It was the best concert with high-level performances by artists showing top skills and rare percussion instrument performances.”

Particularly, the exquisite selection of ‘Arirang Fantasy,’ which embodies the spirit of the DMZ OPEN Festival, received high praise, and many resonated with the festival’s program that conveyed peace and a bright future.

The ‘DMZ OPEN International Music Festival’ was the final event of the DMZ OPEN Festival, which had been ongoing since May, and with the closing of the music festival, the entire festival also came to an end.

Oh Hu-seok, the Vice Governor for Administrative Affairs of Gyeonggi Province, said, “The DMZ OPEN International Music Festival has become an opportunity to widely spread the value of the DMZ and the message of peace conveyed through music. We will continue to strive so that many people can form a consensus for peace together.”