With 5 Baritones, Embracing the Hope of the New Year

Baritone Ensemble 'The Tones Five' Holds New Year's Concert with Millennium Symphony at Seoul Arts Center
Baritones Go Seonghyun, Woo Juho, Kang Hyungkyu, Kim Dongseop, Han Myungwon Formed in 2016 to Popularize Classical Music

[Asia Economy Reporter Park Byung-hee] The baritone ensemble 'The Tones 5' will hold a New Year's concert on the 4th at the Seoul Arts Center Concert Hall together with the Millennium Symphony Orchestra.

The Tones 5 is composed of five domestic baritones. It was formed in 2016 with the intention of promoting classical music and vocal music more widely, including Professor Go Seong-hyun of Hanyang University College of Music, who won first place in the Puccini International Competition in Italy; baritone Woo Ju-ho, who received the Korea Opera Award in 2015 and won first place in the Francesco International Competition; Professor Kang Hyeong-gyu of Kyung Hee University College of Music, who won the Maria Callas International Competition; baritone Kim Dong-seop, the first Asian to win first place at the Munich ARD Competition; and Professor Han Myeong-won of Anyang University School of Arts, who recorded the youngest first place in the Verdi International Competition. When Woo Ju-ho proposed the idea to the eldest member Go Seong-hyun, he readily agreed, and the members were formed.

Woo Ju-ho said, "When we first discussed it, I think senior Go Seong-hyun thought it was necessary."

Go Seong-hyun said, "When we first created The Tones 5, there was excitement and joy, and it was enjoyable whenever we met. I have been doing vocal music for a long time, but I thought it was not right to just know one vocal technique I have pursued and go all the way with it. I thought about new energy that would stimulate me and was able to solve it through juniors. I wanted to help the juniors and share whatever little I knew."

Since its formation, The Tones 5 has performed about 10 times so far. All five are soloists with busy individual performance schedules, and each has their own responsibilities, so it was not easy for all five to coordinate schedules, but they did not hesitate to perform on small stages with the thought of contributing to the popularization of classical music.

Baritone ensemble 'The Tones Five'. From the left, baritones Woo Juho, Kang Hyungkyu, Go Sunghyun, Han Myungwon, and Kim Dongseop.

Kim Dong-seop said, "We started on small stages. We performed a lot on small stages with about 250 to 400 seats. I think we gradually expanded the stages. This time, we are performing with an orchestra on a big stage for the first time."

Woo Ju-ho said, "Last year, I took a break because I was busy with individual performance schedules. Until then, we did not perform with an orchestra to keep the performances light. We want to fulfill the social role of vocalists for the popularization of classical music. Although we are all soloists, we make concessions to each other and work together to create good harmony. Through The Tones 5, we have become very close. I hope more ensembles will be formed because of us."

The performance will also feature soprano Kim Soon-young, who is active on opera and musical stages; soprano Yoo Seong-nyeo, a visiting professor at Beijing Academy; and soprano Ham Hee-kyung.

They will perform famous opera arias as well as popular songs such as the art songs "Waiting Heart," "Edelweiss," "If I Were," and "You Raise Me Up."

The conductor will be Seo Hee-tae, artistic director and chief conductor of the Millennium Symphony Orchestra. Conductor Seo Hee-tae said, "Vocalists have the ability to fill a theater of 2,000 to 3,000 seats without using microphones. It is as if they have amplifiers attached to their breath, and they have trained this method for decades. Therefore, singing with the most natural voice without using a microphone is vocal music. Although vocal music is not popular, I believe anyone who listens once can fall for its charm. It will be a high-quality performance where you can fall for the charm of vocal music through five baritones, each with different attractions."

This content was produced with the assistance of AI translation services.