Sejong Center for the Performing Arts to Live Stream 5·18 Democratization Movement Commemorative Concert Online on the 16th

[Asia Economy Reporter Park Byung-hee] Sejong Center for the Performing Arts will hold the 'May Concert' commemorating the May 18 Democratic Uprising on the 16th at 8 PM in the Sejong Center Chamber Hall, and it will be broadcast live on Naver 518TV.

The May Concert is titled 'A Letter Sent in May,' symbolizing a humble letter sent to honor the spirit of the May 18 Democratic Uprising and to wish for the revival of its meaning.

Originally, Sejong Center for the Performing Arts had prepared a large-scale concert titled 'May, Resurrection' in front of Seoul City Hall on the 16th to commemorate the 40th anniversary of May 18. To this end, since December last year, Sejong Center conducted an open online audition nationwide for musicians, selecting the May Orchestra and May Choir composed of 518 members. The May Orchestra and May Choir of 518 members included prominent social figures who sympathize with the meaning of the May 18 Democratic Movement, professional performers, and May 18 merit recipients, with nine conductors scheduled to assist their rehearsals. However, just before rehearsals began, the outbreak of the novel coronavirus disease (COVID-19) occurred, leading to the cancellation of the 'May, Resurrection' performance.

Instead, Sejong Center prepared a small-scale, audience-free concert titled 'A Letter Sent in May,' allowing fewer participants to continue the original planning intent while adhering to 'social distancing' measures to prevent COVID-19.

In the 'A Letter Sent in May' performance, Gustav Mahler's Symphony 'Resurrection,' which was originally planned to be performed at 'May, Resurrection,' will be played. The motifs of each movement of 'Resurrection' are based on 'songs,' which conductor Koo Ja-beom personally translated into Korean. Soprano Oh Mi-sun, mezzo-soprano Kim Sun-jung, tenor Shin Dong-won, and baritone Yang Jun-mo, who were scheduled to participate as soloists and choir members in the 'May, Resurrection' performance, will sing in Korean. Additionally, four characters representing the fighters, righteous people, sages of May, and today's us will appear, expressing five episodes (Death, Dreaming Country, Life of Suffering, Hanbit, Resurrection) aligned with the symphony's order in a theatrical form to convey the narrative of the May 18 Democratic Uprising.

Jung Ha-na, concertmaster of the Gyeonggi Philharmonic Orchestra, will play the violin as the representative string instrument; Im Hyung-seop, conductor of the Cham Philharmonic Orchestra, will play the clarinet as the representative wind instrument; Hwang Young-kwang, who has performed with the China National Grand Theatre Symphony Orchestra, will play percussion; and Koo Ja-beom, former principal conductor of the Hanover State Opera, will play the piano.

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