KT, 'Classics with Heart'... All Proceeds Donated to Hearing-Impaired Children Treatment

Matinee Concert at Yesul-ui Jeondang on the Fourth Friday of Every Month
264 Performances Over 11 Years Since the First Show in 2009

[Asia Economy Reporter Eunmo Koo] KT announced on the 18th that it will hold the ‘Classics with Heart’ concert at the Seoul Arts Center Concert Hall.

‘Classics with Heart’ is a continuation of KT’s ‘Saturday Afternoon Chamber Music with KT,’ which has been held for the past 11 years. Starting with the first performance on the 26th, it will be held every fourth Friday of the month at 11 a.m.

‘Saturday Afternoon Chamber Music with KT’ is KT’s representative ESG (Environmental, Social, Governance) activity aimed at enhancing corporate value and creating social value. It began on May 16, 2009, with the opening of the KT Mokdong Chamber Hall. It is open to KT Group employees as well as anyone who loves classical music. To date, there have been 264 performances with a total audience of 100,000 people.

The concert proceeds will be used for ‘Sori Chatgi’ (Finding Sound), KT’s longest-running social contribution program started in 2003. It supports hearing-impaired children by providing cochlear implant surgeries, digital hearing aids, and rehabilitation education, helping approximately 9,000 children find sound to date.

The first concert in collaboration with the Arts Center will feature commentary by Kim Yong-bae, honorary professor at Chugye University for the Arts and former president of the Seoul Arts Center, who is known as the originator of matin?e concerts (daytime performances). The KT Symphony Orchestra, conducted by Lee Taek-joo, honorary professor at Ewha Womans University and former concertmaster of the Seoul Philharmonic Orchestra, will perform Grieg’s ‘Peer Gynt Suite,’ Tchaikovsky’s ‘The Nutcracker,’ Mendelssohn’s ‘Piano Concerto No. 1,’ as well as representative arias by Verdi, Offenbach, Puccini, Saint-Sa?ns, and Bizet. Pianist Kim Yoon-kyung, soprano Kim Soo-yeon, and mezzo-soprano Kim Sun-jung will also participate.

Tickets are priced at 30,000 KRW for general seating and 15,000 KRW for third-floor seats, and can be purchased through the Arts Center website and Interpark. Additionally, KT will operate only 1,100 of the total 2,200 seats in the Arts Center Concert Hall, reducing capacity by 50%, and will comply with COVID-19 prevention guidelines and protocols.

Lee Seon-joo, Executive Director of KT’s ESG Management Promotion Office, said, “KT planned ‘Classics with Heart’ with the Seoul Arts Center to bring vitality during the difficult times of COVID-19 and support the shrinking cultural and arts sector. Going forward, we will continue to deliver messages of hope and promote values of coexistence in line with the group’s ESG direction through heartfelt activities.”

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