"I Want to Open Europeans' Hearts with Korean Acoustic Sounds"

Interview with Wonil, Artistic Director of Gyeonggi Sinawi Orchestra
Invited Performances at Embassies in 5 European Countries Including Poland and Hungary from Sept 9-23
Renamed from Provincial Gugak Orchestra After Appointment... "Realizing Creativity in Korean Traditional Music Beyond Orchestral Music"

Wonil, Artistic Director of Gyeonggi Sinawi Orchestra. Photo by Gyeonggi Arts Center

[Asia Economy Reporter Kim Heeyoon] "The Sinawi Orchestra stage is a program that only we can do, so I am also looking forward to it."

On the 4th, the voice of Wonil, the artistic director of the Gyeonggi Sinawi Orchestra, who is focusing on rehearsals ahead of the European tour, was brighter than ever. From the 9th to the 23rd, the Gyeonggi Sinawi Orchestra will conduct a European tour to promote Korean music, officially invited by the Korean Cultural Centers and embassies in Poland, Hungary, Austria, Slovenia, and the Czech Republic.

Director Won said, "The performance we prepared after my appointment in 2019 is only now happening due to the spread of COVID-19," adding, "I thought Europe, which is sensitive to new music, was the best market, and that the music of our orchestra, which has diversity, could shine even more."

After his appointment, the Gyeonggi Provincial Gugak Orchestra changed its name to the Gyeonggi Sinawi Orchestra. Director Won diagnosed that Gugak orchestras are still in an incomplete stage compared to Western orchestras, but their style has conventionally been Westernized. Reflecting on this and aiming to take a step further, they changed the name of the group.

"If there are ten types of musical activities we do, one of them is Gugak orchestral music. We have proven that various genres are possible beyond orchestral music, such as concert meditation combining music and meditation, and Sinawi electronica. From a reflective perspective on the existing name of Gugak orchestra, we redefined the identity of the orchestra. We changed the name to express our intention not to remain only in Gugak orchestral music but to creatively realize Korean traditional music."

Performance scene of Gyeonggi Sinawi Orchestra's 'Dionysus Robot'. Photo by Gyeonggi Arts Center

During the European tour, the Gyeonggi Sinawi Orchestra aims to open hearts and provide opportunities for deep immersion by emphasizing Korean sounds and acoustics. They will open the first part, "The Beauty of Korea," with the Korean march-style fanfare music "Daechwita Yeok (易)" and perform folk songs filled with natural rhythms and excitement such as "Jeongseon Arari," "Han Obaeknyeon," "Singosan Taryeong," and "Gangwon-do Arirang."

In the second part, "Dynamic Korea," they will present "Dionysus Robot," which premiered at the Tongyeong International Music Festival. Director Won explained, "Dionysus Robot is a work that started from existential concerns about overcoming and transcending human madness and oneself," adding, "It contains the idea that the world becomes more diverse when impossible things coexist, and that inner madness can be managed healthily."

He continued, "According to Richard Dawkins' 'The Selfish Gene,' humans are survival machines, blindly programmed robot carriers to assist selfish molecules known as DNA. We set humans themselves as robots executing creativity and completed the work as an homage to Nam June Paik, the pioneer of video art."

Practice scene of Director Wonil and members of the Gyeonggi Sinawi Orchestra. Photo by Gyeonggi Art Center

In this work, Director Won poses the question of how true love for human existence, which must overcome itself, is possible. At the premiere at the Tongyeong International Music Festival, people from children to middle-aged adults stood up, danced, enjoyed, and actively responded to existential questions.

In traditional Gugak, Sinawi is a Sanjo (散調) instrumental piece characterized by Yukjabaegi. It creates a polyphonic effect while showing improvisational characteristics. Since his appointment as artistic director, Won has emphasized strengthening improvisational music capabilities and even changed the group’s name to Sinawi Orchestra. He expressed regret that Sinawi has long been understood narrowly as just one genre of improvisational music.

He said, "We are now at the stage of starting and advocating the aesthetic conceptualization of Sinawi, and it is necessary to interpret and unfold it diversely. This performance will be a place to see how our unique personality and individual creativity are ultimately realized, and how modern sound systems are understood and accepted." He added, "I think the result will soon become an indicator showing the current status of Korean music. Having composed pieces incorporating various experiences and prepared for reflective and creative realization of existing Gugak orchestras, I hope each repertoire will establish itself as an art piece even after the European performances."

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