Orchestra offers unique concerts to attract younger audience

The Korea National Symphony Orchestra is broadening its reach by sending young members of the Korea National Symphony Orchestra to perform in innovative spaces.

KNSO's new quartet consisting of violinists Kim Jeong, Kim A-hyun, violist Yoon Jee-hyun and cellist Choi Jung-woo took the stage Saturday at Concino Concrete, a popular place for listening to vinyl music in Paju, Gyeonggi Province.

The quartet, still unnamed, performed Czech composer Bedrich Smetana’s String Quartet No. 1 in E minor “From My Life.” It also played the highlight of Dvorak's Symphony No. 7, as a preview for the symphony orchestra’s regular concert on July 21 which will feature conductor Leos Svarovsky and cellist Jan Vogler. Between each piece, the host, clad in a sky-blue jumpsuit, provided humorous explanations about the composers, the pieces and the musicians of the night.

The night’s event was part of the KNSO’s efforts to draw in people in their 20s and 30s. The orchestra does this by performing outside of traditional concert venues and outside of typical classical concert formats.

A notable effort is the "Classical Music with the Five Senses" series for which the orchestra has performed at Deoksugung Palace, multipurpose cultural spaces like Yeonnamjang and Sayoo in Seoul and Arthicul in Busan.

The very birth of the quartet also represents the orchestra's strategy of employing young performers to attract young audiences. Kim Jeong, the first violinist of KNSO, leads violinist Kim A-hyun, violist Yoon Jee-hyun and cellist Choi Jung-woo, who joined the orchestra only last year.

"Concino Concrete is the largest LP music listening space in the country and a sanctuary for hipsters. The Korea National Symphony Orchestra collaborated with Concino Concrete to expand its reach with (millennials and Generation Z). We aim to provide a delightful first experience of classical music to the new generations, whose ways of consuming art have become more diverse," an official of KNSO said.