By Lee Hyo-won
Staff Reporter
El Sistema is famous for fostering talents like Venezuelan conductor Gustavo Dudamel, who, through the youth project, went from the barrios to Beethoven and now conducts, at age 28, the Los Angeles Philharmonic.
A Korean version is underway in Seoul, and a festival through Aug. 17 invites the public to watch students under instruction in concert with premier musicians from the Lincoln Center Chamber Music Society.
LG and the Lincoln Center jointly launched in March the LG-Lincoln Center Chamber Music School and 20 musically gifted underprivileged children were selected to partake in the two-year classical music program.
The music school, taking place at the Yewon School in Jeong-dong, Seoul, has been following a curriculum that was carefully drawn up by local and Lincoln Center-based professionals. David Finckel and Wu Han, artistic directors of the Lincoln Center Chamber Music Society, head the program as music directors.
``The children have been receiving piano, violin, cello and viola lessons from local professors once a week every Saturday at Yewon School. The program will continue for the next two years,'' said An Yeong-hun from the publicity desk at LG.
The festival through Aug. 17 invites Lincoln Center Chamber Music Society musicians, including Finckel, Wu and violinist Ian Swensen. The three musicians will give students six-hour lessons everyday and give a concert Friday at Konjiam Resort, Gyeonggi Province. The program features chamber works by Beethoven and Smetana.
At 4 p.m. Saturday, a student concert will take place at the same venue. The same evening at 8 p.m. popular local artists ― violinist Baek Ju-young and cellist Song Young-hoon (Young Song) ― and renowned Chinese pianist Xu Zhong will take the stage.
Admission to all concerts will be processed on a first come, first served basis. Call 3777-2103.