Fun, Didactic Concerts Beckon Children
By Lee Hyo-won
Staff Reporter
Summer vacation is in full swing, and families with students and children should get ready to mark off dates in their August calendars ― this month the Seoul art scene presents a host of music events that offer entertainment with an educational twist.
Tailored for Students
Nowon Culture Art Center, northern Seoul, offers a series of diverse musical programs dubbed ``edu-concerts'' for adolescents throughout the entire month, ranging from classical to folk, jazz and world music.
In ``Music Box of Vienna'' (Wednesday at 11 a.m. and 4 p.m.), a group of mice will introduce the young audience to Vienna, Austria, the Classical and Early Romantic Ages and the great classical musicians that defined them ― namely Mozart, Beethoven, Schubert, Haydn and Johann Strauss II.
Performances of works by these composers will be accompanied by videos and performances such as mime and magic shows.
The KBS Traditional Music Orchestra (7:30 p.m., Aug. 29) will mix tradition with modernity. Children will be able to hear various songs ranging from movie soundtracks to folk songs and pop on traditional instruments including the ``haegeum'' (two-string fiddle) and ``piri'' (reed flute) and in the form of ``pansori'' (opera).
The Seoul Muse Wind Orchestra (7:30 p.m., Aug. 21), which is comprised of wind and percussive instruments, will play for students a wide range of songs, including ``Minuet'' from Bizet's opera ``L'Arlesienne'' featuring soloist Kim Yu-na, and Kim Heui-gap's ``Hyangsu'' (perfume).
Last but not least, Nowon wraps up its summer program with an introduction to opera, ``Enjoying Opera'' (3 p.m. and 6 p.m., Aug. 22). Shim Geum-ho, artistic director of Opera M, will provide witty commentaries for a selection of staple operatic arias from Mozart's ``The Marriage of Figaro'' and ``Don Giovani'' and Puccini's ``Tosca'' and ``Turdandot.''
Tickets for all edu-concerts cost 10,000 won. Call (02) 951-3355.
Yeongsan Art Hall, Yeouido, Seoul, restages the colorful summer concert series (3 p.m. and 7:30 p.m., Aug. 14-19) that gave sellout performances for the past three years at Seoul Arts Center. Complete with narrations, the program features an orchestral concert (Aug. 14) and various combinations of chamber groups ― including a two-piano show (Aug. 15) ― as well as vocal works (Aug. 17-18).
Organizers will offer a selection of the program in a concert at Seoul Arts Center, Aug. 22. Tickets for either venue cost 10,000-20,000 won. Call (02) 586-0945.
For the Entire Family
Goyang Aram Nuri Arts Complex, Gyeonggi Province, is offering Aug. 13-16 a special summer production, Mozart's ``The Magic Flute.'' Seoul Arts Center has been staging the comic opera every summer, but this show is particularly made for family audiences.
The production, however, has been made ``understandable'' rather than ``easy'' for younger audience members or those new to opera. The libretto (lines), except for the aria, will be in Korean, but the intense drama, comedy and artistry will remain intact.
Musically, opera buffs can look forward to an impressive Queen of the Night ― the leading soprano role was selected through an intense audition with a competition rate of 1:100. Conducted by Kim Duk-gi, the Prime Philharmonic Orchestra will captivate children and adults alike amid breathtaking visuals.
Tickets cost 10,000-50,000 won. Call 1577-7766.
Audiovisual Concerts
Several eye- and ear-pleasing performances await concertgoers. Not to be missed is one combining animation and orchestra, Aug. 19-20 at the Sejong Center for the Performing Arts, downtown Seoul.
The Seoul Metropolitan Youth Orchestra will play Prokofiev's ``Peter and the Wolf'' in tune to the animated film of the same name. The animation features the stop frame motion technique, which was made famous through works like ``Wallace & Gromit'' and ``Chicken Run,'' and won the Oscar for Best Animated Short Film at the 2008 Academy Awards.
Children of all ages ― which of course includes adults ― can look forward to the live music and lively story. Music columnist Jin Hoe-suk will provide commentaries. Tickets cost 10,000-40,000 won. Visit www.sejongpac.or.kr or call 1544-1555.
Orchestra meets the art of dance in the KBS Symphony Orchestra's concert for children, ``Sleeping Beauty,'' Aug. 22, KBS Hall, Yeouido.
Tchaikovsky's classic ballet score will come to life under the baton of Ryu Seong-gyu for the third act featuring the Sleeping Beauty's happy marriage to her prince charming. The ballet team from Sunwha Arts High School will provide the beautiful ballet moves.
There will be two performances, at 2 p.m. and 4:30 p.m. Tickets cost 10,000-13,000 won. Call (02)781-2251.
Young concertgoers can enjoy more music inspired by dance in harpist Kwak Jung's concert, ``Dance! Dance!! Dance!!!,'' to be held Aug. 23 at Seoul Arts Center.
The concert showcases exciting musical forms that are also traditional dances, including Chopin's ``Polonaise'' (a stately Polish dance in a moderate triple meter), Handel's ``Passacaglia'' (a continuous set of variations based on a repeating bass line that is also a courtly dance) and Tchaikovsky's waltzes.
A dancer will demonstrate the respective dances to the beautiful harp renditions of the music. Kwak became famous when she appeared as soloist in the Zubin Mehta-led Israelian Philharmonic's Korean debut in 1997.
Kwak is a spokesperson for the children's benefit group United Help for International Children (UHIC), and so some 500 underprivileged children will be invited to the event. Tickets cost 20,000-25,000 won. Call (02) 780-5054.