Cho Jae-hyon
Staff Reporter
For members of the Boystown Symphony Orchestra, music provides guidance and the magic of it has led them to the prestigious Carnegie Hall.
The orchestra, also known as Aloysius Symphony Orchestra, is comprised of students who have been abandoned by their birth parents and raised at an orphanage run by nuns.
They will take the Perelman Stage of Carnegie Hall at 8 p.m. on Feb. 11 for a benefit concert and are practicing for more than eight hours daily.
“They are both nervous and thrilled about the upcoming performance ... It’s a dream come true for them,”Sister Pulcheria, who is taking care of the members told The Korea Times. “They are practicing virtually all day long.”
The orchestra was founded in 1979 by the Sister Maria Foundation, with members selected from students at the Busan-based Aloysius middle and high school. Its mission is to reach out to the neglected sector of society and embrace them through the love of music.
“Most of the students at our school are orphans whom we have raised since birth,” the sister said. “The music is like a guiding light for the orchestra members.”
The orchestra currently has a total of 97 members _ 42 students enrolled at the schools and 55 graduates from the schools. Some musicians from Miracle of Music, a non-profit foundation set up by Maestro Chung Myung-whun, will join them for the concert in New York. Chung helped arrange their Carnegie Hall debut.
In 2008, the orchestra performed with conductor Chung and cellist Chung Myung-wha in a series of benefit concerts for the orphanage. Rising young conductor Chung Min, the son of Maestro Chung, is leading the orchestra. Under his baton, the group has improved at an exceptional pace.
“Their Carnegie Hall debut has a profound meaning for all of them. They have this once-in-a-lifetime chance to show their talent on a world-class stage. They should obviously feel proud of themselves,” Sister Pulcheria said. “I heard that it’s unprecedented that a youth orchestra will take the Carnegie stage. They will perform not only as members of the orchestra but as representatives of all Korean young people.”
Asked who he hopes will listen to the performance, Nam Jin, a senior at the middle school, told a daily: “I don’t know where they are, but I wish my mother and father will listen to it.”
Maestro Chung’s Miracle of Music will cover most of the costs for the trip to New York. Still, the budget is very tight.
“We are a bit worried about a tight budget. We are also trying hard to raise funds as there are still some things we have to take care of,” Sister Pulcheria said.
The orchestra will play Verdi’s overture to “La forza del destino,” selections from “La Traviata” and Tchaikovsky’s Symphony No. 5.
Before embarking for the Carnegie performance, they will have two more domestic performances _ at Seoul Eunpyong Cultural Center on Jan. 30 and at the citizens’ cultural center in Gwacheon, Gyeonggi Province on Feb. 5.
The Sisters of Mary was established by priest Aloysius Schwartz who started his charity programs for the orphans in Korea in 1957 and founded the religious congregation of the Sisters of Mary in 1964 in Amnamdong, Busan.