One Fine Day in October
(Serenade to Spring)
2021 ACC Citizen Orchestra Classical Music Performance
Summary
- Article
- Performance
- #Citizens' Orchestra
- #Classical
- # Concert
I visited the Asian Culture Center (ACC) on a Saturday afternoon to see the classical performance of the ACC Citizen Orchestra in Art Theater 1. Because of the prolonged COVID-19 pandemic, we are all having a difficult time, and our daily routines have been disrupted. The performances and exhibitions that I used to enjoy with my family on the weekends have long stopped, and it has become more natural for me to avoid people. Recently, however, we have entered the “Living with COVID-19” era, and step-by-step measures for the recovery of daily life are being proposed as social distancing measures are relaxed. It’s time to straighten our shoulders and restart our daily routines, starting with a night watching the ACC Citizen Orchestra perform. The audience, who was as thirsty for performances as I was, came to the art theater.
The ACC Citizens Orchestra held a classical performance at 5:00 p.m. on October 24 with conductor Kim Young-eon and 38 citizen musicians. It is the representative regional cooperation program of the ACC and was formed to revitalize culture and art in daily life. The ACC Citizen Orchestra consists of 40–50 amateur musicians who underwent a four-month practice course with professional musicians before this performance. Their careers are diverse, as some of them momentarily gave up music to make a living when they were younger or have dreamt of acting as performers in the future. The ACC Citizen Orchestra started in 2017, which commenced the citizens’ participation program, “We will help you take out musical instruments from your closet.” After noticing the citizens’ active audience response and participation, the ACC wanted to give people more opportunities for musical performances. Thus, they recruit amateur members every year, regardless of their age and nationality, and even those who auditioned in the previous year can audition again to guarantee fairness.
After a brief greeting from the art director, Yoo Hyung-min, the long-awaited performance finally began. The orchestra members and audience wearing masks created a unique atmosphere that I had never felt before. Although the art theater was not filled because of the social distancing–seat system, the theater was nevertheless filled with the audience’s passion. Applause erupted around the room to welcome conductor Kim Young-eon when he appeared onstage.
The performance started with Gioachino Rossini’s La gazza ladra, filling the room with cheerful, march-style music. They played an excellent selection of songs to comfort and encourage all who endured gloomy days and started anew during the pandemic. La gazza ladra, said to have marked the beginning of the Bel Canto style, is an Opera semiseria composed of two acts. It harmonizes tragedy and comedy and has the characteristics of both the opera seria and opera buffa.
Edvard Grieg’s Piano Concerto in A minor was performed by the ACC Citizen Orchestra and pianist Kim Min-jun. This piece is so famous that even those who don’t like classical music have heard it at least once. The audience could not take their eyes off the timpanist when the performance began with repeated timpani sounds. This specific song left an impression on the crowd because of its introduction’s strong and impressive descending chord. It requires a skillful performer who can pound the keyboard for the first theme’s fortissimo. The cello entered in the second theme, and the piano received the melody again, escalating the heat of the performance. The audience could unwittingly feel the flow of their emotions following the orchestra performance. It was the moment when they became one with the music. In addition, directly seeing Kim Min-jun’s hands moving passionately over the keyboard was a pleasure that spectators could not look away from. His beautifully produced melodies with the ACC Citizen Orchestra received deafening rounds of applause from the audience between performances.
The only Korean song, I Will Live in the Green Mountains, performed by the ACC Citizen Orchestra was presented by baritone Baek Young-jun. Its composer, Kim Yeon-jun, supposedly wrote the song’s lyrics and melodies while imprisoned in a detention center in 1973 for being involved in Yoon Pil-yong’s grave slip-of-the-pen incident. Despite its short length, the song leaves a lasting impression and sublimates the pain and suffering of the world. Baek Young-jun won the top prize in the vocal music sector at the Citizen Musician Competition. In line with the purpose of the ACC Citizen Orchestra, he showed the skills of a citizen vocalist, presenting another joy and source of laughter to the audience.
Johannes Brahms’ Variations on a Theme by Haydn was the last song played. It is an adaptation of Variations on a Theme, composed by Joseph Haydn, in two versions, for two pianos and an orchestra. The purity and elegance of its classical style harmonize with the warm tone, making it the perfect grand finale to the performance.
Even after the performance of the ACC Citizen Orchestra had already ended, not a single audience member left their seat. Awe hung over the spectators as they continued to clap, confirming that the performers’ difficult four months of practice were not fruitless. Kim Young-eon appeared again onstage again to respond to the calls of the audience. He looked shy, different from when he was conducting. “I am very much honored to be with you on this fine day in October.“ As soon as the conductor finished his words, the sound of the song One Fine Day in October (Serenade to Spring), performed by the ACC Citizen Orchestra, filled the art theater, with audience members even humming along. I want to offer a round of applause to the ACC Citizen Orchestra, and all of us, who beautifully filled a Saturday afternoon in October.
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Written by Beom Young. daphnestory20@naver.com
Photo. Provided by ACC
2021.11
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