GWANGJU SYMPHONY ORCHESTRA

The Gwangju Civic Symphony was formed in 1967 by students and alumni from Chosun University’s music department and local musicians. Led by Chosun music professor Sin-deok Jang, it was the first orchestral music in Gwangju. From this, seven years later in July 1976, the Gwangju Symphony Orchestra was officially founded as the city’s representative public orchestra.

Through its 43 years of history and tradition, the Gwangju Symphony Orchestra has held almost 350 regular concerts as well as over 800 other performances. In 2016, it recruited world-famous maestro Hongje KIM. While aspiring to represent not just Gwangju, but all of Asia, the orchestra is focusing its efforts on three major goals: improvement of musicianship and expansion of repertories, strengthening its domestic and foreign brand, and its orchestral education program.

The orchestra is developing and managing various kinds of opportunity programs including the concert commentary program Classic Talk, the age-specific programs GSO TEENS and GSO KIDS, a humanities concert, and more. The outdoor festival-style concert GSO PROMS began in 2018, and features performances and a music playground experience, and has become a major brand item for the orchestra through the active participation and positive responses from local residents.

In 2010, the Gwangju Symphony Orchestra was invited to Asia Orchestra Week and performed at the Opera City Concert Hall in Tokyo and Symphony Hall in Osaka. In 2016, to celebrate the 40th anniversary of its establishment, the orchestra rented the Tokyo Metropolitan Theatre of Japan. Ticket sales were unprecedented and 1,800 people attended, creating a regional sensation. In 2017, the orchestra undertook a concert tour in two European countries, performing at the Smetana Hall, Prague, Czech Republic, and the Linz Bruckner House, Austria, earning favorable reviews from the local public and media. In 2018, its performance at the Tama Center concert hall, Tokyo sold out. To improve its international brand, the Gwangju Symphony Orchestra is conducting concert tours overseas as well as actively pursuing exchanges with famous international orchestras. The orchestra devised joint recitals with members from world-famous orchestras including the Bavarian Radio Symphony Orchestra, Janacek Philharmonic Orchestra, and others. Gwangju Symphony Orchestra has further been selected as the host of the ‘Asia-Pacific Orchestra Summit 2020’ in October 2020.