SK Innovation holds first overseas Great Music Festival in Atlanta

SK Innovation hosted its first overseas Great Music Festival in Atlanta, where musicians with developmental disabilities showcased their talents and competed for prizes.

Musicians perform at the Great Music Festival in USA, a music competition for people with developmental disabilities, in Atlanta, Georgia on Sunday. [SK INNOVATION]

SK Innovation held its first overseas Great Music Festival (GMF), a music competition for people with developmental disabilities, in Atlanta, Georgia on Sunday.

Five teams of musicians took the stage at the festival held at Lawrenceville Arts Center in Atlanta.

The grand prize was awarded to Joshua Ward for his performance on the piano, along with a cash prize of $2,000. “I’m so happy to receive the grand prize for this event. I can now replace my broken keyboard with the prize money,” (translated) he said.

Viola and violin duo Vivace Ensemble, the winner of the 2021 GMF, and The SOOP, a Georgia-based orchestra for musicians with disabilities, also graced the stage as guest performers.

More than 250 locals were in the audience to enjoy the festival. Cathy Thacker, president of the Georgia Music Teachers Association, and Dr. Gregory Pritchard, director and conductor for the Gwinnett Symphony Orchestra, attended as part of the judging panel.

“It was an amazing experience. It was very emotional, seeing the children with disabilities putting on beautiful performances and working together,” (translated) said Thacker.

Held annually in Korea since 2017, the GMF is a music competition aimed at celebrating and generating opportunities for musicians with developmental disabilities. It is organized by the Heart to Heart Foundation and supported by SK Innovation, the Ministry of Culture, Sports and Tourism and SM Entertainment.

Hundreds of teams and individuals compete to perform at the GMF, but only six finalists get the chance to perform at the festival every year.

Over the last seven years, some 2,070 contestants and a total of 191 teams across the country have performed in the contest.

The teams are judged based on the musicians' skills and stage performance, as well as their track record for how long the members have been consistently practicing together and whether the teams were managed in ways conducive to the growth of the musicians.

GMF in USA grand prize winner Joshua Ward poses for a photo at Lawrenceville Arts Center in Atlanta, Georgia. [SK INNOVATION]

Previous winners of the GMF have been invited to perform at the GMF Charity Night Gala, such as in November last year, when winners performed for diplomatic envoys from 36 nations and their families. Dream with Ensemble, the grand prize winner of the first GMF, was invited to South Africa in September by the Nelson Mandela Foundation and the Korean Embassy in South Africa to celebrate the 30th anniversary of diplomatic relations between the two countries.

Such cultural and diplomatic exchanges were the driving force behind the decision to host the GMF in other countries, according to SK Innovation.

The GMF held on Sunday was the first to be held outside of Korea, and aimed to foster relations with the local community. SK Innovation subsidiary SK on’s two battery production factories are located in Georgia.

“We will spare no efforts in providing support for the expansion of social value, not only in the United States but in all areas where our overseas SK Innovation business offices are located,“ said Lim Su-kil, head of the Value Creation Center at SK Innovation.

This year's GMF Charity Night Gala, jointly hosted by the Korea JoongAng Daily, will be held on Oct. 31 in Seoul.

BY KIM JU-YEON [kim.juyeon2@joongang.co.kr]