Mapo Foundation launches morning concert series to make classical a habit

MAC Morning Concert to take place 10 times this year

(Clockwise from left) Concert guide and pianist Kim Yong-bae, conductos Kim Kwang-hyun, Year Ja-Kyung and Chung Hun and Orchestra M (Mapo Arts Center)

Mapo Arts Center will launch its new matinee program, the “MAC Morning Concert” series, offering 10 performances from March to December as part of an initiative to make classical music more accessible in everyday life.

Beginning March 25, the concerts will take place at 11 a.m. on the fourth Wednesday of each month. Tickets are priced at 20,000 won.

The series features commentary by concert guide and pianist Kim Yong-bae, who previously served as president of the Seoul Arts Center and led its flagship matinee program, the “11 O’Clock Concert.”

The inaugural concert on March 25, under the baton of Kim Kwang-hyun, will open with Rossini’s overture to "The Barber of Seville," followed by Paganini’s Violin Concerto No. 1, performed by violinist Song Ji-won.

The program will continue with mezzo-soprano Kim Sun-jung performing “Mon Coeur S’Ouvre a ta Voix” from Saint-Saens’ opera "Samson and Delilah" and “Habanera” from Bizet’s Carmen. In the second half, the orchestra will present Tchaikovsky’s Symphony No. 5.

From left: Violinist Song Ji-won, conductor Kim Kwang-hyun and mezzo soprano Kim Sun-jung (Mapo Arts Center)

The second concert, scheduled for April 22, will feature conductor Chung Hun, pianist Noh Ye-jin, and bassoonist Kwak Jung-sun performing Tchaikovsky’s Piano Concerto No. 1 and Vivaldi’s Bassoon Concerto in B-flat minor.

On May 27, conductor Year Ja-Kyung will lead the orchestra in Rodrigo’s Concierto Andaluz For four Guitars and Rimsky-Korsakov’s symphonic suite "Scheherazade" — famous in Korea for its use in figure skating programs by Olympic champion Kim Yuna.

Mapo Cultural Foundation said the series was designed to expand weekday daytime audiences for classical music by offering regular performances in an accessible format.

“The phrase I like is, ‘Art is emotion, but attending becomes a habit,’” said Koh Young-geun, CEO of the Mapo Foundation for Arts and Culture.

“The MAC Morning Concert is a new matinee series designed to help audiences enjoy classical music easily and naturally in their daily lives through regular monthly performances,” he added. “We hope to offer audiences a special experience of starting the day with the relaxation that music brings.”