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| Seung Myung-ho, the chairman of The Korea Times and its sister paper, the Hankook Ilbo, speaks in front of the Korean National Symphony Orchestra (KNSO) members at their practice room in Seoul, Dec. 30, 2022. Courtesy of KNSO |
By Dong Sun-hwa
Seung Myung-ho, the chairman of The Korea Times and its sister publication, the Hankook Ilbo, has established scholarships for Korean and international classical music students to bring more talent to the Korean National Symphony Orchestra (KNSO).
Starting this year, $2,000 will be given each to wind/string instrument players from abroad among those who participate in the annual KNSO International Academy, in the name of The Korea Times Scholarship. Among Korean participants, two will each receive 3 million won ($2,400) in the name of the Hankook Ilbo Scholarship. This scholarship program will run until 2030.
Separately from the academy, 8 million won will be also given as an award to the winner of the KNSO International Conducting Competition, which is being held every three years since 2021, to honor conductors creating a splash on the global stage. The monetary award will be offered through 2023.
"These scholarships are expected to help us attract more diverse students with musical prowess," KNSO President Choi Jung-sook said.
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| Seung Myung-ho, center, the chairman of The Korea Times, poses with the Korean National Symphony Orchestra (KNSO) staffers and members at their practice room in Seoul, Dec. 30, 2022. Courtesy of KNSO |
The scholarships and the awards have come from the 400-million-won donation Seung made to the KNSO since 2017, while serving as the chairman of the board for the orchestra from 2016 to 2022.
Besides the scholarship and the awards, the donation has also been used to buy a timpani and uniforms for the orchestra members and staffers.
In 2022, the KNSO ― formerly known as the Korean Symphony Orchestra ― was named a "national orchestra" by the Ministry of Culture, Sports and Tourism. In 2021, it appointed its first-ever foreign conductor, David Reiland from Belgium, who has been serving as the music director of the Orchestre National de Metz and the Sinfonietta Lausanne.
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