Sumi Jo, 341 Performers in "Symphony of a Thousand"... Gyeonggi Province's DMZ International Music Festival Opens Oct. 23

Four performances at Goyang Aram Nuri through October 25
Closing concert featuring Sumi Jo free for all attendees

Gyeonggi Province will hold the 2026 DMZ OPEN International Music Festival at Aram Music Hall in Goyang Aram Nuri from October 23 to 25. International and Korean musicians, including world-renowned soprano Sumi Jo and conductor Michael Sanderling, will present four performances centered on the theme of peace.

DMZ OPEN International Music Festival poster. Provided by Gyeonggi Province.

The festival is a major program of the 2026 DMZ OPEN Festival, a multidisciplinary arts festival held around the DMZ. Its theme, "PACE: Moving Toward Peace," draws inspiration from "pace," the Latin word for peace. The four performances will represent the beginning and awakening of peace, connection, and continuity.

At the opening concert on October 23, "Pulse: The Beat of a Beginning," Michael Sanderling will conduct the KBS Symphony Orchestra. The first piece will be composer Ian Hwan's "Spring Will Come." First performed worldwide by the Los Angeles Philharmonic last year, the revised version of the work, prepared for this festival, will be performed in Korea for the first time. It evokes the memories of the composer's grandmother, who left Haeju, Hwanghae Province, and was never able to return to her hometown, as well as her longing for home.

Son Sehyuk, winner of the piano section at this year's Prague Spring International Music Competition, will then perform Shostakovich's Piano Concerto No. 2. The second half will feature Shostakovich's Symphony No. 11, "The Year 1905."

"Awaken: Peace Awakens," to be held at 11 a.m. on October 24, will feature conductor Yeo Jaekyung, the Gyeonggi Philharmonic Orchestra, and violinist Lim Jiyoung. The festival-commissioned work "They Shall Never Be Silent by Day or Night" by composer Lee Han will receive its world premiere. The piece, in which the resonant sound of the kalimba expands across the full orchestra, depicts the process of moving step by step toward peace.

Lim Jiyoung, the first Korean to win the violin section of the Queen Elisabeth Competition in 2015, will perform Mendelssohn's Violin Concerto in E minor. The second half will feature Tchaikovsky's Symphony No. 4.

That same day at 7 p.m., the concert "Connect: Hearts United" will feature the Mahlerian Orchestra, led by conductor Jin Sol, performing Mahler's Symphony No. 8, "Symphony of a Thousand." Eight vocalists will take part, along with the Suwon City Choir, Anyang City Choir, Seoul Motet Choir, Neue Opera Chorus, and Gimpo City Children's Choir. A total of 341 performers, including the orchestra, will take the stage to create a majestic sound.

The closing concert on October 25, "Eternity: Peace That Continues," will feature Sumi Jo. She will perform with the Millennium Symphony Orchestra, conducted by Choi Youngsun, tenor Jin Won, and trumpeter Alex Volkov. The program includes opera arias by Bizet, Puccini, and Verdi, Brahms' "Hungarian Dance No. 5," and Yiruma's "Encore." The final piece will be Takatsugu Muramatsu's "Eternal Peace." Admission to the closing concert is free.

Tickets are available through the Goyang Aram Nuri website and NOL Ticket. For the 7 p.m. performances on October 23 and 24, tickets are KRW 30,000 for R seats, KRW 20,000 for S seats, and KRW 10,000 for A seats. Tickets for the 11 a.m. performance on October 24 are KRW 10,000 for all seats. Veterans, people with disabilities, students, and groups of four or more are eligible for a 50% discount.

Park Hyunseok, director of Gyeonggi Province's Peace Cooperation Bureau, said, "I hope this will be an opportunity to share the values of peace and coexistence embodied by the DMZ with audiences at home and abroad through the universal language of music," and called on residents to show their interest and take part.

This content was produced with the assistance of AI translation services.