World Mission Society Church of God

A Festival of Music to Unite the World Into One

Nation | South Korea
Date | May 03, 2010

Music is the language of the soul, which conveys deep emotions and beauty we are unable to fully express in words or writing. Even though we cannot communicate with each other because of the language barrier, we can open our minds and share emotions with each other by means of music.

After successfully fi nishing the concerts to help earthquake victims in Haiti and Chile and to wish success at the 2011 Daegu IAAF World Championships in Athletics, which were held respectively in Busan, Gwangju and Daegu, the Messiah Orchestra prepared another special concert in May, called a “Month of Family” in Korea. For the global family who are making a living in Korea, leaving their home country, the Orchestra held the “13th Messiah Orchestra Tour Concert for Foreigners” at the Seoul Olympic Gymnasium twice on May 3 and 4. Over 40,000 people attended the concert, including the Church members in the Seoul area, Seoul citizens, multi-cultural families, each country’s embassy staff and their families, and foreigners in Korea on business. They experienced the precious emotion of being united as one through music.

Before the concert, General Pastor Joo-Cheol Kim gave a welcome message to the guests and the audience, and stated the purpose of this concert, saying, “In this age of globalization, Korea has also become a multicultural country. Living in this multicultural society, we want to share heartfelt love with foreigners who are staying in Korea.” Then he expressed his wish, saying, “I hope you will have great time and feel that all humanity is one family beyond the boundaries of nationality, race and language, through music which contains the love of God the Mother.”

Soon after, the Messiah Orchestra came on the stage. Beginning with the first piece titled “The Bright, Heavenly Way,” which stands out for the delicate melody played on the strings, the Orchestra gave special emotions to the audience with diverse performances. They performed classical music familiar to the public, such as Beethoven’s “The Destiny,” Brahms’ “Hungarian Dance,” in addition to the performances of Barbershop Quartet, an ensemble of a cappella and popera, and the New Songs which express the beauty of heaven and the power of God, and so on. When the last performance “Strauss’ Radetzky March” finished, the audience gave a standing ovation and acclamation.

Abdul Hadi Al Shulayman, the manager of the Korea branch of Saudi Arabian Oil Co.(Saudi Aramco), which is the world’s largest oil company, conveyed his thanks to the Church that hosted the concert, saying, “I have missed my home country very much since I came to Korea. Today my wife and I were very comforted and touched while listening to good music. It was a really wonderful performance; we had great time to share our mind with people from around the world.”

Lakshitha Ratnayake, Ambassador of the Sri Lankan Embassy in Korea, gave a favorable comment about the concert, saying, “It was an amazing performance which united the world into one through music—the universal language,” and he hoped that this kind of concert would be continued. Kamal Prasad Koirala, Ambassador of the Nepalese Embassy in Korea also expressed his delight at being invited to the concert which delivered the message of love to foreigners.

Cho Geum-ho, the Director of Migrant Workers Welfare Society in Korea, welcomed the concert more than anyone else,saying, “Foreigners living in Korea go through many difficulties and feel alienated because of language and cultural differences. But music enables us to communicate with each other heart to heart even though we speak different languages and have different cultures. In this respect, today’s concert is truly meaningful. I’d like to kindly ask you to hold this musical event often to inspire people to be conscious that foreigners are not aliens, but members of one global family.”

Birger Svensson, who attended the concert with his daughter whom he had adopted from Korea 27 years ago, was delighted to be a part of such a special memory in Korea, saying, “Although I don’t know much about music, today’s concert was really touching. Especially, the New Song was the most beautiful and dynamic music I’d ever heard. This deep emotion will last long in my heart. Koreans are great people in many ways. I will make sure my daughter is proud to be a Korean.” The melody of the soul which contains the love of Elohim is knocking on the doors to the minds of numerous people, transcending borders and language. The Messiah Orchestra emits the scent of life more strongly as they perform more and more often. This festival of music is expected to be continued in other cities including Incheon, Daejeon and Seongnam.