1st International Organ Competition in Korea launched

Sep 23, 2019

From left, Lotte Foundation for Arts President Kim Sun-kwang, professor Oh Ja-kyung, professor Arvid Gast and organist Park Joon-ho speak during a press conference about the 1st International Organ Competition of Korea (IOCK), held on Sept. 18 at the Lotte Concert Hall in southern Seoul.

Korea's very first international organ competition has launched this month and will begin to receive applications from all over the world starting next month. Korea already has domestic organ competitions, but this will be the nation's first international competition to nurture and support global organists.

The Lotte Foundation for Arts and the Korean Organists' Association have jointly initiated the annual competition. Lotte Concert Hall, located in Songpa-gu in southeastern Seoul, which opened to the public in late 2015, will provide the competition's venue, as it is Korea's only top-notch concert hall that's equipped with a pipe organ. Some 5,000 pipes of 68 different types (68 stops) installed across the three floors of the hall can produce sumptuous and deep sounds for audiences. Renowned Austrian organ manufacturer company Rieger spent more than two years to complete the sophisticated instrument worth more than $2.1 million.

Lotte Concert Hall in southeastern Seoul is Korea's only top-notch concert hall equipped with a pipe organ. Rieger's 5,000-pipe organ creates sumptuous and deep sounds for audiences.

"Lotte Concert Hall is Korea's very first concert hall for classical music that has installed a pipe organ, and we have held many concerts on the organ for the public. In July, we all heard the news that Korean organist Choi Kumi won the first prize at the Saint Albans Competition in the U.K. We hope to contribute to the development of classical music in Korea and the organ through this international organ competition," Kim Sun-kwang, president of Lotte Foundation for Arts, said during a press conference earlier this month at Lotte Concert Hall in southeastern Seoul.

Professor Shin Dong-ill, part of the competition's six-member jury, performs Bach's "Toccata, Adagio and Fugue in C Major" on the Rieger pipe organ at Lotte Concert Hall on May 21, 2017.

Professor Oh Ja-kyung, who also serves as president of Korean Organist Association, said she's glad to see Korea launch its own international organ competition.

"People say Korea has strength in classical music, yet we lagged behind in the realm of organs; Japan started its Musashino-Tokyo International Organ Competition back in 1981, and China kickstarted Shanghai International Organ Competition in 2017," Oh said. "There will be master classes and lectures during the competition. I hope this competition provides a chance for more people to enjoy organ music."

Arvid Gast, right, speaks during the press conference at Lotte Concert Hall.

Applications can be sent online from Oct. 10 this year to April 30, 2020. At most 15 finalists will be selected for the eight-day competition held in September next year.

Applicants can apply online from Oct. 10 this year to April 30 next year. After screening for a preliminary round, at most 15 finalists will be invited for the eight-day competition in Seoul from Sept. 19 to 26 next year.

The first round will be at the Korea National University of Arts, using the Yokota organ which is specialized in Baroque music. The second and final rounds will be held at Lotte Concert Hall.

Renowned organist Arvid Gast, a professor at at Musikhochschule Luebeck in Germany, will be joining the six-member jury, along with professors Oh Ja-kyung and Shin Dong-ill from Korea, Michel Bouvard from France, Naomi Matsui from Japan and David Titterington from the U.K.

"I think it's a fantastic idea to make a combination with Rieger organ and Yokota organ at the Korea National University of Arts in Seoul. It's very special. You have to show your skills for old music and also for modern music. You have to play a modern piece; nobody knows this piece now. I think it's fantastic. And you can create the final round and we can see the ability to make a good program, to make a good drama for the program," Gast said during the press conference.

Applicants can send their files through the www.lotteconcerthall.com/eng/Competition , starting Oct. 10. (The site will be available from Oct. 10)