Continuing the efforts to vamp up its public image by reaching out to the community, the Seoul Philharmonic Orchestra opened up its rehearsal studio Tuesday night for the second time this year.

Tickets to the rehearsal were sold out, as the SPO welcomed 45 members of the public to the orchestra’s practice room to get a behind-the-scenes glimpse of how the maestro conducts a rehearsal session. This concept of public education and involvement has been used by other orchestras spanning the globe, such as the New York, Boston and Berlin Philharmonics, who also play host to open practice rehearsals.

With conductor Choi Soo-yeoul at the podium, around 60 members of the orchestra gathered Tuesday night as part of SPO’s newly established “Rehearsal Room Concert.”

“Although the title of this rehearsal says ‘concert’ I am treating this like a normal rehearsal,” Choi explained to the spectators. 
The nearly one hour and fifteen-minute rehearsal featured the works of Tchaikovsky’s “Romeo and Juliet Fantasy Overture” and Ravel’s “Bolero.”

“I first just want to say with Tchaikovsky we have only had our first read and with Ravel we have only played the piece twice before in practice,” the conductor went on to explain, hinting that there would be many pauses for instructions during the practice session.

And indeed there were.

Stopping shortly after the first few bars at the start of the rehearsal to ask the musicians to focus more on developing their crescendos and having smoother connections, it’s needless to say the event was far from a true concert atmosphere, with the maestro having to stop about every 30 seconds to add his commentary and critique.

Despite not being able to thoroughly enjoy a full-length, or anything close to an elongated performance of a piece, the rehearsal session was a uniquely welcomed educational moment -- a perfect opportunity for not only classical music fanatics, but for budding musicians to really get a taste of what the musicians go through in preparation for a live concert event.

“This is a fight scene, with swords, you guys are making it sound too playful,” said the conductor, making the musicians burst into laughter. “You have to give this part a serious and somewhat of a more nervous feel. Let’s try it again.”

The first public rehearsal concert in June was also a sold-out event, with tickets priced at just 10,000 won ($8.70). The ensemble said it plans to continue the program in the future.

SPO president Choe Heung-sik, who took office in July, said earlier in August that his future vision of the orchestra includes increasing the number of local concert performances as well as developing more educational programs for citizens to take part in.

By Julie Jackson (juliejackson@heraldcorp.com)