A delegation from the world-renowned Santa Cecilia Conservatory in Rome has visited South Korea's new administrative city of Sejong to discuss ways to establish a music school near the city's cultural facilities now under construction, a city official said Thursday.
Launched in 1585, the Italian national conservatory is one of the oldest musical institutions in the world, with its alumni including such prominent musicians as South Korean soprano Jo Sumi, Italian composer Ennio Morricone, Russian virtuoso pianist Sergei Rachmaninoff and Italian conductor Carlo Maria Giulini.
Shown is an artist`s rendering of the complex`s cultural facilities under construction, near which Santa Cecilia Conservatory plans to set up a music school. The NAACC provided this photo. (Yonhap)
"The delegation, led by director Roberto Giuliani, visited the National Agency for Administrative City Construction Wednesday to inspect a site for the school and receive a briefing on the ongoing construction of cultural facilities," the official said. The NAACC is an agency in charge of building the new administrative city, 120 kilometers south of Seoul.
The NAACC and Santa Cecilia signed a memorandum of understanding on the setup of the school in February.
"Director Giuliani expressed an intention to invite the NAACC head to Rome to sign a binding agreement as soon as it acquires an approval for the project from the Italian government," the official said.
The director said that he is considering opening three departments first -- music education, vocal music and piano -- according to the official.
"Giuliani also conveyed an intention to dispatch a top-level faculty to the school," the official said. (Yonhap)
