The Seoul Academy Ensemble, East Asia’s first ever female chamber orchestra, is celebrating its 50th anniversary this year.

In honor of the milestone the ensemble is slated to perform at the Seoul Arts Center’s Concert Hall on Sept. 24 at 2 p.m. The repertoire will feature Edvard Grieg’s “Holberg Suite, Op. 40,” Mozart’s “Flute and Harp Concerto in C Major,” master gayageum player Hwang Byung-ki’s “Sounds of Spring” and Tchaikovsky’s “Serenade For Strings.”

In honor of its anniversary, Hwang’s “New Spring” has been rearranged into the “Sounds of Spring,” which will be performed for the first time ever in the ensemble’s upcoming concert. The piece will feature an amalgamation of traditional Asian instruments.

The Seoul Academy Ensemble was established in January 1966 under Prof. Park Tae-hyun and has since performed more than 300 concerts both locally and aboard including the United States, Austria, Spain and Taiwan. 

In 2012 the chamber orchestra was invited to perform in Austria as part of the Korea-Austria 120th anniversary of diplomatic relations between the two countries. Last November, the ensemble was also invited to perform in Shanghai for China’s 70th V-Day military parade.

The all-female orchestra will be led by conductor Choi Seung-han and will include guest performers Park Rana on harp and Oh Shin-jung on flute.

Ticket prices for the upcoming concert range from 50,000 won to 100,000 won and can be purchased online at www.sac.or.kr. For more information, call 02) 541-2513.

By Julie Jackson (juliejackson@heraldcorp.com)