When I studied one year more to go to the university, I had a chance to coach a middle school student band club. When I first taught, I was really worried about them because they didn’t even know Do Re Mi Fa So La Ti Do. However, I did my best to lead them and they followed me well, and finally we could play Der Leichte Kavallerie on the stage. For one year, I thought a lot about myself, and at that time I had hope of becoming a conductor. When I was a university student, I was a conductor of Yonsei University’s band. One day, the professor asked me to conduct the orchestra during the first half hour of the wind orchestra class. He said, “You are the band conductor of our school during Yon-Go jon, a festival between Yonsei University and Korea University. I want you to conduct during the first half of this class.” I think the experience was the big opportunity which led me to become a conductor. After graduating from university and finishing my studies in Germany, I made the Ye-seong Philharmonic Orchestra and managed it for 10 years. However, I realized that there is a limitation from not learning professional conducting, so I determined to learn it.  After I decided that, I visited the Netherlands by chance. In the Netherlands, I met my school junior and he suggested that I take the entrance examination to become a professional conductor. After passing the test, I entered the world of being a professional conductor.

  Usually, the position of the conductor in the orchestra also holds the job of artistic director. The conductor’s main role is to practice music with the orchestra members together. The conductor tries to find awkward tunes in the music and points out members’ discord. Also, the conductor has to make the members think, “The conductor is listening to our music,” by using his directing. If the conductor overlooks it, he is incapable of directing the orchestra, and the orchestra members may also regard him as an ineffective conductor. In addition, members are professional in the area of music, and they can easily know the ability of the conductor.

  There is another role of the conductor, which is as the artistic director. A conductor tries to solve the difficulties in the orchestra and manage the overall affairs. When I first came to the Cheongju Symphony Orchestra, it didn’t have enough welfare system or policies for orchestra members and many artists. Also, the practice room and musical instruments were not equipped sufficiently. To solve those problems, I asked citizens and the Cheongju City Hall to help us. There is another problem about the members. In the case of orchestra management, it is really difficult to manage the members because they can make money through different routes such as private lessons or making a music academy, so they may think, “I don’t have to work hard in this orchestra to make money because I can find another way.” In the case of the conductor, he tries to make the orchestra members think, “I should work here and do my best.” Making them think like this is really difficult.

  I think there is no special way to lead an orchestra. However, the conductor tries to obey his words and actions, which he promised with the orchestra members, and to show professional and responsible behavior to the members. Most of all, the conductor should not expose his mistakes to the members. In other words, the conductor has to try to become perfect. If an unskilled conductor leads an orchestra, the members will ignore the conductor and they may think, “You had better try harder.”

  It was really hard when I first came to the Cheongju Symphony Orchestra. There were many troubles with the members because of the orchestra reformation. Some existing members submitted their resignations, and some people were warned by me about their lack of ability. These kinds of incidents happened frequently, so bad news about my orchestra was continuously reported for about 8 months. However, I thought we needed a change in the orchestra. Therefore, I didn’t stop the reformation, and as time went by, our members followed me really well. And eventually, our efforts paid off and my orchestra had a chance to perform in the Korean Orchestra Festival in April at the Seoul Art Center. We played Rachmaninoff Piano Concerto No.2 at the festival. Even though it was a difficult song, we showed a good performance. Not only the audience but also our members and I were satisfied with the performance. My heart was filled with pride at that time. It was the happiest moment while I was in the Cheongju Symphony Orchestra.

■ For popularization of classical music

  There aren’t many opportunities to experience classical music in Cheongju. To provide many chances for classical music experiences, I did diverse activities. First, I held the Pops Concert to make the orchestra feel closer and friendlier to people. There are many popular songs in the Pops Concert, so teenagers, who think classical music is boring, also can enjoy the concert delightfully. In addition, I opened the Matinee Concert. ‘Matinee’ is the French word for ‘morning’. Like the meaning of the word, this concert was opened in the morning when children go to school. It’s for the parents who don’t have time to go to performances because of taking care of their children. At the first performance, there were not many people. However, in the second performance, twice as many people came, and in the third performance, the 1st floor was crowded with people. Furthermore, my orchestra started ‘Visiting Performances’, and we actually visited high schools to perform. Instead of playing difficult songs, we played easy and popular songs, which students have learned in their textbooks, so they could recognize them immediately. Last year, we went to a boy’s detention center, and this year we are going to perform at a women’s prison on December 4th. Whenever I perform with my orchestra, I received the reviews that classical music is good for healing people’s minds and comfortable to listen to. Generally, people think that classical music is hard and difficult, but the more you listen, the more interested and easier it is to understand. If you keep listening, you can feel the nameless charm in the classical music, and you can hear each instrument’s sounds, which you could not hear at the first time. Also, the melody of the music sounds like a bird twittering and water falling. Unlike pop songs, which get boring after hearing a few times, classical music does not get boring and always sounds newer and greater. Therefore, I hope many people will come closer to classical music and be fascinated by it and become a classical music lover.