We have good news for people interested in playing and rehearsing their music?specially classical music. A small new concert hall located about 20 meters from the main gate opened on August 22. Despite its small size, this concert hall, dubbed ?ello Sarang Ewha Media Center,?has many more functions than one could guess. It also takes professional profile photographs, designs posters and invitation tickets, and records music albums.
?s far as I know, it? the only type of multi-art space for music that we have in Korea,?says Moon Seong-seek (36), the president of Cello Sarang Ewha Media Center. The hall, in which there are 50 seats and a grand piano, can serve as a concert hall, rehearsal hall, exhibition hall, seminar room, or even a party venue. At one corner of the hall is a small photo studio set. Opening a closet, which is packed with dresses for lending, Moon smiles and says, ?e also have nice black uniforms that students can wear if they work as ushers.?Moon believes that classical music makes people feel more at peace, less violent, and thus leads to less crime. He has had interest in fostering talented people for local community art centers, and says that his idea is to make a brighter society through art and culture. This is why he opened the new center as a space where people can come a step closer to classical culture.
Especially concerned about the culture gap between the privileged and the underprivileged, Moon says that he will lend the concert hall for free when there is a musician or classical music club that is willing to hold a classical concert for orphans or children from the low-income bracket.
Ahn Kyung-min (Yonsei University, 3) held a piano recital at the concert hall before the formal opening of the center and says, ?ince it is a small and cozy concert hall with only about 50 seats, I felt very close and comfortable with the audience. But, on the other side, some people did seem to have difficulty moving in and out, for example to receive a phone call, due to the small space and narrow entrance.?As an opening event, Cello Sarang Ewha Media Center will give out Ewha Celli? (an amateur orchestra) music albums to visitors on September.