Together [You & I]

10 | Joint Concert (1)

Shimwoo Art Centre

*For those who are curious, in real life this is Lotte Concert Hall in Seoul

Today was the day of Seokhoon and Rona's joint concert. It was the first day of a two day concert. All together the concert was to be about 2 hours long. Rona and Seokhoon were each going to be performing 3 solo numbers each, and 2 pieces together. They had also invited Shimwoo Art School students to perform 2 numbers and the orphanage was set to perform 2 choir numbers for the evening.

Seokhoon and Rona had arrived early at Shimwoo Art Centre to do a dry run of the entire concert from start to finish. When the students (who had never seen Seokhoon and Rona in real life before) saw the couple, there were squeals and screams arising from the group. Both of them were Shimwoo School's alma mater and famous ones at that. It was the school's pride and joy to have fostered such rising talents like Seokhoon and Rona.

The students and teachers spent about 30 minutes talking to Seokhoon and Rona; asking them about their experience studying at Juilliard, preparation for competitions and advice for students. Despite how horrible Shimwoo School was previously (back when it was known as Chungah Art School), the couple really wanted to give back to society. They hoped that their experience would greatly benefit not just students but also the overall culture at Shimwoo School. That the mistakes of the past would not be repeated anymore.

I'm sorry but it is time for the dry rehearsals to begin. The person that interrupted the conversation was Seokhoon's new manager - Song Jae Rim. Standing beside him was Rona's new manager Im Joo Hwan. They were chosen from many candidates who had applied to be Seokhoon and Rona's manager. The criteria to qualify to be their manager was fairly high. They needed to have a good understanding of the classical music world, they needed to be able to speak multiple languages - at least English, Korean and one European language; ideally French or Italian. Suryeon and her team went through each candidate with a fine-tooth comb and eventually selected these two. Both Jae Rim and Joo Hwan had worked with various musicians in the classical world, however this was really the first time they were in charge of potential rising stars.

In some aspects their managers needed to not only manage their professional career but also care for them like an older brother would. Seokhoon and Rona took some time out during their semester to actually talk to the eventual 5 candidates that were narrowed down by Suryeon. Seokhoon and Rona particularly liked these two, they were firm and strict but they had a playfulness that they both really enjoyed. Even though Rona and Seokhoon had not taken on other projects apart from this concert. It was still important to have a manager that could help with the management of their upcoming schedules.

To best manage Seokhoon and Rona's future activities, Shimwoo & Co created a sub label that would be their agency basically. In the building of Shimwoo Towers, Suryeon had already constructed a music and recording studio for both of them. A team of publicists and managers are attached to this very agency with the aim of helping Seokhoon and Rona build up their professional careers.

After a good and smooth dry rehearsal, Seokhoon and Rona took a quick nap to recover their strength before tonight. As it was the first day, none of their family and friends would be in the audience today. The concert was sold out, Yoonhee invited various families from the lower income group to attend the concert as well. There was a diverse range in the audience from lower income to the top 1% who had all come to see the two rising stars of the Classical World.

At 7pm, the lights dimmed in the concert hall. The concert had begun. The first opening act was the children's choir from several orphanages around Seoul. These were orphanages that Shimwoo Art Centre had been engaged with on a regular basis. The opening song was "When You Believe" from the animation movie "The Prince of Egypt"

After that performance, the audience erupted with cheer. It was moving to see children singing their hearts out. Rona and Seokhoon had seen their rehearsal before but there was something moving about watching the actual performance. They were watching from the side, and Seokhoon hugged Rona and kissed her temple. Rona felt moved that they had given these children a chance to express themselves. Moving onto the next item, the choir performed "You Will Be Found" from the Broadway Musical "Dear Evan Hasen

After the choir had finished their piece, it was Rona's turn to take the stage. Rona and Seokhoon's setlist consisted mainly of songs they had performed before, mainly in their competition and Juilliard. This concert was really to showcase the journey of them as an artist and an individual as well.

The students performed two musical pieces. The first was from the movie "High School Musical'; 'We're all in this together'. Followed by a more classical broadway piece from 'West Side Story' called 'America'. These two pieces were dynamic and got one's blood pumping with excitement. It really gives the students a chance to perform on an actual stage in front of a live audience.

The audience clapped and cheered for the students as they performed their final piece. After which, Seokhoon took the stage once again, to perform his last solo piece, Rona followed. Their solo pieces were done, Rona invited Seokhoon back onto the stage again. This would be their first time performing as a duo in front of an audience. The night had ended and the audience left the concert feeling uplifted and happy. Well done Rona. You were beautiful. Seokhoon hugged and kissed Rona. Thank you, as were you. The two left the centre soon after. They had one more day left of concerts before they could officially rest.

Note: Happy Chinese New Year to all my fellow Chinese friends!