Hyundai Motor Chung Mong-koo Foundation wraps 2026 CMK Chamber Music Series at Seoul Arts Center

The Hyundai Motor Chung Mong-koo Foundation held the 2026 CMK Chamber Music Series at the IBK Chamber Hall at Seoul Arts Center on Thursday and Sunday, the foundation announced Monday.

The CMK Chamber Music Series is part of CMK Young Arts, the foundation's classical music talent development program, and brings scholarship recipients studying classical music together on stage with their faculty mentors.

This year's performances featured 67 scholarship students alongside a faculty ensemble that included violinist Kim Hyun-mi, an honorary professor at the Korea National University of Arts; bass-baritone Samuel Yoon, a professor at Seoul National University; trumpeter Sung Jae-chang, also a professor at Seoul National University; flutist Lee Ye-rin, a professor at the Korea National University of Arts; cellist Joo Yeon-sun, a professor at Chung-Ang University; and pianist Lee Jin-sang, a professor at the Korea National University of Arts.

The scholarship students performed alongside senior peers and faculty, building ensemble experience by listening closely to one another and finding a shared musical rhythm.

The first concert, on Thursday, centered on woodwinds, brass and vocal music. The program opened with "Morning Mood" from Grieg's "Peer Gynt Suite No. 1" performed by a woodwind ensemble, followed by a brass quintet and a vocal stage presenting Schumann's "Frauenliebe und -leben" reimagined as a music drama.

The second concert, on Sunday, focused on piano and strings across a variety of ensemble formats. Highlights included an arrangement of Grieg's "Peer Gynt Suite No. 1" scored for four pianists at two pianos, along with a program showcasing the interplay between piano and strings. Richard Strauss's "Metamorphosen" for 23 string instruments also featured on the program.

Before the performances, the students and faculty attended the CMK Ensemble Music Camp, a five-day residential program held Aug. 21 to Aug. 25 at Alpensia in Pyeongchang, Gangwon Province. Scholarship recipients ranging from middle school to university age used the camp's intensive rehearsal sessions to refine their individual parts and prepare for the concerts. Workshops and exchange programs gave participants opportunities to collaborate and build connections across disciplines and age groups.

Meanwhile, the Hyundai Motor Chung Mong-koo Foundation recently co-hosted the 3rd Climate Tech Innovation Forum in the Age of AI at Ondream Society in Myeong-dong, Seoul, together with the Science and Technology Policy Institute and the Green Technology Center Korea. Government officials, researchers and climate tech startup representatives gathered to discuss the challenges early-stage companies face in research and development, demonstration, talent acquisition, market entry and fundraising, and to explore ways to address them.