On 8 July 2023 a festive concert took place at the Konzerthaus Berlin (Berlin Concert Hall) to mark the 140th anniversary of diplomatic relations between Korea and Germany. The motto of the concert: “common pathways”. About 100 musicians from Korea and Germany participated in the concert and performed songs reflecting the emotions of the two nations.

Before the actual concert, children and young people of the concert choirs of the Academy for Singing North Rhine-Westphalia, who had won an award at the 2023 German Choir Contest in Hanover for their performance of a Korean folk song, performed on stage. They wore traditional Korean silk dresses that had been given to them as a present. Under the leadership of conductors Narae Juong and Željo Davutović, the artistic director of the Academy for Singing North Rhine-Wetsphalia, the choirs performed works by Johann Sebastian Bach, Robert Schumann, Franz Lehár, Karl Jenkins, Hyun Kook and Yeonjun Kim and arrangements of German and Korean folk songs.

For some years now, the Wilo Foundation, as part of its culture and talent promotion activities, has been supporting various children’s opera choirs and youth concert choirs, including those of the Academy for Singing, enabling them to broaden their horizon and, thanks to the foundation’s financial support, give concerts abroad. On its most recent tour, the youth concert choir traveled to South Korea, where the singers also gave a concert at the Wilo site in Busan on the occasion of Wilo’s 150th anniversary. Such concert tours foster not only the young people’s musical talent but also strengthen their team skills, enthusiasm and personal initiative.