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[Chosun Daily News] 10 Years of the First Development Disorder Orchestra in Korea: Coming up to the
Date : 2015-04-14 Hit : 1,053
330 performances in 9 years, 70% of severely disabled people ... 25 people go to college
International performances in the U.S., China...... Growing self-confidence of the members, and improvement of disability awareness
"I've always only seen him being alone. Even if I provided an environment where he could play with other friends, Jung-han would go hide in a different room."
These were the words of Eun-hee Jung(54), mother of Jung-han Hong(25, developmental disability class 2, flutist). Hong, who had a high autism tendency, entered the Heart to Heart Orchestra in 2007. Harmony, which he acquired for seven years through his orchestra experience, pulled Hong out to the world. Eun-hee Jung said, "Sometimes my son says that although he was angry today, he suppressed it. I am surprised and thankful everytime I hear something like that." Currently, Hong plays in the Heart Miracolo Ensemble, and is also a teacher at the Happy School education program to raise disability awareness in elementary schools.
The Heart to Heart Orchestra, founded in 2006, now has 64 members, 74% of whom are aged 15 to 25, and 70% who have severe developmental disabilities. / Heart to Heart Foundation
"Fifteen years ago, when I sent my son to kindergarten or school, I would have to go and meet all the teachers and students. I would tell the condition of my child, and say, "He is not that different." Now, my son goes to schools to and performs in front of the students to change their awareness by himself. This feeling cannot be expressed with words."
It is a miracle made by the Heart to Heart Orchestra. The Heart to Heart Foundation(Chairman In-Sook Shin) launched the Heart to Heart Orchestra, consisted of members with developmental disabilities, in 2006, and was the first to introduce this model in Korea. This orchestra has played a leading role in the forming of orchestras for disabled people, which is now becoming a common trend.
Last month, a research report that summarized their past the activities was published in commemoration of the 10th anniversary of the orchestra. Mi-ok Kim, professor of Social Welfare at Chonbuk National University, said, "This research is an objective analysis of the achievements of the orchestra and is valuable as a reference for the future." The research, which started in April last year, began with a domestic literature search, then progressed to analyzing the status of orchestra projects, having a one-on-one questionnaire targeting the orchestra members, parents, and audiences, and a focus group interview (FGI) with the dependents and music instructors. Professor Kim said, "Because people with developmental disabilities have low communication skills I sometimes used Photovoice(research technique using photographs to express emotions) in the process, and the results were beyond expectations thanks to the members' enthusiastic participation." The Heart to Heart Orchestra currently has 64 members and has an average of about 30 performances a year.
◇ 330 Touching Moments: 10 Years of the Heart to Heart Orchestra
The Heart to Heart Orchestra began as a Wind Orchestra, consisting solely of wind and percussion instruments. In the first year of its founding, the orchestra started off by staging 2 performances consisted of 14 members with developmental disabilities. It then continued to grow quantitatively and qualitatively. The number of the managers at the foundation increased from 2 to 6, musical instrument lecturers from 3 to 17, and a dedicated department(cultural welfare department) was formed. These efforts led to the birth of a symphony orchestra (a large orchestra that plays symphonies) consisting of strings, woodwinds, brass and percussion. 74% of the members are 15 to 25 years old, and 70% have severe developmental disabilities. So far, 25 members of the group have gone on to study music related majors at universities such as Sahmyook University, Korea Nazarene University, Soongsil University and Baekseok Arts University. In particular, Dong-kyun Kim(Flutist) in 2012, Young-soo Lee(Flutist) in the next year, and Han-kyul Lee(Trumpeter) last year entered the prestigious Korea National University of Arts. In addition, the number of awards won in national music contests such as the 2013 National Student Music Competition and the 19th Haneum Music Competition counts no less then 64.
The Heart to Heart Orchestra has performed a total of 330 performances, including nine regular concerts. They have also been invited to make several overseas performances, such as in the United States (LA ? Chicago, 2008) and China (Shanghai, Qingdao, Beijing, 2010), and have been invited to celebrate the high-level meetings between the United Nations Economic and Social Commission for Asia and the Pacific (UNESCAP) and the Pyeongchang Winter Special Olympics. They have also had joint concerts with the Seoul Philharmonic Orchestra, the Caracas Youth Orchestra, and more. Most outstandingly, since 2013, the orchestra is performing at the prestigious stage of the Seoul Arts Center where only top class performers stand.
The business area has also expanded. In addition to the Heart to Heart Orchestra, the Heart Music Academy offers basic music education for children with developmental disabilities, and the Professional Musician Development Program helps the members to grow to be a professional in the field.
◇ The Changes They Made: Developing Self-Esteem and Social Skills, and Advocating Social Awareness for Disability
In the results of the evaluation of the positive changes of the psychology and behavior of the orchestra members in this study on a 3-point scale, the average of the members was 2.71. In particular, they received good evaluations of items such as increased self-confidence (2.87) and improved concentration (2.87). Parents' satisfaction was also high (3.3 out of 4). The orchestra was also effective in improving disability awareness. In November last year, 153 high school students were asked to check their change in perception after watching the Heart to Heart Orchestra perform. 84 percent of the respondents replied that their thoughts about disabled people have changed. Han-sook Yoo(52), the mother of Da-bin Kim(22, Autism Level 3, Cellist), who has been a cellist in the Heart to Heart Orchestra since 2008, said, "As my acquaintances and relatives understand and encourage Da-bin more, the stress that our family goes through has decreased." Through the results from Photovoice, you can see the musical passion of the members. The members were asked to choose a photo to express themselves and explain why, and a member who selected a rainbow explained, "Being in harmony is the best state."
◇ The Three Keys to Their Success: Speciality, Expertise, Persistence
Professor Mi-ok Kim said, "Playing in the orchestra, which requires advanced musical skills, repetitive practice, communication, and harmony, is very difficult for people with developmental disabilities." What are the secrets of the Heart to Heart orchestra's successful operation over these harsh conditions? The first is persistence. Prior to the founding of the Heart to Heart Orchestra, there were music support activities for people with developmental disabilities such as music camps and instrument training. However, these programs were usually short-term investments of about 1-2 years focused on benefiting a majority. Professor Kim said, "Supporting the same subjects for nearly 10 years is a very different strategy, and is also the key to the success of the Heart to Heart Orchestra." Securing expertise is also important. The musical talent of the members were made possible through actively utilizing excellent music professors, directors, and musicians throughout the country, thus improving the quality of the orchestra as a whole. Most importantly, it should "fit with the mission or strategy of the operator." At the time when Heart to Heart Orchestra first began, most of the support for people with developmental disabilities was concentrated on living and housing. Professor Mi-ok Kim said, "It is not easy for the orchestra to spend a lot of time, money, and affection, so it has not been easy for the private sector to go on for 10 years." She adds, "Policy support should be provided so that musicians with developmental disability can grow into professionals."
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