What is destiny? The dictionary defines it as ‘supernatural power governing all things including human’. Many people sometimes live acknowledging or challenging their destiny though it’s invisible and cannot be caught by hand. One of thankful life principles among others is that miracle is given to someone like a gift who pioneers his or her life.

In the practice room for Heart-to-Heart Orchestra in Garak 2-dong, Songpa district on June 8th.. “Well, hello!” Bright voice was heard between the laughing children hanging around the place. One student who recognized me as an outsider first talked to me with loud voice and smile. I also said hello to him on an impulse. Appreciation and gladness with unknown reason spreads gradually at one corner of my mind per one greeting. A voice heard a moment after. “Please scratch here.” When I lifted my head with embarrassment, there was another student. I ended up scratching his forehead on an impulse again.

All the students went into the practice room after making different noises and hanging around for a while. By the time to think ‘can this be so silent like this’, they started playing. Each of them concentrated on their instruments holding by their hand and the conductor, listening to the sound the next student makes. That was completely different scene from before. Some of them counted the beat with fingers and look at other’s music score but they all had serious eyes. Compliments and disciplines by the conductor weren’t much different from other orchestras. Positive atmosphere was flowing over from the music made from the tip of the fingers of the 45 members of Heart-to-Heart Orchestra consisted of the youth having developmental disabilities.

Heart-to-Heart Orchestra which started the activities since 2006 is consisted of the youth having developmental disabilities. It is rare for the youth having developmental disabilities to get together and do professional music activities in Korea as well as overseas countries. They conduct performances consistently on small and big size stages in and out of Korea over 20 times in a year. They also have time to show the music works they prepare through the year at the regular concert on every November.

Developmental disability is a disorder in sociality with which people have difficulties to interact with others for their low intellectual ability like autism and mental retardation though they have normal physical development similar with that of their cohort group. It is very rare to see for the youth having 7 years old intellectual level on average to express their opinion, consider others and cooperate although the extent differs individually. Experts in developmental disabilities also say that it is astonishment itself for the youth to sit for over 2 hours at one place playing instruments and listening to each other’s sound.

Music, being desperate to the youth

Heart-to-Heart Orchestra has been led by one permanent conductor since the founding. Conductor Seongho Park who is a trombonist in Gangnam Symphony Orchestra and has been with Heart-to-Heart Orchestra for 7 years said in the beginning, “sitting them on chair was the hardest thing.” It took about 4 months for him to lift the baton for the first time. Though the youth who can read music score and have experience of playing instruments got together, they needed significant amount of time to adjust to each other since playing in ensemble was first to them. They often stood up abruptly in the middle of the practice and screamed when they heard bigger sound than their instrument and hit others. By the time one year past, they began changing. There appeared some students who practice no matter how many times unless they can make good sounds or want to go to college to major in music. Normally the time the members of Heart-to-Heart Orchestra can play one music work properly takes about 3 months. It is shortened compared to the beginning of the orchestra. But by the nature of developmental disabilities they forget everything unless they repeat the practice consistently. That is the reason why they continue practicing the repertoire set in the beginning of the year until their regular concert on November. With the student who needed several years to bind shoe laces and others who make mistakes even after repeating practice again and again, Heart-to-Heart Orchestra is hope and miracle by the fact that the time to master one work is getting decreased. 

There are many members in the orchestra who are majoring in music in college and are already graduated. Presently most of the members who were graduated from college of music get together separately for Miracolo Ensemble with brass instrument members and are doing activities for awareness improvement towards the youth having developmental disabilities. As athletes set new records by polishing their skill, they also meet new world by developing their potential musical skill constantly. Music changed them as well as their families. The families who suffered from domestic trouble due to the children’s disorder have their broken heart cured and improved their relations by observing their children playing instrument in the orchestra and receiving applause from people. Conductor Seongho Park said, “I wish music would be a desperate being and a way of living for the youth.” In other words, he hopes that they would consider music to be an absolute being without which they can’t live like rice or water not just having music as means of spreading impression to people. He also wishes that they could be recognized with their playing skill among musicians in the near future and do activities as professional performers.

The ‘destiny’ of the orchestra playing miracle

June 14, 7:30 pm. Heart-to-Heart Orchestra appeared on the stage as a featured group in the grand auditorium of Songpa?gu Community Center for ‘Our Village Music Concert’ by Seoul Philharmonic Orchestra. That was the place to present the music works they prepared for up to 2 years and 2 months at the lowest. Heart-to-Heart Orchestra prepared three works in total that day. At first they played Mozart’s ‘The Marriage of Figaro’. As first impression is important to people, the work was fit for drawing fresh eyes of the audiences towards the youth having developmental disabilities who encountered Heart-to-Heart Orchestra for the first time. Beethoven Symphony No.5 ? 1th movement followed subsequently. Beethoven who completed the great work challenging his destiny despite of his worsening hearing ability and his works were enough to show the meaning and direction of Heart-to-Heart Orchestra in our society implicitly. Especially the conductor Seongho Park who led the members with detailed signs brought deep impression to the audiences. Amid cheering and applause, Heart-to-Heart Orchestra played G. Bizet's "L'Arlesienne" Suite No.2 ? Frandole for the last music. When there was marching sound strengthened by percussion instruments, the vibe was changed and the audiences began enjoying the vibrant atmosphere with their whole body. The applause that continued for a while after the completion of all their performances was an expression of satisfaction and proudness towards Heart-to-Heart Orchestra.

When they stepped down from the stage, their face was covered with sweat. To the question of how the performance was, they said innocently and energetically, “I really think we did well.”, “It was so good to play pleasantly though I was nervous.”

I visited Heart-to-Heart Orchestra homepage after the interview wondering the stories after the concert. While looking through several opinions on the board, an article written last year by a mother of one member particularly inscribed deeply in my mind. It seemed like a scream towards the world. “What should I do for the children to be able live playing music like this who would live 30 years longer than me? I earnestly need the answer.”