Conductor’s Diary No. 12 – Three Weeks in Korea

Only three weeks have passed since my stay in Korea, but the many rehearsals, the concert and the days spent with my family have already formed a very dense collection of memories.

The main reason for the trip was the concert on 22 August at the Arts Center Incheon, with The Classic On Orchestra and Elim Cantabile Orchestra. I had introduced the project in this news item, published a few days before the concert.

Throughout our stay, we lived with my parents-in-law in Goyang City. Almost every day, my son and I travelled to Ilsan, to the home of The Classic On and MS Hall, to practise. He also had the opportunity to take lessons with several violin teachers.

Whenever possible, Sundays were devoted to family, church and lunch together. This family routine accompanied the entire preparation for the concert.

The first rehearsals

On 6 and 7 August, I worked with the violins of The Classic On. The orchestra had a rather unusual composition: many of the players were very young, and the violin section was particularly large.

Communication was the main difficulty. I spoke in English; many of the young musicians understood me, while others needed a translation. During the first rehearsals, they were generally rather slow to react to my requests.

The violinists had learned their parts very well, but they were often strongly attached to what they had already prepared. Asking for a different articulation, dynamic or way of shaping a phrase required time. The organiser, who was also their violin teacher, confirmed that this limited response was a problem for her as well.

Several factors probably played a part: fear of making mistakes, education and certain cultural habits in the relationship with teachers and conductors.

As the days went by, the younger players in particular began to relax. They looked at me more often, reacted more quickly and participated with increasing spontaneity.

The first complete rehearsal

On 9 August, we had our first complete rehearsal in Seoul, together with the pianists and the professional musicians supporting the younger players.

The orchestra included approximately thirty violins, twenty-two flutes, eight cellos and three clarinets, one of whom was a professional. The additional professional players included two flutes, two oboes, two bassoons, two horns, one trumpet, one double bass and timpani, providing support and making the instrumentation almost complete.

Most of the work remained in the hands of the young musicians. The professionals offered important support, but the rehearsals had to take into account the very different ages, levels of experience and reaction times within the orchestra.

On 15 August, we rehearsed at MS Hall in Ilsan with violins, cellos and flutes. The flute section was particularly large and included many children and very young players.

On 16 August, we returned to Seoul for a rehearsal with the full orchestra and all the soloists. One of them was my son, Leonardo Camiz, who was performing the first movement of Henryk Wieniawski’s Violin Concerto No. 2.

It was a particular situation for us: every day we shared our practice time and the journeys to Ilsan, but during rehearsals we each had to concentrate on our own role.

On 18 and 21 August, I worked with The Classic On again. The ensemble was smaller on those occasions: not all the violins were present, and the rehearsals included the flutes, some of the cellos and the clarinets.

There were also more informal moments, including a dinner with some members and teachers of The Classic On. These occasions helped us get to know one another outside the rehearsal room and made our work together easier.

17 August at the DMZ

15 August is the national holiday commemorating Korea’s liberation. In 2026 it fell on a Saturday, and the holiday was observed on Monday, 17 August. We took the opportunity to visit the DMZ area with the family: my parents-in-law, brothers- and sisters-in-law, and nieces and nephews.

We saw the railway bridge over the Imjin River and the remains of the old interrupted structure. A sign explained that, on the day of reunification, the bridge would be restored to its original state and the railway tracks would eventually be reconnected.

The visit made me think about the situation of the two Koreas and the concrete consequences of the division for individuals and families. During the following days, I watched a documentary and a film on the subject, trying to understand the history better and to come a little closer to the experience of those who live with this division.

22 August

On the morning of the concert, we rehearsed onstage at the Arts Center Incheon with the full orchestra. Some of the professional players arrived late because of traffic and were unable to rehearse all the pieces. We therefore had to use the remaining time carefully, checking entrances, balances and the more delicate passages.

Shortly before the concert, we took a selfie with the young musicians. Many of the youngest players wanted to be in the picture and gathered around me with a spontaneity very different from the caution of our first meetings.

The programme alternated overtures, solo concertos and ensemble music, with works by Rossini, Mercadante, Wieniawski, Dvořák, Scott Joplin, Devienne and Saint-Saëns. The final work was The Carnival of the Animals, featuring two pianists.

For me, one of the most important moments was conducting my son Leonardo in the first movement of Wieniawski’s Violin Concerto No. 2, as part of a programme we had been preparing together for several weeks.

The complete concert video

The full concert is available on my YouTube channel:

Watch the complete concert of 22 August 2026

After the concert, many of the young musicians asked to have their photograph taken with me. The requests continued for quite some time: a very Korean custom, but also the clearest sign of the familiarity that had developed during the rehearsals.

The official photographs taken by 임종수 are collected in the complete album on Amazon Photos.

The last day

On 24 August, our last day before leaving, I went to see The Odyssey in IMAX with my son and my niece. After weeks of studying, rehearsing, travelling and meeting people, it was a quiet family conclusion to the journey.

Three weeks later, my clearest memory is the change in my relationship with the young musicians: from the caution and rigidity of the first rehearsals to the spontaneity of the pre-concert selfie and the many photographs they asked to take together afterwards.

Concert: The Classic On & Elim Cantabile
Date: 22 August 2026
Venue: Arts Center Incheon Concert Hall, South Korea
Conductor: Daniele Camiz
Soloist: Leonardo Camiz, violin
Official photographs: 임종수 (Im Jong-su)
Concert announcement
Complete concert video
Official photographic album