The Seoul Arts Center’s 37th Orchestra Festival kicked off Tuesday for a 20-day run. 

The arts center announced on Wednesday that the nation’s 18 symphony orchestras will take the stage this year under the theme “The New Beginning.”

The festival opened Tuesday with a performance by the Changwon Philharmonic Orchestra, the regional orchestra with the largest number of permanent members. 

This year’s festival will see a younger generation of conductors and the largest number of foreign performers. 

Also during the 20-day period, the arts center and the Korean National Symphony Orchestra will jointly host the 2025 Orchestra Festival Master Class, which will see performances by cellist Lee Sang-eun, flutist Yoon Hyeri, double bassist Im Chae-mun and clarinetist Cho Inn-hyuck. 

To enable more people to enjoy the festival, the center will air all the performances live, free of charge, via its video-streaming platform, Digital Stage.