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Messiah Orchestra Concert for the Passover 2022
A precious gift to someone special
South Korea
Just like a flower announces spring that has come after a long winter, a special event was held to present comfort and hope to the people around the world, exhausted from the long pandemic. On March 27, which was fifteen days before the Passover, the “Messiah Orchestra Concert for the Passover 2022” was held at the Okcheon Go&Come Training Institute.
The concert was broadcast live to 64 countries as a video conference program through the outside broadcast van. The Church of God interpreters provided simultaneous interpretations in 28 languages including English, Spanish, German, French, Hungarian, Chinese, Hindi, Vietnamese, Telugu, etc, so that it can help audience enjoy the performances.
The event was held twice at 11 a.m. and at 5 p.m. (Korean time), being participated and supported by more than 9,000 accounts, including church members and their families in the U.S., U.K., Australia, Japan, and Singapore, Korea and more.
The theme of the concert was “A Gift for Loved Ones.” The purpose of this is to comfort the heart with music, which is a common language for all nations, and deliver God’s love, blessing, and hope contained in the Passover during a time when many people feel emotional fatigue and isolation due to the COVID-19 pandemic, which has been ongoing for three years. The Passover is a day of joy when the Israelites escaped disasters with the help of God and were delivered from the slavery of Egypt in the Old Testament times. In the New Testament times, it was the feast of God, on which Jesus Christ, who is the Savior, promised the forgiveness of sins and the blessing of eternal life by giving us His flesh and blood. It ii celebrated on the evening of 14th day of the first month in the sacred calendar, which is usually around March to April in the solar calendar. This year, it falls on the evening of April 15.
The host appeared on the stage which was decorated with spring flowers, and the Messiah Orchestra, an 80-member symphony orchestra composed of members of the Church of God, appeared. Participants clapped over the hundreds of screens that filled the stage screen.
The concert consisted of songs about the power and blessing of God, the vitality of spring, and hope for tomorrow contained in the Passover. Following the Messiah Orchestra’s “Voices of Spring” Waltz (Johann Strauss II), a seven-member choir sang “When You Believe,” the OST of the animated feature Prince of Egypt, to express the overwhelming emotion after being freed from slavery after keeping the Passover. The New Song, “All You, Pass Through the Red Sea,” dramatically expressed the power of God who divided the Red Sea to save the Israelites who were being chased by the Egyptian army. The quartet delivered the love of Christ, who established the New Covenant through His sacrifice on the cross to save mankind, with the New Song, “The New Covenant Established by Sacrifice,” and “Amazing Grace” in honor of God’s mercy and grace.
The Messiah Orchestra ended the concert by energizing the online audience with “Pomp and Circumstance Marches” by Edward Elgar and “Radetzky March” by Johann Strauss I. The participants clapped their hands to the upbeat rhythm of the “Radetzky March.” The participants from all over the world cheered for each other beyond language and culture.
The church members made special memories by watching the concert with their families, friends, and co-workers. Brother Sota Hamaguchi (Tokyo, Japan) said, “We’d been discouraged to go outside because of the pandemic, so I invited my mother to feel relieved from all that was going on. Many famous songs brought her rest and comfort by recalling her old memories.” Sister Bae Ji-hyeon (Gwangju, Korea) said, “My friend told me that she felt like she was someone special since the theme of the concert is ‘A Gift for Loved Ones.’ ” Brother Rabun Harun (Karachi, Pakistan) said, “There are few opportunities to participate in an orchestra concert in Pakistan. I was happy to be able to watch the magnificent concert online and be with my friends during difficult times.”
The mindset of the orchestra members was different at the concert since it had been a long time since they were able to perform. Sister Yun Hye-jeong (Seongnam, Korea), who played the cello, said, “It wasn’t easy to practice because we needed to follow the preventative guidelines for the pandemic, but I tried to harmonize with other members even with small things, so that we can comfort the audiences.” She hoped that they were able to convey the love of God in the Passover to the whole world with touching melodies.
The concert is still spreading the touching emotions in the online space. The broadcast video is available in 17 languages such as English, Spanish, German, Japanese, Vietnamese, and Thai on the official YouTube channel of the Church of God.