Since its foundation in 1982, the Suwon Philharmonic Orchestra has delivered a wide range of musical performances in the steadfast support and affection of a lot of music enthusiasts. Backed by its high quality techniques and ensemble performances accumulated over the past 37 years, the Orchestra has been maturing into one of the top symphony orchestras leading the performing arts in Korea.
The Suwon Philharmonic Orchestra has been praised at home and abroad for its outstanding quality of performances that it has been played in many events and places including the Suwon’s representative international arts events such as Suwon International Music Festival, Suwon International Conducting Competition, and Peace & Piano Festival, International Bruckner Festival Linz in Austria, Südtirol Festival Merano in Italy, Herrenchiemsee Music Festival in Germany, invitational concert at the Osaka Symphony Hall during the Asia Orchestra Week, 4-city concert tour during the Eckes Hausen International Environment Music Festival in Germany, and many invitational concerts and tours at the leading concert halls in Austria, the Czech Republic, Hungary, Germany, the US, Canada, the UK, Spain, China, Japan, Taiwan, Thailand and Indonesia.
In the Korean Orchestra Festival hosted by the Seoul Arts Center, the largest of its kind in Korea, the Suwon Philharmonic Orchestra recorded the greatest number of paid admissions among all participating groups, with sold-out performances in 2008, 2009, and 2013. In addition, the Orchestra took a huge bold step toward a world-class symphony orchestra through a concert at Carnegie Hall in New York. In particular, the sold-out concert at Carnegie Hall boosted the eminence of Korean classical music in New York.
In 2010, the Suwon Philharmonic Orchestra were acclaimed as having successfully presented the complete Beethoven symphonies and concertos regarded as the bible of orchestras through the performance titled “Beethoven 2010” at the Seoul Arts Center. With such an achievement, the Orchestra won the Artist of the Year Award in 2011.
The Suwon Philharmonic Orchestra, which has recorded albums featuring works by Berlioz, Wagner, and Bruckner, released Beethoven’s Symphonies No. 2 and No. 5 under the Sony Classical label in 2012 to commemorate its 30th anniversary. In 2013, the Orchestra performed the complete Tchaikovsky symphonies at the Seoul Arts Center, followed by the release of a live recording on CD under the Sony Classical label in January 2014—the first of its kind in Korea.In celebration of the 150th anniversary of Sibelius’s birth in 2015, the Orchestra recorded his complete symphonies, with the live recording released in March 2016. Continuing to expand its core repertoire, the Orchestra released a new album featuring works by Brahms in 2026.
As a beloved cultural ambassador representing Suwon, the Suwon Philharmonic Orchestra develops and operates a wide range of programs aimed at expanding the audience base for classical music, fostering regional culture and the arts, and nurturing future classical musicians. Its diverse initiatives currently include Park Concerts, Children’s Concerts, Art Inside, a series of outreach performances for Suwon citizens, projects dedicated to discovering and supporting emerging classical talents, the educational program Classical Academy, and Mozart Effect, a music education concert designed for infants and toddlers.
The Suwon Philharmonic Orchestra will continue to reinforce its performance skills through the regular concerts and special concerts consisting of various configuration and rich contents performed for Suwon citizens and music enthusiasts. It will devote itself to the role of musical ambassador by delivering touching and memorable musical experiences on the world stages beyond Korea.
