Symphony for the Koreas will be the latest installment of the celebrated City Symphony series. Over the next few years, Tod Machover and his team will collaborate with citizens from both South and North Korea to create a symphony that reflects what both sides have in common, where conflicts remain, and what might be effective, realistic, and peaceful ways to resolve conflicts through music. Through collaboration with the Lindenbaum orchestra and festival, a South Korean organization dedicated to bringing peace to the Korean Peninsula through music, Machover and his team plan to invite musicians from both Koreas to participate in ongoing creative activities—as well as to live performances—of Symphony for the Koreas. The Lindenbaum organization has been granted unprecedented permission by the South Korean government to communicate and collaborate with the North Korean Government. It has also secured an MOU with the North Korean Ministry of Culture to hold a joint concert between the two Koreas. The final performance is expected to take place at or near the Korean Demilitarized Zone, and will then be toured worldwide.
Since 2012, Tod Machover and his Opera of the Future Group have created City Symphonies for Philadelphia, Detroit, Lucerne, Perth, Edinburgh, Miami and Toronto. In addition to Symphony for the Koreas, Machover is currently working on new City Symphonies for Chennai (India) and for Boston (in collaboration with HUBweek).