"Shout-out to the Sejong Center and CEO Ahn Ho-sang."
Rapper Changmo said this at a press conference in March ahead of his first solo concert at the Sejong Center's Grand Theater. It was an expression of gratitude for standing on the Sejong Center stage as a hip-hop artist — a stage he had admired as a child when he dreamed of becoming a pianist. Two months later, Changmo sold out both performances of "CHANGMO : THE EMPEROR" at the 3,000-seat Grand Theater. In November, he returns to the same stage after six months with his new studio album "MONOLITH."
The Sejong Center said it will stage Changmo's solo concert "CHANGMO : MONOLITH" three times at the Grand Theater from November 13 to 15. At his previous concert, Changmo blurred the line between hip-hop and classical music, pairing his songs with a live orchestra and borrowing the structure of classical concertos.
The upcoming shows are not a simple encore of that stage. The concert builds a new repertoire and staging around "MONOLITH," his first studio album in five years. The title refers to a single massive stone, or a monumental presence that has endured over a long stretch of time. The plan is to connect the music Changmo has built over the past decade with the new songs on the album to trace his musical trajectory.
The "shout-out" he sent in March also led to an actual musical collaboration. The new album includes tracks featuring the Seoul Metropolitan Chorus and the Seoul Metropolitan Boys and Girls Choir, both affiliated with the Sejong Center. The relationship between Changmo and the Sejong Center that began with the May concert has now extended into record production.
The concert will unveil the album's lead tracks in live orchestral arrangements for the first time. His earlier hits will also be newly arranged.
The show also reaches into traditional Korean music. Sung Si-young, principal taepyeongso player of the Seoul Metropolitan Traditional Music Orchestra, joins as a guest performer, layering the distinctive tone of the taepyeongso — a Korean double-reed horn — over Changmo's driving beats and the orchestral sound. Music, video, lighting and stage design will be combined into a production scaled for the Grand Theater.
The concert is also an extension of the Sejong Center's project to produce contemporary popular music. "'CHANGMO : MONOLITH' in November is not about repeating a single success, but a process in which the performance content continues to develop along with the artist's new music," Ahn Ho-sang, CEO of the Sejong Center, said.
Performances begin at 7:30 p.m. on November 13, 7:30 p.m. on November 14 and 5 p.m. on November 15. Tickets go on sale exclusively through Sejong Ticket at 3 p.m. on the 8th.
