Maestro Chung Myung-whun, chief conductor of the Seoul Philharmonic Orchestra, will hold a charity concert next month for children in North Korea.

Chung will lead the Asia Philharmonic Orchestra, an orchestra of classical musicians from Asian countries, at the Amphitheater of Yonsei University on Aug. 4 to raise funds to help starving North Korean children. Proceeds from the concert will go directly to UNICEF and will be used to buy and send vaccines, nutrition powders and water purifiers, Chung’s non-profit organization Miracle of Music said in a statement.

Chung founded the pan-Asia orchestra 16 years ago to bring together Asian musicians from across the region. The 75-member orchestra will perform its first two concerts in Japan ― in Fukuoka on Aug. 1 and Tokyo on Aug. 2 with a program featuring Schubert Symphony No. 8 “Unfinished” and Beethoven Symphony No. 3 “Eroica.”

In Seoul, the orchestra will perform Beethoven Symphony No. 9 “Choral,” in order to deliver their hopes of meeting North Korean musicians in the near future, Chung said in a recent interview.

The internationally renowned conductor had previously said that he had suggested to the North Korean authorities that musicians from the North join in the APO’s annual performance this summer. But there has been no response from the North yet.

The charity concert in Seoul welcomes citizens to participate in the choir by submitting an online application. The Aug. 4 concert will feature Korean soprano Kim Young-mi, tenor Joseph Kang and bass Park Jong-min.

For more information, visit www.miracleofmusic.org or call (02) 745-0310. Tickets are from 10,000 won to 50,000 won.

By Cho Chung-un (christory@heraldcorp.com)