WIESBADEN, Germany - Members of the Wiesbaden military community can enjoy a free internationally acclaimed choir concert Jan. 28. Members of the Milal Missionary Choir, led by the U.S. Army Corps of Engineers’ Edward Kim and his wife So Young Park, will perform at the Hainerberg Chapel at 7 p.m.
A local branch of the World Milal Missionary Choir that has performed at Carnegie Hall every year for the past 10 years, the Frankfurt choir began in 2007 with eight members. The choir has grown to more than 50 members.
The Milal Missionary Choir is an allvolunteer group whose members come not only from the Rhein Main region, but also from Italy, Belgium, Hamburg, Munich and even as far away as Korea.
“A third of them will be coming from outside the Rhein Main area,” said Kim. “We open our homes to them and people from faraway — they stay with us or with other choir members.”
Not only do the members travel from far away, they also pay their travel expenses themselves.
“People are doing this because they like doing it; they want to share this experience; they are very self-driven and self-motivated,” said Kim. The musicians come together from diverse backgrounds: military members, families, government employees and local residents.
Adding another dimension to the diversity is the group’s age demographic — the youngest member is 11 years old and the oldest, 83.
Kim described the upcoming concert as “the first, purest, biggest, best praise offering to God to start off the new year.”
This is Milal’s third year performing at the chapel.
“They are a missionary choir and they definitely fulfill that mission and reach out to give back to the community,” said Chaplain (Lt. Col.) Stephen Demien.
The program for the evening consists of classical, traditional and Korean gospel songs performed by a full choir and orchestra. There will also be an audience “sing-along” at the end, and everyone is invited to participate.