Seoul Phil confirms next month’s US tour is cancelled

You read it first yesterday on Slipped Disc, with the full reasons.

Here’s the bleak statement:

It is with profound regret that the Seoul Philharmonic Orchestra (SPO) has made the decision to cancel its forthcoming U.S. tour. The tour was scheduled for 14th – 24th April 2015 with seven concerts in Santa Barbara, Los Angeles, Davis, San Francisco, Seattle, Ann Arbor, and Chicago. The cancellation is due to a recent and significant cut in tour funding from the City of Seoul. The SPO, which is heavily subsidized by the City of Seoul, has failed to secure sufficient financial support from alternative sources and has therefore made the decision not to proceed with the tour. Maestro Myung-Whun Chung, Music Director of the SPO, has stated: “On behalf of my musician colleagues at the SPO, I am deeply saddened that the tour to the U.S. has been cancelled. This is due to financial reasons entirely beyond our control.”