Nation's first Gospel-oriented Nissi Orchestra's 18th Birthday
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March 21, 2010 |
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 "No music of this world can compare with the performances we offer to God."
Shortly before 10 o'clock on a Monday morning, members of the Nissi Orchestra gather just outside the Orchestra's practice room. Once they enter the soundproofed room, each member takes his or her seat. Before entering the practice room at 10 o'clock on the dot, they meet about half hour early to devote themselves to prayer. They pray fervently for their performances to be pleasing to God and, more than anything else, to come forth as sanctified vessels whose performances will touch the hearts of listeners. After the prayer, they tune their instruments and begin the practice session under the direction of Deacon Kwanhyung Cho.
In addition to Mondays, Tuesdays, and Thursdays when regular practice sessions are scheduled, when members of the Orchestra gather frequently for various events and for special performances, they set aside time for devoted prayer. Every other month, the Orchestra holds its own service to solidify their hearts to come forth as a group of performers pleasing God.
 
 
Nissi Orchestra magnifies God with its performances at Christmas Celebrations, "Happy Concerts," Easter Cantata, and a variety of Christian events in Korea and at overseas crusades
* Established only for the purpose of glorifying God
The Nissi Orchestra is Korea's first gospel-oriented orchestra. Senior Pastor Dr. Jaerock Lee had prayed for years for the formation of professional praise and dance teams as well as an orchestra that would magnify God. As an answer to his prayer, the Nissi Orchestra was established on March 1, 1992, composed entirely of faithful Christians. The name "Nissi" comes from "Jehovahnissi" in Exodus 17:15 (King James Version) and signifies a declaration, "The LORD is My Banner." We find in Psalm 150:3-5, "Praise Him with trumpet sound; Praise Him with harp and lyre. Praise Him with timbrel and dancing; Praise Him with stringed instruments and pipe. Praise Him with loud cymbals; Praise Him with resounding cymbals." God is immensely pleased when His children praise Him wholeheartedly and with many instruments.
Currently in the Nissi Orchestra are 37 full-time members and 27 associate members. Deacon Kwanhyung Cho, who has been the Orchestra's conductor since its foundation, recently observed, "It is not at all easy for a church to have its own orchestra. It has been possibly because in Senior Pastor Dr. Jaerock Lee's great love for God, and his living according to God's will, he has been patient in his love for the Orchestra."
* Inspiring performances, members united in love and faith
Early on, it took time for Orchestra members to become a cohesive unit. As a gospel-oriented orchestra, one of the important prerequisite was that each member be a baptized Christian. After they have made the Orchestra, new members faced an entirely different environment even though everyone was Christian.
"Everything was unfamiliar at first. The Friday All-night Service and the Sunday services were fine. On the days of practice, the most common topics of conversation were faith and prayer. As we listened to the Word of life and had firsthand experiences of God's power, we found that faith had already been growing in us. Within six months, I was utterly captivated by the Lord. I had forgotten that I prayed back in the first year of high school to become a performer praising God, and He led me onto that path through Nissi."
Deaconess Jiyoung Lee, President of the Nissi Orchestra, smiled as she reminisced about the past. In December 1993, she auditioned at the introduction of a friend of hers. She had majored in viola and originally intended to quit after six months. There was a turning point, however. She had always been asking herself, "Do I love God?" and come to realize, through Senior Pastor Dr. Jaerock Lee's messages, what it was to love God. From that point on, she has devoted herself to loving God and has been serving as the Orchestra's President for the last seven years.
Deacon Han-gu Kim, principal trumpeter and leader of the brass section, had majored in instrumental music and graduated from the College of Music at Seoul National University. At the introduction of a college friend, Deacon Kim joined the Brass Ensemble in December 1990 and began his life in Christ. Then in October 2000, he left for the Netherlands, where he studied "Principal Trumpet Course" at Zwolle Conservatorium and Mesian Academy, further studied "Principal Conductor Course" at Rotterdams Conservatorium and Fontys Conservatorium, and returned home after nearly eight years abroad.
"Before I left to study abroad, my life in Christ could be described as having been "flat." When I was abroad, I often thought of the Church and the Senior Pastor. I missed the Church dearly and realized how lightly I had thought of the messages. The eight years abroad was a time during which negative aspects in my life in Christ were resolved. I'm so glad to be back with Nissi."
There were some members who have quit the Orchestra as they were not satisfied with the group's musical aspects. This is because performers enter a state of ecstasy when playing masterpieces. However, the remaining members are one in confessing that only those who have given God the performances, against which all other worldly performances fall short, can truly appreciate the inspiration and the grace from it.
As Orchestra members nurture their faith and become one in service and in love toward one another, they consider and treat one another as their own family members. Their goal is to lift up God's glory even higher and for countless souls to receive salvation through the Orchestra's performances, offered to God in the members' earnest love for Him.
* Dreaming of becoming the best in the world
Throughout its 18-year history, the Nissi Orchestra has been invited to perform at more than 100 events at local, national, and international levels, and for brothers and sisters in Korea and around the world. It has performed at the National Annual Prayer Breakfasts, goodwill concerts at numerous embassies in Korea, at "The Goodwill Korea-Japan Soccer Match for 2002 FIFA World Cup Hosting Project." The Orchestra has also been active within the Christian circles in Korea and contributed a great deal to the development of Christian culture, having performed at "The 1992 World Holy Spirit Explosion Crusade"; "The 2000 Japan Nagoya Miracle Convention"; "The 2001 Philippines Church Leaders' Conference and Crusade"; and "The 2003 Russia Miracle Healing Festival." It has also performed numerous times at goodwill concerts sponsored by various social organizations. Starting in 2006, members have begun voluntarily taking their instruments out to the streets and performing to reach out to the souls. "The Nissi Happy Concert," for example, began with the aim of evangelizing the Guro Digital Valley and for the regional development.
Furthermore, through its releases of praise albums including "Inspirational Praise," "Praising His Grace," "Holy, Holy, Holy," and "Christmas Festival" at home and around the world, Nissi is spearheading the spread of God's love and grace, and seeks to bring back countless sols around the world back to God with the production and distribution of higher-quality praise music.
Conductor Deacon Kwanhyung Cho recently expressed his aspirations for the Orchestra. "Nissi has become the Christian community's premier orchestra," Deacon Cho observed. "It is the only civil orchestra in Korea to have a 7,100-square-foot, state-of-the-art facility to accommodate the entire orchestra, a choir's practice room, and private practice rooms. Nissi will become a 120-member orchestra and the best in the world."
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