Pietari Inkinen, the KBS Symphony Orchestra’s ninth music director, is set to bid farewell with the last regular concerts of the year set to take place on Dec. 21 at Lotte Concert Hall and Dec. 24 at the Seoul Arts Center Concert Hall.

The Finish conductor and violinist will conclude his three-year tenure, with a program featuring Beethoven's “Choral Fantasy” and “Symphony No. 9.”

Beethoven’s “Choral Fantasy in C minor, Op. 80” is a unique work that combines piano solo, orchestra, and choir, that reflects Beethoven’s intent to blend various genres into one composition.

Collaborating on this performance are pianist Park Jae-hong, sopranos Seo Sun-young and Kim Sun-mi, mezzo-soprano Sabina Kim, tenors Guk Yoon-jong and Park Hyun-min, and bass-baritone Samuel Youn.

In the final section, the choir and orchestra come together to sing about “the unity of humanity,” offering a preview of the theme explored in Beethoven's iconic "Symphony No. 9 in D minor, Op. 125," "Choral," which will be performed in the second part.

Ticket prices range from 10,000 won ($7) to 150,000 won.

During his three years as music director, Inkinen navigated the challenges of numerous performance cancellations and changing concert environments due to the COVID-19 pandemic. Despite these difficulties, he introduced diverse pieces to Korean audiences, providing them with new musical experiences.

Starting next year, conductor Chung Myung-whun, the orchestra's first "honorary laureate" conductor, will lead some of the KBS Symphony Orchestra's regular monthly concerts, taking the stage four times with the orchestra.

In July last year, media reports said Chung is likely to return as the principal conductor but the orchestra said Sunday it has not finalized the move yet.