Born in Pusan, Korea, Eun-Hwa Cho began to study compositon at Seoul National University and then continued her composition study under professor Hanspeter Kyburz and music theory under professor Joerg Mainka at Hochschule fuer Musik Hanns-Eisler, Berlin. Continue reading “Eun-Hwa CHO” »
With his extraordinary pianistic talents, Fazıl Say has been touching audiences and critics alike for more twenty-five years in a way that has become rare in the increasingly materialistic and elaborately organised classical music world. Concerts with this artist are something else. They are more direct, more open, more exciting; in short, they go straight to the heart. Which is exactly what the composer Aribert Reimann thought in 1987 when, during a visit to Ankara, he had the opportunity, more or less by chance, to appreciate the playing of the seventeen-year-old pianist. He immediately asked the American pianist David Levine, who was accompanying him on the trip, to come to the city’s conservatory, using the now much-quoted words: ‘You absolutely must hear him, this boy plays like a devil.’ Continue reading “Fazıl Say (piano)” »
Kim Woongsik is one of the most versatile percussionists. Most drummers in Korea specialize in one particular style such as sanjo or pansori accompaniment, percussion ensemble, folk style, or classical style, but Kim is uniquely fluent and proficient in multiple styles, including contemporary crossover styles. He is one of the most sought after sanjo accompanists and performers of new compositions by both Korean traditional style and Western style composers. Kim has been an active member of the ‘CMEK’ since 2003, a group known to frequently collaborate with Western composers and performers. Continue reading “Kim Woongsik (percussionist)” »
Mark Wilde was born in Scotland and was a chorister at Dundee Cathedral. He went on to study at the University of East Anglia and the Royal College of Music. Continue reading “Mark Wilde (tenor)” »
Rafael Usero Vilches was born on July 14th, 1972 in Utrera, Seville. His life has been linked to flamenco from a very early age, but he admits that his true talent was as a soccer player. At a young age he began to sing in a group from Seville with his brother Juan Luis. Continue reading “Rafael de Utrera Ensemble” »
The MDR Leipzig Radio Symphony Orchestra is Germany’s oldest radio orchestra. Today it is one of the liveliest and most innovative ensembles of its kind in Europe. In addition to featuring regularly on radio and television, the orchestra is committed to the challenge of producing first-class recordings, as well as to performing numerous concerts and to sharing its expertise and enthusiasm via children and youth projects. In this way the orchestra maintains and builds a close connection to young and old, and is always able to inspire new audiences for music.
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Katherine Broderick was the winner of the 2007 Kathleen Ferrier Award. She finished her studies at the National Opera Studio in London in 2008, having previously studied at the Guildhall School of Music and Drama, where she won the Gold Medal, and took the undergraduate course at the Royal Northern College of Music, during which time she spent a year at the Mendelssohn Hochschule in Leipzig. She studies with Susan McCulloch and is currently a member of the ENO Young Singers Programme. Continue reading “Katherine Broderick (soprano)” »
The Gurnee F. and Marjorie L. Hart Chair
Joseph Alessi was appointed Principal Trombone of the New York Philharmonic in the spring of 1985. He began musical studies in his native California with his father, Joseph Alessi, Sr. As a high school student in San Rafael, California, and was a soloist with the San Francisco Symphony before continuing his musical training at Philadelphiaìs Curtis Institute of Music. Prior to joining the Philharmonic, Mr. Alessi was second trombone of The Philadelphia Orchestra for four seasons, and principal trombone of LìOrchestre symphonique de Montreal for one season. In addition, he has performed as guest principal trombonist with the London Symphony Orchestra in Carnegie Hall led by Pierre Boulez.
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Background
• The Orchestra was founded in 1977 and is the only professional, full-sized Chinese orchestra with 85 musicians in Hong Kong. It came under the management of the Hong Kong Chinese Orchestra Limited on 1st April, 2001 when the latter took over from the Leisure and Cultural Services Department of Hong Kong. Under the leadership of the incumbent Artistic Director and Principal Conductor Yan Huichang (1997-date), and former Music Director – Ng Tai-kong (1977-1986), Kuan Nai-chung (1986-1993) and Henry Shek (1993-1997), the Orchestra has been promoting Chinese music as its mission.
• The Orchestra is deeply rooted in the Chinese cultural heritage. Its performance format and repertoire include both traditional Chinese music and contemporary full-scale works. It also explores new frontiers in music through commissioning new works of various types and styles, and over the years, has commissioned more than 2,100 original compositions and arrangements. The Orchestra currently has an establishment of 85 musicians who perform in the four sections comprising bowed-strings, plucked-strings, wind and percussion instruments. Traditional as well as improved Chinese instruments are incorporated.
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Boian Videnoff was born in 1987 in Sofia, Bulgaria to a family of well-known musicians. He received his first musical education at the age of four from his parents, Prof. Dora Bratchkova, first concertmaster of the German Radio Philharmonic, and Liubomir Videnoff, a noted baritone. Continue reading “Boian Videnoff” »