Orchestra Community Leaders Celebrate Asia

The entire community is invited to this landmark event, and concertgoers are invited to wear festive dress or their national costume.

The event will begin at 6 p.m. with a stellar line-up including performers from the Chinese Arts and Music Association, Filipino soprano Gabrielle Borromeo, and Indian dances performed by Shivani and Natasha Mahapatro in the Samuel & Althea Stroum Grand Lobby. Concertgoers will then parade into the S. Mark Taper Foundation Auditorium, lead by the pulsing rhythms of the Chinese Lion Dance performed by Belltown Martial Arts.

At 7:30 p.m., Mona Locke, Washington State’s former First Lady and the evening’s host, will introduce Seattle Symphony Associate Conductor Carolyn Kuan, Seattle Symphony and the Seattle Youth Symphony Orchestra who will give a side-by-side performance. Kuan will lead the orchestras in symphonic works from Eastern and Western traditions, with solo performances by local teen violinist Paul Kim and er-hu virtuoso Warren Chang. The evening’s festivities will conclude with a performance by One World Taiko.

Celebrate Asia! was conceived by a special committee comprised of members of the Seattle-area Chinese, Japanese, Korean, Filipino and Indian communities. Celebrate Asia! Committee Chair Yoshi Minegishi said, “Creativity and diversity are what make cities unique. I am fortunate to work with a wonderful committee of community members who believe that Celebrate Asia! will help to put Seattle on the map as the most Asian-friendly city in the United States and a great place to live and enjoy diverse arts.” Minegishi is also a Board Member of Seattle Symphony and Japan America Society.

Associate Conductor Carolyn Kuan remarked, “This very special event will be a fabulous opportunity for young musicians to perform side-by-side with the professionals. The program we’ve selected is filled with familiar mainstays from both the East and West that can be enjoyed by the entire family. I’m also delighted that Paul Kim and Warren Chang will join the combined orchestras in special solo roles.”

"The Seattle Youth Symphony Orchestras instill in its students a life-long appreciation for the arts,” commented SYSO Music Director Stephen Rogers Radcliffe. “We are one of the foundations of the musical and cultural life in the Seattle region. Our students go on to become not only musicians for performing arts organizations throughout the Pacific Northwest, but their patrons, donors and institutional leaders as well. Nearly 40 percent of our enrollment is drawn from Asian families. In this way, the organization is a leader in providing outstanding artistic and education programs for the Asian community."

Now in its inaugural year, it is hoped that Celebrate Asia! will become a mainstay on the city’s musical calendar. The proceeds from the event will go toward future Celebrate Asia! programs, the Seattle Youth Symphony Orchestras’ Scholarship Fund and Seattle Symphony. The committee’s future plans include broadening the event’s program scope to include more countries and Asian musical traditions.

Paul Kim, violin

Violinist Paul Kim is a six-year participant in the Seattle Youth Symphony Orchestras program and has served as concertmaster of the Seattle Youth Symphony Orchestra and the Marrowstone Festival Orchestra. Paul began studying violin at age 8. His principal teachers have included Cynthia Staruck, John Kim, Margaret Pressley and, his current teacher, Ron Patterson. In 2006, Paul won the American String Teacher Association’s Washington State Competition and went on to National Semi-Finals. Last year, he was the First Prize winner at the MTNA State and Regional Competition and won Second Prize at the national level in Denver, Colorado.

This past summer, Paul attended Green Mountain Chamber Music Festival and the Seattle Youth Symphony’s Marrowstone Music Festival, where he participated in master classes with Kyung-Sun Lee, Associate Professor of University of Houston; Bernard Greenhouse, the founding cellist of the Beaux Arts Trio; and James Buswell, Professor of Violin of New England Conservatory. He is a student at Bellevue Community College as part of the Running Start Program.

Warren Chang, er-hu

President and founder of the Chinese Arts and Music Association, Warren Chang resides in the greater Seattle area and is one of the foremost er-hu experts in the United States. He has performed extensively and has made numerous television and radio appearances both nationally and in China. He has traveled throughout country lecturing and performing to introduce and promote Chinese music to the American public. His incomparable determination and continuing efforts to introduce Chinese music to the Western world has gained a great deal of respect and admiration from both professional musicians and music lovers in general. In January 1995, Chang was invited to record the soundtrack for the epic movie The Soong Sisters, with an original score by contemporary composer Kitaro. Since 1997, he has performed as er-hu soloist with Seattle Philharmonic Orchestra, Cascade Symphony, Port Angeles Symphony, Seattle Symphony and Whatcom Symphony Orchestra.

Seattle Youth Symphony Orchestra, Stephen Rogers Radcliffe, Music Director

Founded in 1942 under the baton of Francis Aranyi, the Seattle Symphony Youth Orchestra is one of the premiere youth orchestras in the nation. Made up of the finest young classical musicians in the region and led by Music Director Stephen Rogers Radcliffe, the Seattle Youth Symphony Orchestra delivers performances of professional caliber with unrivaled energy and passion. Rogers Radcliffe has conducted orchestras on four continents, produced compact disc recordings of operatic, orchestral and chamber music works, and has fostered the development of audiences through innovative educational and artistic programs. Maestro Radcliffe was Founder and Music Director of the New York Chamber Ensemble, Artistic Director of the Cape May Music Festival and Principal Guest Conductor of the Hungarian Virtuosi. He is currently the Harry and Mildred Bemis Endowed Fellow at Brandeis University, and has served as the Director of Orchestral and Operatic Activities at the University of Massachusetts.

Carolyn Kuan, conductor

Seattle Symphony Associate Conductor Carolyn Kuan has also served as Assistant Conductor for North Carolina Symphony, Baltimore Opera Company and Cabrillo Festival of Contemporary Music. As a guest conductor, Carolyn Kuan has performed with Baltimore Symphony, Bournemouth Symphony, Detroit Symphony, Eastern Music Festival, Festival del Sole, Milwaukee Symphony, National Symphony, and San Francisco Symphony. Upcoming concerts include performances with Mexico Philharmonic Orchestra, National Symphony Orchestra of Taiwan, Orchestra de la Suisse Romande, Pacific Northwest Ballet, Toledo Symphony and a return to San Francisco Symphony. The recipient of numerous awards, Kuan holds the distinction of being the first female to be awarded the Herbert von Karajan Conducting Fellowship. Kuan has studied with Marin Alsop, Kurt Masur, Gustav Meier and Leonard Slatkin. -- www.seattlesymphony.org