Van Cliburn Gold Medalist Opens EPSO Season in September

YUNCHAN LIM, 2022 CLIBURN GOLD MEDALIST
Opens El Paso Symphony’s 2022-2023 Season

The El Paso Symphony Orchestra is thrilled to welcome the 2022 Cliburn Gold Medalist, Yunchan Lim to El Paso to open its 2022-2023 season, September 23 & 24, 2022, 7:30pm Plaza Theatre.

Yunchan Lim launched onto the international music stage when he was 14. He won second prize and the Chopin Special Award in his first-ever competition, the Cleveland International Piano Competition for Young Artists in 2018. That same year, he stood out as the youngest participant in the Cooper International Competition, where he won the third prize and the audience prize, which provided the opportunity for him to perform with the Cleveland Orchestra. 2019 meant more accolades, when, at the age of 15, he was the youngest to win Korea’s IsangYun International Competition, where he also took home two special prizes.
 
Now just 18, he has performed across South Korea—including with the Korean Orchestra Festival, Korea Symphony, Suwon Philharmonic, and Busan Philharmonic Orchestras, among others—as well as in Madrid, at the invitation of the Korea Cultural Center in Spain. He also participated in the recording of “2020 Young Musicians of Korea,” organized by the Korean Broadcasting System and released that November. 
 
A native of Siheung, Yunchan currently studies at the Korea National University of Arts under Minsoo Sohn. Coming to Fort Worth, he says he is “looking forward to playing in front of the warmest and most passionate audience in the world.” 

Click here to learn more about Yunchan and watch him perform in the competition.

SEASON TICKETS TO THE EL PASO SYMPHONY’S 2022-2023 SEASON ARE AVAILABLE NOW! Call (915) 532-3776 for more information.

A Grammy Performance

The El Paso Symphony Orchestra (EPSO) led by conductor Bohuslav Rattay will ring in the New Year with Grammy award-winning cellist Zuill Bailey in concerts fittingly titled A Grammy Performance.  Zuill Bailey, sponsored by Mrs. Robert M. Graham, Sr., and EPSO will take the Plaza Theatre stage on January 17 and 18, 2020, 7:30pm. These concerts celebrate the 15th annual collaboration between the El Paso Symphony Orchestra and El Paso Pro-Musica, whose joint mission is to present world-renowned artists to perform on multiple stages throughout El Paso, reaching a broader audience.

The concerts first half feature two of the pinnacles of the romantic classical repertoire: Saint-Saëns’s Cello Concerto No. 1 and Tchaikovsky’s Rococo Variations.  The concerts open with Bailey and EPSO performing Saint-Saëns Cello Concerto which is one of the best-loved of 19th-century concertos.  Next is Tchaikovsky’s Rococo Variations, which he wrote while going through a severe depression.  Learning to escape depression through his work, Tchaikovsky wrote the Rococo Variations for Cello and Orchestra, one of his most nostalgic affirmations of love to what he perceived as the virtuousness of the eighteenth century.

The second half of the performances highlight the orchestra in Dvořák Symphony No. 7, op. 70 in D minor.  Dvořák’s Seventh Symphony was commissioned by the Royal Philharmonic Society in 1883 and is a departure from the composer’s usual musical style, which is known for its brightness and folk theme-filled melodies.  While still containing some Slavic elements, the Seventh Symphony is a little less bright and contains less folk material than his earlier works, with prevalent tragic and dark themes.

LEARN MORE:  Join EPSO and Dr. James Welsch, EPSO Assistant Conductor, prior to each performance at Opening Notes, 6:30pm in the Philanthropy Theatre, to get insights on the program, composers and artist.

ABOUT ZUILL BAILEY: Zuill Bailey, widely considered one of the premiere cellists in the world, is a Grammy Award winner, distinguished soloist, recitalist, chamber musician, Artistic Director and teacher.  His rare combination of celebrated artistry, technical wizardry and engaging personality has secured his place as one of the most sought after and active cellists today.  Recent highlights include appearances with orchestras such as Los Angeles, Chicago, Detroit, Minnesota, Israel, San Francisco, Toronto, Nashville, North Carolina, Indianapolis, Milwaukee, and the Philharmonia (UK) with conductors Itzhak Perlman, Carlos Kalmar, Neeme Jarvi, Jun Markl, Stanislav Skrowaczewski, Alan Gilbert, Andrey Borekyo, Krzysztof Urbanski, Giancarlo Guerrero, Andrew Litton, Grant Llewellyn and James DePriest.  He was honored as the distinguished Alumnus of 2014 by Johns Hopkins University Peabody Institute.

Zuill Bailey is an internationally renowned recording artist with over 20 titles. His extensive discography includes the Bach Cello Suites, the newly released Schumann, Haydn Cello Concertos and Britten Cello Symphony/Cello Sonata CD’s, all of which immediately soared to the Number One spot on the Classical Billboard Charts. The Grammy Award-winning Tales of Hemingway swept the board with three Grammy Awards including Best Solo Performance by Zuill Bailey.  Mr. Bailey performs on the “rosette” 1693 Matteo Gofriller Cello, formerly owned by Mischa Schneider of the Budapest String Quartet.  He is the Artistic Director of El Paso Pro-Musica (Texas), the Sitka Summer Music Festival/Series and Cello Seminar, (Alaska), the Northwest Bach Festival (Washington), guest Artistic Director of the Mesa Arts Center (Arizona) and Professor of Cello at the University of Texas at El Paso.

The El Paso Symphony Orchestra is supported in part by the City of El Paso Museums and Cultural Affairs Department, the Texas Commission on the Arts and the National Endowment for the Arts.

RECAP:
Opening Notes: Friday, January 17 & Saturday, January 18, 2020, 6:30pm Philanthropy Theatre (Free)
Concerts:
“A GRAMMY PERFORMANCE”

Friday, January 17 & Saturday, January 18, 2020, 7:30pm Plaza Theatre
El Paso Symphony Orchestra
Bohuslav Rattay, Conductor
Zuill Bailey, Cello
Saint-Saëns Concerto for Cello and Orchestra No. 1, op. 33 in A minor
Tchaikovsky Variations on a Rococo Theme, op. 33
Dvořák Symphony No. 7, op. 70 in D minor
Tickets: $46, $41, $35, $22, $16 and $9 and $12 for students plus applicable fees. Tickets may be purchase at epso.org, ticketmaster.com or by calling the EPSO office at (915) 532-3776.

 

Violinist, Yevgeny Kutik, Makes Debut with EPSO

Violinist Yevgeny Kutik
Makes Debut with El Paso Symphony Orchestra
Performing Tchaikovsky’s Violin Concerto

El Paso, TX — On Friday, October 18, 2019 and Saturday, October 19, 2019 at 7:30pm, Russian-American violinist Yevgeny Kutik, known for his “dark-hued tone and razor-sharp technique” (The New York Times), makes his debut with El Paso Symphony Orchestra performing Tchaikovsky’s Violin Concerto.  Led by Music Director Bohuslav Rattay, the program also features Shostakovich’s Symphony No. 7 “Leningrad Symphony.” Both performances begin at 7:30pm at The Plaza Theatre.

“Tchaikovsky’s Violin Concerto is one of the crown jewels in our repertoire for good reason,” says Kutik. “The melding of Russian sound, soul, folk music and virtuosity into one epic work is unparalleled, and I’m thrilled to make my debut with El Paso Symphony Orchestra to perform it.”

This concert will also feature a special collaboration with the Tom Lea Institute to present a unique multimedia experience incorporating Tom Lea’s iconic WWII paintings, sketches and photos of his time as the first embedded artist correspondent for WWII. These elements will be synched with the powerful last movement of Shostakovich’s Symphony No. 7 “Leningrad Symphony.”

Concert ticket prices are $46, $41, $35, $22 and $16 plus fees.  Student tickets for $9 and $12 plus fees are available.  Tickets may be purchase at epso.org, ticketmaster.com

or by calling the EPSO office at (915) 532-3776.

The October 18 & 19 EPSO concerts are generously sponsored by the Helen of Troy.  Yevgeny Kutik is underwritten by Judy & Kirk Robison.

ABOUT THE SOLOIST: Yevgeny Kutik has captivated audiences worldwide with an old-world sound that communicates a modern intellect. Praised for his technical precision and virtuosity, he is also lauded for his poetic and imaginative interpretations of standard works as well as rarely heard and newly composed repertoire. A native of Minsk, Belarus, Yevgeny Kutik immigrated to the United States with his family at the age of five. His 2014 album, Music from the Suitcase: A Collection of Russian Miniatures (Marquis Classics), features music he found in his family’s suitcase after immigrating to the United States from the Soviet Union in 1990, debuting at No. 5 on the Billboard Classical chart. The album garnered critical acclaim and was featured on NPR’s All Things Considered and in The New York Times.

In 2019, Kutik launched a new commissioning and recording project titled Meditations on Family via Marquis Classics. He commissioned eight composers to translate a personal family photo into a short musical miniature for violin and various ensemble, envisioning the project as a living archive of new works inspired by memories, home, and belonging. Each track was released digitally weekly, and the full EP CD, produced by four-time Grammy winner Jesse Lewis, was released on March 22, 2019. Strings Magazine featured Kutik and Meditations on Family as its cover story for the March/April issue. Kutik’s other recordings include his debut album, Sounds of Defiance (Marquis 2012), and Words Fail (Marquis 2016), both released to critical acclaim.

Yevgeny Kutik made his major orchestral debut in 2003 with Keith Lockhart and The Boston Pops as the First Prize recipient of the Boston Symphony Orchestra Young Artists Competition. In 2006, he was awarded the Salon de Virtuosi Grant as well as the Tanglewood Music Center Jules Reiner Violin Prize. Yevgeny Kutik began violin studies with his mother, Alla Zernitskaya, and went on to study with Zinaida Gilels, Shirley Givens, Roman Totenberg, and Donald Weilerstein. He holds a bachelor’s degree from Boston University and a master’s degree from the New England Conservatory and currently resides in Boston. Kutik’s violin was crafted in Italy in 1915 by Stefano Scarampella. For more information, please visit www.yevgenykutik.com.

THE TOM LEA INSTITUTE presents a unique multimedia experience incorporating Tom Lea’s iconic World War II paintings, sketches and photos of his time as the first embedded artist correspondent for WWII.  Using state-of-the-art editing techniques, special effects, and animation, Tom Lea’s art will be portrayed as never before. Synched with the powerful last movement of Shostakovich’s Leningrad symphony, viewers travel with Lea over 100,000 miles as an eyewitness to WWII.  Tom Lea provided insight into his approach as an artist correspondent, “I went out to the war as a reporter.  I absolutely was not going to do anything that I didn’t see and know-because I was there to record it, not as I thought it should be or not as an object of art.”  His painting “The Price” hung in the offices of the Joint Chiefs of Staff at the Pentagon for many years, as a reminder of the cost of the decisions made.

For Lea, it all began early in March 1941.  Life’s Dan Longwell, then the magazine’s executive editor, who had been impressed by Lea’s illustrations for J. Frank Dobie’s “The Longhorns,” decided to see what Lea could do for a story the magazine was planning to run on the 1st Cavalry Division. As Lea describes it: “ World War II came riding a horse right up in front of my studio door, dismounted, and put a foreshadowing finger on my easel in the spring of 1941, ten months before Pearl Harbor.  The March winds were blowing through the Pass, howling across the boondocks, rattling sand in grainy blasts against my studio window the day a totally unexpected telegram came from New York.  It was signed by a stranger, with an identifying tagline “Editorial Staff Life Magazine.”  It was a query.  It asked if I would take a commission to make a drawing of a typical cavalry trooper and his mount, to fit a story feature Life was doing with the 1st Cavalry Division stationed at Fort Bliss.”

Tom Lea went on to become the most prolific and published artist correspondent for Life Magazine during WWII.

ARTFUL PRELUDES: Yevgeny Kutik will join EPSO Music Director Bohulav Rattay at the El Paso Museum of Art for a discussion and sampling of the El Paso Symphony October concerts on Thursday, October 17, 12pm.  Artful Preludes is presented in collaboration with the El Paso Museum of Art is free and open to the public.  Attendees are welcomed to tour the museum prior to or after the program.

LEARN MORE:  Join EPSO prior to each performance at Opening Notes, 6:30pm in the Philanthropy Theatre, to get insights on the program, composers and artist.

The El Paso Symphony Orchestra is supported in part by the City of El Paso Museums and Cultural Affairs Department, the Texas Commission on the Arts and the National Endowment for the Arts.

RECAP:

Artful Preludes: Thursday, October 17, 12pm, El Paso Museum of Art (Free)
Opening Notes:
Friday, October 18 & Saturday, October 19, 2019, 6:30pm Philanthropy Theatre (Free)
Concerts:
“Four Guitars”

Friday, October 18 & Saturday, October 19, 2019 7:30pm Plaza Theatre

El Paso Symphony Orchestra
Bohuslav Rattay, Conductor
Yevgeny Kutik, Violin
Tchaikovsky Concerto for Violin, op. 35 in D major
Shostakovich Symphony No. 7, op. 60 in C major “Leningrad Symphony”

Tickets: $46, $41, $35, $22, $16 and $9 and $12 for students plus applicable fees. Tickets may be purchase at epso.org, ticketmaster.com or by calling the EPSO office at (915) 532-3776.

  

Tickets On Sale for Video Games LIVE!

EL PASO SYMPHONY ORCHESTRA PRESENTS VIDEO GAMES LIVE
A Video Game Multimedia Symphonic Concert Experience!

Tickets go on today Wednesday, December 5, 2018, 10am

Video Games Live (VGL) takes the gaming experience light years beyond with a “captivating, proudly bombastic show” (The New York Times) that combines video game music masterfully performed by the El Paso Symphony Orchestra with the explosive energy of a rock concert in the Plaza Theatre on April 13, 2019 at 8PM. Includes music from Final Fantasy, Zelda, Mario, Kingdom Hearts, Metal Gear Solid, Skyrim, Castlevania, Halo, World of Warcraft, Pokemon AND MANY MORE!!

Tickets for Video Games Live go on sale to the general public on Wednesday, December 5, 2018, 10am and can be purchased at www.epso.org, www.ticketmaster.com, or call the Symphony office at (915) 532-3776, and at the Plaza Theatre Box Office. Tickets prices are $30, $45, $60 to $75 (plus applicable service charges) and are subject to change.

VGL was created by industry legend, composer Tommy Tallarico. The multimedia concert introduces new audiences—families, video game enthusiasts and non-gamers—to the symphonic experience with exclusive video footage and music arrangements, synchronized lighting, well-known Internet solo performers, electronic percussion, live action and interactive segments. The “ingenious and fantastic” (Los Angeles Times) show spotlights the music that enhances the most gripping video game moments—rescuing the princess, winning the boss fight, saving the galaxy from aliens or defeating the undead—with performances from recent blockbusters and iconic classics.

Praise for the immersive concerts is abundant, with VGL being heralded as a “beautiful performance” (USA Today), “simply breathtaking” (IGN.com), “Thrilling!” (The London Times) and “…a feast for the eyes and ears” (Seattle Times).

The El Paso Symphony Orchestra is supported in part by the City of El Paso Museums and Cultural Affairs Department, the Texas Commission on the Arts, and the National Endowment for the Arts.