Three young soloists and other Youth Competition Winners will join with the Culver City Chamber Orchestra to provide a special family performance on Saturday, June 26.
Violinist Jessie Chen, age 15, is a tenth grader attending Palos Verdes Peninsula High School. He has been studying the violin since age 6 as a student of Elmer Su and has won numerous awards and competitions including the “Most Promising Musician” award in the prestigious Los Angeles Philharmonic’s Bronislaw Kaper Competition at the Walt Disney Concert Hall. He won first place at the Music Teachers’ Association of California VOCE Strings Competition All-State Finals. Jesse had a solo debut with the Bellflower Symphony at age 9, and has performed with other orchestras since then.
At the young age of fourteen, Kristie Su is already an accomplished violinist. She began studying violin with her father and teacher, Elmer Su, at the age of three. Kristie is a ninth grade student at Palos Verdes Peninsula High School, where she is a member of her school’s advanced orchestra. Kristie has won numerous competitions since she was eight years old. Most recently, she won first place in the Parness Youth Concerto Competition. She has made solo appearances with numerous orchestras and is in the Palos Verdes Regional Symphony Orchestra.
Sixteen-year-old cellist Andrea Yu has been studying with cellist Ruslan Biryukov at the Alto Polis Academy. Andrea has won numerous competitions, including the Chi Mei Arts Award and the Young Musicians Foundation Concerto Competition. A native San Diegan, Andrea is an 11th grade student at the Mount Carmel High School and has served as the assistant principal of the San Diego Youth Symphony. In collaboration with the Young Musicians Foundation Chamber Series, Andrea was selected to participate in a trio coached by the world renowned violinist Alice Schoenfeld.
The concert will also feature Mary Lou Newmark, an electric violinist, composer, and poet living in Los Angeles. Ms. Newmark has received numerous awards for her talent as a composer and performer, including the 2009 Bettylou Scandling Hubin Award in Music Technology, 2004 Herb Alpert Foundation’s Alpert Award in the Arts for Music nomination, American Composers Forum Grant for her electric violin concerto, “Canto de Luz,” and a residency at the Atlantic Center for the Arts in Florida. Although she breaks new ground as a composer, she has a traditional classical background with undergraduate and graduate degrees in violin performance from Southern Methodist University and USC, and a Masters degree in composition from UCLA.
The program will feature Schubert’s Overture in D, Bach’s Violin Concerto for 2 Violins (Jessie Chen and Kristie Su), Haydn’s Cello Concerto (Andrea Yu), Mary Lou Newmark’s Canto de Luz (composer, electric violin), and Schubert’s Symphony No. 5.
The concert admission is $15. Children under 12 are $10. Seating is limited and reservations are highly recommended. Saturday, June 26, 4 PM at the Kirk Douglas Theater, 9820 Washington Blvd., Culver City. Bring the family and enjoy beautiful and uplifting music. Call (310) 397-2490 for reservations and information.
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