San Diego Chamber Orchestra gets exotic
Masayo Ishigure on the Japanese koto
The San Diego Chamber Orchestra is up to some interesting things this weekend. The usual suspects in terms of orchestra instruments will be represented at the upcoming Asian Silk Road concert series, but they’ve invited three guest artist with three exotic instruments to join them in playing traditional classic music by the masters.
The full press release is below:
The San Diego Chamber Orchestra, under the leadership of Artistic Director and Conductor Jung-Ho Pak, will present a rare concert event, /Asian Silk Road,/ on November 14, 17 and 18, bringing together three superstars with their exotic instruments. Traditional classical music by the masters Mozart, Tchaikovsky, Ravel and Puccini will also be featured.
These international virtuosos are featured in authentic pieces that demonstrate their extraordinary technique and passion: Min Xiao-Fen on the Chinese pipa (guitar), Masayo Ishigure on the Japanese koto, and Münir Becken on the Turkish oud. They will join our adventurous orchestra in an evening where East meets West.
Pipa player/vocalist *Min Xiao-Fen*, internationally known for her virtuosity and fluid style, has received high acclaim for her classical, new music and jazz performances. After learning the pipa from her father, a pipa master in China, and performing with the Nanjing National Music Orchestra, she began working with composers Zhou Long, Carl Stone and Chen Yi and recorded /The Moon Rising /(Cala), hailed by BBC /Music Magazine /as “one of the best CDs of 1996.” She has been featured as a composer and soloist with renowned orchestras worldwide, as well as for several film scores. She also performs with the Blue Pipa Trio, a jazz ensemble that she founded.
www.bluepipa.org <http://www.bluepipa.org/>
*Masayo Ishigure* began playing the koto and jiut shamisen at the age of five in Japan. After initial studies with Tadao and Kazue Sawai, she became a special research student at the Kawai Koto Academy of Music. The aim of the academy was to shed new light on koto music by incorporating everything from Bach to jazz. Since then, Ms Isigure has performed all over the world and has been featured in television broadcasts as well as in many TV commercials. She, along with Yitzhak Perlman, Yo Yo Ma and others, also recorded music for the soundtrack of the movie /Memoirs of a Geisha/. She is currently teaching koto and shamisen at Westleyan University (CT) and offers private lessons in the New York metropolitan area.
*Münir Beken *grew up in the “old world” of Istanbul, living on the more suburban Asian side of Istanbul, but commuting to the European side by ferry for classes at the conservatory so he could become, as he says, “a serious composer or performer of western music. The diversity of my education provided me with the tools to understand the musical universe as a whole.” He received his Ph.D. in ethnomusicology from the University of Maryland and has studied with some of the most important 21^st century composers, including Lukas Foss and Philip Glass, and his compositions have been performed in some of the most significant concert halls in the world. He is an accomplished performer on the Turkish oud, a stringed instrument.
“I am absolutely fascinated with the influence of Asian culture on western music, not just in today’s world, but for the past several centuries,” says Maestro Pak. “This unique concert will have something for everyone – those who love traditional classical music from Mozart, Tchaikovsky, Ravel, Puccini and Rimsky-Korsakov and those adventuresome music lovers who want to hear how the cultures have influenced each other through music.”
The *Asian Silk Road* *concert series will be performed at three venues*:
Friday, November 14, *St. Paul**’s Cathedral, Downtown* – 7:30 p.m.
Monday, November 17, *Sherwood Auditorium, **La Jolla* – 7:30 p.m.
Tuesday, November 18, *Del** Mar Country Club, Rancho **Santa Fe* – 7:30 p.m.
(complimentary reception with wine and hors d’ouevres at 6:30 p.m.)
Tickets: 858-350-0290 or www.sdco.org. For more concert details, www.sdco.org <http://www.sdco.org/>.
Photos of guest artists and the Orchestra available through marketing@sdco.org.
