Nova Scotia Youth Orchestra Presents Pianist Kim in Lunenburg/Halifax
The Nova Scotia Youth Orchestra under the baton of Music Director Dinuk Wijeratne will present two concerts featuring NSYO Concerto Competition Winner Ria Kim: Saturday, December 3 at 7:30 p.m. at St. John’s Anglican Church, Lunenburg, and Featured works on the program are Beethoven’s Piano Concerto No. 5 (Emperor), Gershwin’s Catfish Row Symphonic Suite, and Bizet’s Carmen Suite Selections. Admission is $20 for adults and $10 for students at the door.
Special thanks to the RBC Foundation for sponsoring this season’s summer workshop, and to sponsor Women for Music, as well as Nova Scotia Communities, Culture and Heritage. The performance in Lunenburg is presented with the cooperation of the St. Cecilia Concert Series.
Pianist Ria Kim was born in Seoul, Korea, and has been living in Halifax since 2007. Presently a student in the Bachelor of Music Program on scholarship at Dalhousie University under Professor Lynn Stodola, she is an active chamber musician, playing harpsichord with the Dalhousie Chamber Orchestra. She was awarded the Tritt Scholarship from the Scotia Festival of Music 2011 to participate in the Young Artists Program, and is a President’s Cup winner of the Nova Scotia Kiwanis Music Festival. As Laureate of the 2010 Nova Scotia Registered Music Teachers Scholarship competition, Ms. Kim represented the Province at the 2011 CFMTA Convention/Piano Competition held in July in Saskatoon.
Recently hailed by the Toronto Star as 'an artist who reflects a positive vision of our cultural future', Sri Lankan-born Dinuk Wijeratne is internationally active as a composer, pianist and conductor. A graduate of the Royal Northern College (UK), Mannes College (NYC), and from the Juilliard School where he studied with Oscar-winner John Corigliano, Dinuk made his Carnegie Hall debut in 2004 as a conductor, composer and pianist, performing with Yo Yo Ma and the Silk Road Ensemble. A second Carnegie appearance followed in 2009, this time alongside tabla legend Zakir Hussain. Dinuk has also performed in Sri Lanka, Japan, across England and the Middle East, and at such venues as the Kennedy Center, Opera Bastille (Paris), and the Berlin Philharmonie. Highlights of his past season have included an artist residency with the St. Cecelia Series; appearances at the Prismatic Festival; and new commissions for orchestra, piano, film, theatre, voice and dance ensemble (a large-scale multidisciplinary work especially for Scotia Festival 2011 and the Elizabeth Bishop Centenary Celebrations).
A passionate educator, lecturer at Dalhousie University and in his sixth season as Music Director of the Nova Scotia Youth Orchestra, Dinuk has conducted the National Arts Centre Orchestra (Ottawa) and appeared many times with Symphony Nova Scotia as former Conductor-in-Residence. He is the recipient of the Jean-Marie Beaudet Award for Orchestral Conducting, double Merritt Award nominations (2009), as well as numerous other prizes. His music and collaborative work embrace the great diversity of his international background and influences.
The Nova Scotia Youth Orchestra is a non-profit organization that was founded in 1977. For thirty-five years, the NSYO has provided students with educational opportunities not available at any university, public school, or conservatory in the province. The Orchestra has been described by renowned professional conductors and musicians as one of the finest in Canada. Eight-five per cent of the alumni have gone on to jobs in music-related fields. The NSYO now boasts nearly 1000 alumni. Past Music Directors include: Robert Raines, Stan Fisher, Georg Tintner, Gregory Burton, and current Music Director is Dinuk Wijeratne.
The NSYO's season runs from the end of August until the end of April, and includes a ten-day Summer Workshop. The Orchestra usually performs six to eight concerts in a typical season. For more information, please call 423-5984, or visit the NSYO website at www.novascotiayouthorchestra.com.
