YASO to Feature Eduardo Rios on Mendelssohn Violin Concerto, 12/6

Young Artists Symphony Orchestra (YASO), led by Artistic Director Alexander Treger, continues its inaugural season with a free concert spotlighting two remarkable artists from its own ranks on Sunday, December 6, 2015, 7 pm, at UCLA's Royce Hall.

20-year-old Peruvian-born Concertmaster Eduardo Rios, lauded for his "luminous" playing (Aspen Times), performs Mendelssohn's Violin Concerto in E minor, Op. 64, considered one of the greatest violin concertos of all time, and Associate Conductor Henry Shin makes his YASO debut conducting Wagner's intimate and tender tone poem Siegfried Idyll. Treger, who conducts the Mendelssohn, also leads Dvorák's solemn Symphony No. 7 in D minor, Op. 70, which showcases the composer at his best.

YASO, a recently established pre-professional training orchestra hailed as a "glorious" (Out West Arts) "musical force to be reckoned with" (LA Opus), champions, mentors and inspires the next generation of outstanding young musicians for careers in classical music.

Treger says of the featured soloist, "Eduardo Rios is a exceptional talent with a brilliant future." He adds, "YASO is also proud to present our gifted associate conductor, Henry Shin."

Rios, a Bachelor of Music candidate at the Colburn School Conservatory of Music in Los Angeles, recently made his American debut with the Houston Symphony and won of the prestigious 2015 Sphinx Competition, which comes with a $50,000 cash prize. In addition to his solo appearance with YASO, Rios's 2015-16 performances include debuts with the Nashville Symphony and the Colburn Orchestra. He made his solo debut at age 14 with the National Symphony Orchestra of Peru and, in the US, attended the Interlochen Center for the Arts Summer Camp and the Aspen Festival as a scholarship student, among numerous achievements.

Shin holds a Bachelor of Arts degree from UC Berkeley, a Masters degree in conducting from the USC Flora L. Thornton School of Music, and is currently completing his doctoral studies at the UCLA Herb Alpert School of Music. In addition to serving as associate conductor of the Young Artist Symphony Orchestra, he is Director of Orchestras at Pasadena City College, the music director and conductor of the nationally-acclaimed Harmony Project Orchestras, Hollywood, and serves as the assistant conductor of the Elizabeth Mandel Music Institute (EMMI) Chamber Orchestra at the Crossroads School in Santa Monica. He was formerly the assistant conductor of the San Francisco Civic Symphony and the University Symphony Orchestra at UC Berkeley.

Treger, former concertmaster of the Los Angeles Philharmonic, is "an icon of the Los Angeles musical scene" (LA Opus) whose conducting has been described as "vivid" (The New York Times), "uplifting" (Musical America) and "expertly finessed" (Examiner).

YASO, comprised of dedicated young artists ages 15 to 26 drawn from a variety of schools and conservatories around the Southland, adheres to the high standards and protocols of professional orchestras, providing the orchestra members with the same type of experiences they will encounter as professional artists. YASO members, who receive a generous stipend for their services, are selected through a rigorous audition process. They perform key works that are an essential part of the core orchestral repertoire and are held to extremely high standards since many of the members will be auditioning directly into professional ensembles. During its inaugural 2015-16 season, YASO presents two more free concerts this season at Royce Hall on Sunday, February 28, 2016, and Saturday, April 23, 2016, with such featured repertoire as Bartók's Concerto for Orchestra, Lutoslawski's Little Suite, and John Adams' The Chairman Dances.

Admission to the concert is free. Reservations can be made in advance at YASOLA.org or (310) 905-3496. Tickets are also available at the door the night of the concert.

20-year-old violinist EDUARDO RIOS is the winner of the 2015 Sphinx Competition. Born and raised in Lima, Peru, he began playing the violin at age ten and made his solo debut at age 14 with the National Symphony Orchestra of Peru. He returned to solo with the orchestra on two more occasions, and has also soloed with the National Youth Orchestra of Peru. He recently made his American debut with the Houston Symphony performing the Mendelssohn Violin Concerto. Rios's 2015-16 performances include debuts with the Nashville Symphony, the Young Artists Symphony Orchestra and the Colburn Orchestra. Rios first came to the United States at age 15 under the auspices of the cultural exchange program, Traveling Notes. He subsequently continued his musical studies in Peru at the National Conservatory and served as concertmaster of the National Youth Orchestra for four years. During this time, he returned to the US to attend the Interlochen Center for the Arts Summer Camp, and participated in tours and festivals around the globe, including the 2011 Youth Orchestra of America tour of Mexico. Also in 2011, Rios traveled to Armenia with Traveling Notes where he performed with American and Armenian young musicians and participated in educational outreach to local music schools. In 2013, Rios was a scholarship student at the Aspen Music Festival and School and participated in the Festival Musica de Santa Catarina in Brazil. He attended the New York String Orchestra Seminar and performed two concerts at Carnegie Hall under the direction of Jamie Laredo. Rios is currently a Bachelor of Music candidate at the Colburn School Conservatory of Music in Los Angeles where he studies with Robert Lipsett. He is concertmaster of the Young Artists Symphony Orchestra and co-concertmaster of the Colburn Orchestra. Previously he held the post of concertmaster for the American Youth Symphony from 2013-2015. A committed chamber musician, Rios was also first violinist of the Alma String Quartet, which attended the 2014 Norfolk Chamber Music Festival as the student fellowship quartet, as well as the McGill International String Quartet Academy. Rios has collaborated with renowned musicians Jean-Yves Thibaudet, Kevin Fitzgeral, Martin Beaver and Clive Greensmith, among others.

Steadily building a reputation as one of the most versatile conductors of his generation, HENRY SHIN is the associate conductor of the Young Artist Symphony Orchestra. A strong proponent of bringing music to underserved youth in Los Angeles, he also serves as the music director and conductor of the nationally-acclaimed Harmony Project Orchestras, Hollywood. In addition, Shin serves as the assistant conductor of the Elizabeth Mandel Music Institute (EMMI) Chamber Orchestra at the Crossroads School in Santa Monica. Prior to his arrival in Los Angeles, Shin served as assistant conductor of the San Francisco Civic Symphony and with the University Symphony Orchestra at UC Berkeley. For nearly 10 years, he served as music director and conductor of the UC Berkeley Summer Symphony. He has also been music director of the San Francisco Arts Education Project's Event Players, a premiere children's musical theater troupe, leading sold-out performances of Carousel, Guys and Dolls, Oklahoma!, and On the Town. In 2009, Shin gained international recognition when he was a prizewinner at the prestigious International Competition for Young Conductors in Besançon, France, whose notable alumni include Seiji Ozawa and Osmo Vänskä. Shin studied conducting with David Milnes, John Barnett, Carl St.Clair, and Neal Stulberg, among others. He has also worked alongside Kurt Masur, James Conlon, Marin Alsop, Gustav Meier, Daniel Lewis, and Stanislaw Skrowaczewski. In 2006, he received the Alfred Hertz Memorial Traveling Fellowship, allowing him to be a conducting apprentice at the Deutsches Nationaltheater und Staatskapelle Weimar in Germany. Shin holds a Bachelor of Arts degree from UC Berkeley, a Masters degree in conducting from the USC Flora L. Thornton School of Music, and is currently completing his doctoral studies at the UCLA Herb Alpert School of Music.

ALEXANDER TREGER, noted violinist, accomplished conductor, and gifted educator, is Artistic Director of Young Artists Symphony Orchestra. Treger previously served as Music Director of the American Youth Symphony for 17 years, as the successor to Mehli Mehta, who founded the orchestra in 1964. He also serves as the Music Director/Conductor of the Crossroads Chamber Orchestra, where he has developed a youth orchestra of the highest caliber for more than 20 years. Treger joined the Los Angeles Philharmonic in 1974 and was appointed Concertmaster in 1985, a position he held for 25 years. During his time with the Los Angeles Philharmonic, Treger won high praise for his numerous solo performances with the orchestra at the Music Center and the Hollywood Bowl, which have included concertos by Mozart, Beethoven, Brahms, Bartók, Mendelssohn, Sibelius, Shostakovich, and Prokofiev, under the direction of Zubin Mehta, Carlo Maria Giulini, Simon Rattle, Pierre Boulez, Vladimir Ashkenazy, Valery Gergiev, Yuri Temirkanov, and Esa-Pekka Salonen. A musician of many interests and talents, he continually devotes more of his time to conducting. He guest-conducted the Turku Philharmonic in Finland and stepped in at the last minute to conduct the Los Angeles Philharmonic, replacing the indisposed Franz Welser-Möst. He has also appeared as guest conductor with the Santa Barbara Chamber Orchestra, the New World Symphony, the Guangzhou Symphony Orchestra, and the Russian State Academic Symphony Orchestra. Treger began his musical training at the age of five in his native Russia, where he studied violin and piano. By the age of thirteen, he had won numerous music competitions in his country, and was later chosen by the renowned violinist David Oistrakh to study at the prestigious Moscow Conservatory. He describes the six years he spent at the Conservatory being mentored by Mr. Oistrakh as "among the most influential on my development as a musician." While a student there, he also took a great interest in conducting. After graduating, Treger became a member of the Moscow Radio Symphony and, subsequently, left Russia to become the Concertmaster/Soloist of the Israel Chamber Orchestra. He has also appeared as soloist with a number of major U.S. orchestras, including the San Francisco, Denver, Dallas, and Houston Symphonies. An avid chamber performer, he has collaborated in concerts with such well-known artists as Radu Lupu, Yefim Bronfman, André Previn, Bernard Greenhouse, and Emanuel Ax. An inspiring teacher who enjoys working with promising young musicians, Treger has given numerous master classes around the world and held the position of Professor of Violin at UCLA for two decades, from 1977 to 1997. In 2013, he was appointed an Artist in Residence at Pepperdine University, and since 2014, Treger has served as a Visiting Artist at the Music Academy of the West in Santa Barbara.

The mission of the YOUNG ARTISTS SYMPHONY ORCHESTRA is to champion, train, mentor, and inspire the next generation of outstanding young musicians ages 15-26 for professional careers in symphony orchestras and ensembles around the world. It provides exceptional musical training to gifted young artists by distinguished conductor and educator Alexander Treger. Drawing on the most rigorous and artistic principles, YASO emulates a professional orchestra in its structure and operation, holding annual auditions and providing a stipend to its members. YASO will present the most compelling musical repertoire in a series of free live concerts for the public at beautiful Royce Hall.

IF YOU GO:

Young Artists Symphony Orchestra
Alexander Treger, Artistic Director
Henry Shin, Associate Conductor
Eduardo Rios, Violin

Sunday, December 6, 2015, 7 pm

At UCLA's Royce Hall, 340 Royce Drive, Los Angeles, CA 90095

PROGRAM:
WAGNER Siegfried Idyll
Henry Shin, conductor
MENDELSSOHN Violin Concerto in E minor, Op. 64
Eduardo Rios, violin
DVORÁK Symphony No. 7 in D minor, Op. 70

Tickets/Information: FREE; YASOLA.org; (310) 905-3496