Pasadena Symphony presents Larger Than Life Program in November

The Pasadena Symphony continues its 90th season on Saturday, November 18th with Mozart Symphony No. 41. "Jupiter" at Ambassador Auditorium with performances at 2pm and 8pm. Music Director David Lockington will lead a musical voyage around Europe with this tour de force program celebrating three musical giants. Rossini's bright and breezy Barber of Seville overture opens the program, with St. Saens' 2nd Piano Concerto topped off by Mozart's last masterpiece - his Symphony No. 41, "Jupiter." Named for the King of the Roman gods, known for his joviality, exuberance and great strength, Mozart's final symphony carries the majestic first movement through to an overpoweringly triumphant finish - pure exhilaration.

Continuing their tradition of showcasing the stars of tomorrow here today, the Pasadena Symphony welcomes BBC New Generation Artist Zhang Zuo ("Zee Zee") to the stage to perform Saint Saens' Piano Concerto No. 2. First prize winner at China's 1st International Piano Concerto Competition, the young Zee Zee has already toured the globe in performances with the BBC Symphony, BBC Philharmonic, London Philharmonic, Los Angeles Philharmonic, Hong Kong Philharmonic and the Shanghai Symphony Orchestra, among others. Her brilliant technical virtuosity will shine through on this showy piece full of bravura - a performance you truly won't want to miss.

The Pasadena Symphony provides a socially vibrant experience specially designed for the music lover, the social butterfly or a date night out, and the inner epicurean in us all. To learn more about the music, arrive early for Insights, a pre-concert discussion with Music Director David Lockington, which begins one hour prior to curtain. Celebrate in style in the luxurious Symphony Lounge, yet another addition to the delightful and elegant concert experience the Pasadena Symphony offers. A posh setting at Ambassador Auditorium's beautiful outdoor plaza, audiences enjoy uniquely prepared menus for both lunch and dinner at each concert from Claud &Co, fine wines by Michero Family Wines, plus music before the concert and during intermission.

All concerts are held at Ambassador Auditorium, 131 South St. John Ave, Pasadena, CA with both matinee and evening performances at 2pm and 8pm. Subscription packages start at as low as $99. Single tickets start at $35 and may be purchased online at www.pasadenasymphony-pops.org or by calling (626) 793-7172. A limited number of tickets will be available at the box office on the day of the concert.

ABOUT THE ARTISTS

David Lockington
Music Director

David Lockington began his career as a cellist and was the Principal with the National Youth Orchestra of Great Britain for two years. After completing his Bachelor of Arts degree at the University of Cambridge where he was a choral scholar, Mr. Lockington came to the United States on a scholarship to Yale University where he received his Master's Degree in cello performance and studied conducting with Otto Werner Mueller. He was a member of the New Haven Symphony Orchestra and served as assistant principal cellist with the Denver Symphony Orchestra for three years before turning to conducting.

Over the past thirty years, David Lockington has developed an impressive conducting career in the United States. A native of Great Britain, he served as the Music Director of the Grand Rapids Symphony from January 1999 to May 2015, and is currently the orchestra's Conductor Laureate. He has held the position of Music Director with the Modesto Symphony since May 2007 and in March 2013, Mr. Lockington was appointed Music Director of the Pasadena Symphony. He has a close relationship with the Orquesta Sinfonica del Principado de Asturias in Spain, where he was the orchestra's Principal Guest Conductor from 2012 through 2016, and in the 15/16 season was named one of three Artistic Partners with the Northwest Sinfonietta in Tacoma, Washington.

In addition to his current posts, since his arrival to the United States in 1978 Mr. Lockington has held positions with several other American orchestras, including serving as Assistant Conductor of the Denver Symphony Orchestra and Opera Colorado, and Assistant and Associate Conductor of the Baltimore Symphony Orchestra. In May 1993 he accepted the position of Music Director of the Ohio Chamber Orchestra, assumed the title of Music Director of the New Mexico Symphony Orchestra in September 1995 and was Music Director of the Long Island Philharmonic for the 96/97 through 99/2000 seasons.

Mr. Lockington's guest conducting engagements include appearances with the Saint Louis, Houston, Detroit, Seattle, Toronto, Vancouver, Oregon and Phoenix symphonies; the Rochester and Louisiana Philharmonics; and the Orchestra of St. Luke's at Carnegie Hall. Internationally, he has conducted the Northern Sinfonia in Great Britain, the Israel Chamber Orchestra, the China Broadcasting Symphony Orchestra in Beijing and Taiwan, and led the English Chamber Orchestra on a tour in Asia.

Recent and upcoming guest conducting engagements include appearances with the New Jersey, Indianapolis, Utah, Pacific, Colorado, Nashville, San Diego, Santa Barbara, Stamford, Tucson and Kansas City symphonies, the Florida and Louisville Orchestras, the National Arts Centre Orchestra in Ottawa and the Buffalo, Calgary and Oklahoma Philharmonics. Mr. Lockington's summer festival activities include appearances at the Grand Teton, Colorado Music, Interlochen, Chautauqua and Eastern Music festivals.

David Lockington began his career as a cellist and was the Principal with the National Youth Orchestra of Great Britain for two years. After completing his Bachelor of Arts degree at the University of Cambridge where he was a choral scholar, Mr. Lockington came to the United States on a scholarship to Yale University where he received his Master's Degree in cello performance and studied conducting with Otto Werner Mueller. He was a member of the New Haven Symphony Orchestra and served as assistant principal cellist with the Denver Symphony Orchestra for three years before turning to conducting.

Zhang Zuo ("Zee Zee")
Piano

In recent seasons, pianist Zhang Zuo ("Zee Zee") has appeared with the BBC Symphony, BBC Philharmonic, London Philharmonic, Belgian National Orchestra, Los Angeles Philharmonic, Cincinnati Symphony, Hong Kong Philharmonic and the Shanghai Symphony Orchestra, among others. She has worked with leading conductors including Paavo Jarvi, Marin Alsop and Yan Pascal Totellier and has appeared at some of the top festivals, such as the BBC Proms, Ravinia Festival in the United States and the Beethoven Festival in Poland. Zee Zee has also had success with a series of solo recitals at notable halls around the world, including the Kennedy Center in Washington DC, Lincoln Center in New York, London's Wigmore Hall and De Doelen in Rotterdam.

An imaginative and electrifying performer, Zee Zee began her musical training in Germany at the age of five. Upon returning to her native China, she became one of the most sought after young artists in the nation, collaborating with leading Chinese orchestras with whom she retains a close link - the 16/17 season sees her as the Artist in Residence with the Shenzen Symphony Orchestra touring Europe. Having completed her piano studies with Dan Zhao Yi at the Shenzhen Arts School , Zee Zee was invited to continue her artistic development under the mentorship of Nelita True at the Eastman School of Music and Yoheved Kaplinsky and Robert McDonald at The Juilliard School, where she won the coveted Petschek Piano Award. Zee Zee was awarded first prizes at China's 1st International Piano Concerto Competition, the Gina Bachauer International Artists Piano Competition in America, and the Krainev International Piano Competition in Ukraine; she was also a prizewinner at the 2013 Queen Elizabeth Competition. She has studied at the Peabody Institute with Leon Fleisher, and continues to receive guidance from Alfred Brendel. Maestro Paavo Järvi identified her as "one of the most outstanding and passionate pianistic talents I have come across"

2015-16 marked the final season of Zee Zee's two-year residency with the BBC's flagship New Generation Artists program. During her residency, she gave a number of orchestral concerts and recitals in London and around Great Britain. As an NGA artist, she has appeared with the BBC Philharmonic and BBC Ulster Orchestra with whom she performed a live, televised concert for the BBC Proms at Royal Albert Hall. She also debuted with the Warsaw Philharmonic, performed the Liszt Totentanz and Beethoven 1st Concerto with the Minnesota Orchestra, and performed the Beethoven 1st Concerto with Paavo Jarvi in Parnu, Estonia, at the Jarvi family festival. She also performed with the Shanghai Symphony Orchestra and Charles Dutoit.

Zee Zee has been described as "full of enthusiasm and glamour, radiating the vigor of youth" (Chinese Gramophone). Her interpretations and communicative abilities have been praised as "taking us to another reality...bright, expressive and moving to the extreme" (Belgischer Rundfunk) while her creative maturity has been hailed as "a powerful, passionate and compelling representation of pure artistry" (Los Angeles Times).

Aside from her solo career, Zee Zee is a passionate chamber musician and has recently recorded her first album for Deutsche Grammophon with colleagues Esther Yoo and Narek Hakhnazaryan.

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