The Seattle Symphony to Present THE MERRIMAN-ROSS FAMILY YOUNG COMPOSERS WORKSHOP Concert in May

The Seattle Symphony will present the 2022/2023 Merriman-Ross Family Young Composers Workshop Concert on Thursday, May 18, at 7:30pm in the S. Mark Taper Foundation Auditorium at Benaroya Hall, with Douglas F. King Assistant Conductor Sunny Xia at the podium. This performance is free to attend and marks the Merriman-Ross Family Young Composers Workshop's 30th anniversary. The concert program features new works by this year's workshop participants: Jonathan Xu, August Baik, Luca Millard-Kish, Carson Ling-Efird, Elisa Kain-Johnson, Acadia Matyas, Anaeka Ganesh, Jeanne Park, Brannon Warn-Johnston and Ellie Wu.

Three decades ago, the Merriman-Ross Family Young Composers Workshop began when then-Composer in Residence Bright Sheng teamed with Gerard Schwarz (then-Harriet Overton Stimson Music Director and current Rebecca & Jack Benaroya Conductor Laureate). Together, Sheng and Schwarz launched the now-lauded educational program that sees original works by teens performed by Seattle Symphony musicians. This season's Workshop Director is Angelique Poteat, who provided instruction regarding all areas of composing, including writing themes and learning instrumentation and orchestration. Poteat, who is also the 2022/2023 Artist in Residence and a Young Composers Workshop alumna herself, will join each of the 10 students on stage to help introduce their new works to the audience.

To commemorate the program's 30th anniversary, the Seattle Symphony made several additions to the 2022/2023 Young Composers Workshop curriculum. For the first time, the young composers wrote scores for full orchestra, a remarkable undertaking for these students, who range from ages 12-18. Over the course of 15 weeks, this cohort of students attended several extra workshop sessions and had the opportunity to access additional events with guest artists and composers as well as attend concerts throughout the season.

The Merriman-Ross Family Young Composers Workshop is facilitated by the Seattle Symphony's Education and Community Engagement department, which accepts applications to the program on an annual basis. The Seattle Symphony encourages youths ages 18 years and younger to apply for the chance to work on all aspects of composing, which includes working on and completing a composition to be performed by musicians of the Seattle Symphony.

Ticket Information

RSVPs are recommended for the Merriman-Ross Family Young Composers Workshop Concert. All seating is general admission and walk-ups are welcome. For more information on reserving free tickets, please visit seattlesymphony.org or contact the Seattle Symphony Ticket Office, located in Benaroya Hall, at Third Avenue and Union Street. The Ticket Office can be reached by phone at 206.215.4747 during the following times: Tuesday-Friday, 10 a.m. to 6 p.m.; Saturday, 1 p.m. to 6 p.m.

ANGELIQUE POTEAT ARTIST IN RESIDENCE

Angelique Poteat is from the Pacific Northwest. Her music has been recorded and performed in Australia, Germany, Lithuania, Hungary, Japan, Italy, Norway and all over the United States by ensembles including the Seattle Symphony, Yakima Symphony Orchestra, Philharmonia Northwest, Seattle Collaborative Orchestra, Saratoga Orchestra, Woodlands Symphony Orchestra, North Corner Chamber Orchestra, CernaBella and the Enso Quartet. Some notable performances include Beyond Much Difference (2014), a piece commissioned and performed by the Seattle Symphony at their January 2015 Sonic Evolution concert with Mike McCready, Chris Cornell and members of the bands Pearl Jam, Sound Garden and more.

Poteat is the recipient of the 2015 American Prize in Composition for Beyond Much Difference, as well as grants from Seattle 4Culture, Artist Trust and the Allied Arts Foundation. She is also a 2015 CityArtist from the Seattle Office of Arts & Culture and the 2018 Composer-in-Residence for the New Music on the Rock Festival. She recently completed a work for Arx Percussion Duo and is working on a clarinet quintet for Seattle Symphony's Dr. Robert Wallace Clarinet Laura DeLuca. 

Poteat is currently the Seattle Symphony's 2022/2023 Artist in Residence and the Director of the Merriman-Ross Family Young Composers Workshop. Poteat earned the degrees Bachelor of Music from the Shepherd School of Music at Rice University and Master of Music from the College-Conservatory of Music. She has studied composition with Samuel Adler, Joel Hoffman, Mara Helmuth, Anthony Brandt, Pierre Jalbert, Shih-Hui Chen, Arthur Gottschalk and Samuel Jones. Many of her works are influenced by the natural world around her, often returning to the ocean and Puget Sound area.

SUNNY XIA ASSISTANT CONDUCTOR

Recognized for her innate musicality, compelling presence and technical precision, conductor Sunny Xuecong Xia's ability to forge an immediate and captivating connection with orchestras and audiences alike has led to engagements around the country. Xia began her position as the Douglas F. King Assistant Conductor of the Seattle Symphony in September 2022 and will become the orchestra's Associate Conductor at the start of the 2023/2024 season. In the 2021/2022 season, Xia was selected as Conducting Fellow at the Cabrillo Festival of Contemporary Music, where she made her festival debut leading the world premiere of Marc Migó Cortés' Dumka in July 2022. She led a production of La bohème with the Chandler Opera Company to great success and served as Assistant Conductor of the Phoenix Youth Symphony Orchestra. A dynamic advocate for contemporary music, Xia leads the Seattle Symphony in works by composers Katy Abbott, Chen Yi, Quinn Mason, Angelique Poteat, Gabriella Smith and Tan Dun in the 2022/2023 season.

SEATTLE SYMPHONY

The Seattle Symphony unleashes the power of music, brings people together and lifts the human spirit. Recognized as one of the "most vital American orchestras" (NPR), the Seattle Symphony is internationally acclaimed for its inventive programming, community-minded initiatives and superb recordings on the Seattle Symphony Media label. With a strong commitment to new music and a legacy of over 150 recordings, the orchestra has garnered five Grammy Awards, 27 Grammy nominations, two Emmy Awards and was named Gramophone's 2018 Orchestra of the Year. The Symphony performs in Benaroya Hall in the heart of downtown Seattle from September through July, reaching over 750,000 people annually through live performances and radio broadcasts, and through the Seattle Symphony+ streaming service, the orchestra's concerts reach audiences at home and around the world.

YOUNG COMPOSERS WORKSHOP CONCERT

Thursday, May 18, at 7:30 p.m.

Sunny Xia conductor

Brannon Warn-Johnston Misty Oasis in Scorching Heat
Jonathan Xu The Little Mermaid
Acadia Matyas Echo and Narcissus
Anaeka Ganesh Shifting Realities
Jeanne Park Quokka
Carson Ling-Efird Return of Spring for Chamber Orchestra
August Baik Chuseok Overture for Orchestra
Ellie Wu sine(Being)
Elisa Kain Johnson This is for You for Orchestra
Luca Millard-Kish Reflections for Orchestra

The Merriman-Ross Family Young Composers Workshop is generously underwritten by Pamela Merriman, Sonja Ross, and Kelley Ross.

Additional support for The Merriman-Ross Family Young Composers Workshop is provided by Patricia M. Davis, Ann Holbrook, and Michel and Christine Suignard.
Sunny Xia's position is generously underwritten as the Douglas F. King Assistant Conductor.

The Merriman-Ross Family Young Composers Workshop concert is presented as part of the Seattle Symphony's New Music WORKS initiative, which is supported in part by a grant from the National Endowment for the Arts. New Music WORKS features commissions, concerts and educational activities that use composition as a catalyst for collaboration and engagement in music.

The Seattle Symphony's Family, School & Community programs are supported by 4Culture, Marco Argenti, ArtsFund, D.A. Davidson, Delta Air Lines, J.P. Morgan Private Bank, the Klorfine Foundation, the Merriman-Ross Family, the National Endowment for the Arts, the Seattle Office of Arts & Culture, the Paul G. Allen Family Foundation, and individual contributions to the Seattle Symphony Annual Fund.

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