Jeunesses Musicales' 09/10 Season Kicks Off with the Twilight Series

The 2009/2010 season of Jeunesses Musicals marks the 60th anniversary of Jeunesses Musicales Canada, and the 30th anniversary of Jeunesses Musicales Ontario (JMO)! A new look is involved, too - JMO will launch its new website later this month. Upcoming is the Twlight Series, a four-concert series all taking place at the Arts and Letters Club on 14 Elm Street in Toronto. The goal of this series is two-fold: one, to develop the careers of young classical musicians and bring affordable quality concerts to patrons; the second, to foster the love of classical music to audiences of all ages, but in particular, to the new young patrons who are discovering classical music, and want to know more about it.

The first concert of the Twilight Series takes place on Thursday, October 29, at 6:00 PM. Andrew Wan and Philip Chiu will perform Olivier Messiaen's Theme and Variations, César Frank's Sonata in A Major for violin and piano, Canadian composer Kelly-Marie Murphy's "Dance me to your Beauty with a Burning Violin", and Fritz Kreisler's "Tambourin Chinoise" Op.3.

This evening will feature a pre-concert cocktails gathering for all ticket-holders at 5:00 PM. Perfect for those wanting to take in some music in a small oasis away from the urban scene nearby, and avoid the rush hour commute. "This is an exciting series and we're so proud to present a new generation of gifted young performers," said Vanessa J. Goymour, General Manager of Jeunesses Musicales Ontario. "And I'm excited to encourage more young patrons who love music to attend, unwind after the work day, and take in a concert in a gorgeous, intimate setting and meet the performers after, and learn more about the music and the artists in a casual way."

Described as "tremendous" and "wildly virtuosic" by the New Zealand Listener, Canadian violinist Andrew Wan is equally at home as a soloist or a chamber musician. Concertmaster for the Orchestre symphonique de Montréal, he has also serve as guest concertmaster for the Vancouver Symphony Orchestra, for the Toronto Symphony Orchestra and for the National Arts Centre in Ottawa. Winner of the Juilliard and Aspen Music Festival Concerto Competitions in 2007, Andrew Wan made his New York concerto debut performing Elgar's Violin Concerto in B minor with the Juilliard Orchestra under James DePriest in AlIce Tully Hall, and his Aspen debut performing Saint-Saëns' Third Violin Concerto with the Aspen Sinfonia under Michael Stern in the Benedict Music Tent. Andrew Wan has concertized extensively throughout North America, South America, Europe, Asia, and New Zealand, performing concertos with numerous orchestras such as the Edmonton Symphony Orchestra and Musica Eterna of Havana, Cuba. He has appeared in recital with the New Zealand Trio, violinist Cho-Liang Lin, principal bassist of the Los Angeles Philharmonic Christopher Hanulik, concertmaster of the Baltimore Symphony Herbert Greenberg, David Wakefield of the American Brass Quintet, and with eminent pianists Margo Garrett, Stéphane Lemelin, and Jane Coop. Andrew Wan is a founding and current member of the N-E-W Piano Trio - with pianist Julio Elizalde and cellist Gal Nyska - which took First Prize and the Audience Award at the Plowman Chamber Music Competition and the Grand Prize at the Coleman Chamber Music Competition this past spring. Next season, the trio will make its debut at the Kennedy Center in Washington and the Metropolitan Museum of Art in New York, and will also present concerts in Florida, Missouri, California, Maine, New Jersey, New York, and Canada. Andrew Wan is generously supported by the Canada Council, is currently on the PreCollege Ear Training Faculty at the Juilliard School, and serves as Masao Kawasaki's teaching assistant. He is rotating concertmaster and assistant concertmaster of the Juilliard Orchestra. Andrew Wan performs on a 1744 Michel'Angelo Bergonzi violin, and gratefully acknowledges its loan from the David Sela Collection.

In his short career, pianist Philip Chiu has had great success as an accompanist, chamber musician, and soloist. He has been widely acclaimed for the brilliance and sensitivity of his playing, as well as for his ability to communicate with audiences. Second prize winner of the 2007 Bösendorfer National Piano Competition, Philip Chiu has appeared recently in the Glenn Gould Studio, the Stratford Summer Music Festival, and the Orford Arts Centre Festival. Last year, he also performed about twenty concerts with pianist Janelle Fung on a JMC tour. In addition to collaborating with fellow young musicians, Philip Chiu has also had the honour of performing with such artists as the renowned erhu player George Gao, Joel Quarrington, Jonathan Crow, and Joseph Alessi, principal trombonist of the New York Philharmonic. He is also an avid chamber musician, and has been coached by such artists as William Preucil, Tsutsumi Tsuyoshi, Jacques Rouvier, and André Roy. Philip Chiu holds an ARCT Diploma in Piano Performance from the Royal Conservatory of Music and a Performance Diploma from the Glenn Gould School of Music. He has studied with Jenny Regehr and is currently working with Marc Durand and Jimmy Brière at the Université de Montréal.

Upcoming Twilight Series concerts all at Arts & Letters Club, 5:00 cocktails, 6:00 performance:
Wednesday, November 18/09
Sergei Saratovsky, piano
Mozart: Sonata in B-flat Major, K. 333
Debussy: Estampes
Schumann: Carnaval, Op. 9
Wednesday, April 7/10
Ariel Barnes, cello
Bryan Wagorn, piano
JS Bach: Cello Suite No. 1, G Major
Beethoven: Sonata for Cello & Piano,
Op. 102, No. 1, C Major
Schumann: Funf Stuck im Volkston,
Op. 102, A minor
Mozart: Variations on a Theme of Duport,
K. 573
Brahms: Sonata for Cello and Piano,
Op. 37, E minor
Thurs. May 6/10
Janelle Fung & Philip Chiu, piano duo
Tchaikovsky, arr. Langer: Nutcracker Suite Op. 71a
Ravel: Ma Mère L'Oye
Debussy, arr. Ravel: Préude à l'après-midi d'un faune
Stravinsky, arr. Chiu & Fung:
Firebird; Danse infernale
George & Ira Gershwin, transcribed by Gregory Stone: Berceuse Finale
"I Got Rhythm" (Impromptu Variations)

Founded in 1979 Jeunesses Musicales Ontario (JMO), is a non-profit arts organization that fosters the careers of outstanding young professional Ontario and Canadian classical musicians at home and abroad, and promotes the development of the arts in Ontario by bringing affordable classical music to audiences. Jeunesses Musicales Ontario is a branch affiliate of Jeunesses Musicales of Canada (JMC), part of the historic, highly acclaimed international federation known as Jeunesses Musicales International (JMI). The 2009/2010 season marks the 30th anniversary of JMO and the 60th anniversary of JMC.