CAPE ANN SYMPHONY

CAPE ANN SYMPHONY

THE 59^th SEASON

Yoichi Udagawa, Music Director

CAPE ANN SYMPHONY OPENS SEASON WITH

MAGICAL CLASSICS

SATURDAY, SEPTEMBER 25

OPEN REHEARSAL on September 24

The Cape Ann Symphony under the musical direction of conductor Yoichi Udagawa kicks off the 59^th Season with the Magical Classics Concert on Saturday, September 25 at 8 pm at Fuller Auditorium in Gloucester, MA.

Twelve year old piano prodigy Kadar Qian makes his Cape Ann Symphony debut with Chopin’s
Piano Concerto No. 2. The youngest ever winner of the Quincy Symphony Orchestra’s Concerto Competition, Qian was last year’s co-winner of the Steinway Society Piano Competition in his age division. His impressive performance credits include Carnegie Hall, Jordan Hall and the Indian Hill Summer Festival. The Magical Classics concert program also includes Beethoven’s Coriolan Overture and Mendelssohn’s Italian Symphony. The Cape Ann Symphony concerts are held at the Fuller Auditorium located at Blackburn Circle, Route 128, Gloucester, MA. Fuller Auditorium is handicapped accessible. Ticket prices are $35 for adults, $30 for senior citizens, $15 for Young Adults and Free for children 12 years old and under. For tickets and information, call 978-281-0543 or visit www.capeannsymphony.org

Cape Ann Symphony has added an Open Rehearsal to the schedule for the season opening concert. The public is invited to the orchestra’s Open Rehearsal on Friday, September 24 at 7:30 pm at Fuller Auditorium. The orchestra and guest artist Kadar Qian are scheduled to work on their pieces for the Saturday concertduring the Open Rehearsal. Conductor Udagawa will take questions from the audience following the rehearsal. Admission to the Open Rehearsal is free. Cape Ann Symphony Board President Tom Class explains the Open Rehearsal, “The open rehearsal is an opportunity for Cape Ann Symphony Orchestra fans to get a behind the scenes look at the process the orchestra and conductor go through in preparation for a performance. For those new to classical music, it’s a great chance to come see, hear, and experience in a non concert setting how an incredible group of musicians from one of the finest regional orchestras in the country works together to create great classical music.” Conductor Udagawa adds, “This is a terrific chance to take our audience behind the scenes and show what it takes to prepare or a CAS concert. I am intrigued to find out what kinds of questions they willhave following the rehearsal.”

Cape Ann Symphony welcomes 12 year old piano prodigy Kadar Qian as the guest artist for the Magical Classics Concert. Conductor Udagawa first heard Qian play when the rising young star competed in and won the Quincy Symphony Orchestra Concerto Competition. Udagawa who is also the Music Director and Conductorof the Quincy Symphony recalls Qian’s performance, “He was spelling binding! Absolutely one of the most remarkable young talents I’ve ever come across.” At age 11, Qian was the youngest winner of the Quincy Symphony Orchestra Concerto Competition and was the featured soloist at the QSO annual Young Artist Performs concert, performing the complete Chopin Piano Concerto No. 2 in April, 2009. He played the complete concerto again with the Salem Philharmonic in January, 2010.

A Westford resident, Kadar Qian is this year’s winner of the Boston Civic Symphony James R. Powers Youth Concerto Competition and will be performing the 1^st Movement of Prokofiev’s 3^rd Piano Concerto with the BCS on October 17th. In addition, he was the first prize winner of the Metrowest Symphony Young Artists Competition, playing the same Prokofiev with them in March, 2010. Qian took first prizes in his age division in the 1^st Chopin International piano competition in Hartford, CT in 2010 and the 2009 Steinway Society of Massachusetts piano competition. He also won 2^nd Prizes in the 2010 New England Philharmonic and 2009 Nashoba Youth Orchestra concerto competitions, in addition to the Invitational Performance Award of the Lowell Philharmonic Orchestra Young Artist Competition, with whom he will perform the Chopin 2^nd Concerto on March 11, 2011. From October 8-11 he will be competing in the Rosalyn Tureck International Bach Competition in New York City. He has entered in the most difficult category, playing the complete Bach Goldberg Variations, and has already made it to the semi-final stage.

Qian has studied piano since age 4 with Ronald Kmiec. Beginning in 2010, he has taken additional private lessons with A. Ramon Rivera at The Rivers School Conservatory. He also pursues independent study in music analysis and conducting with Yoichi Udagawa. Kadar has given 58 performances in MA, CT and New York City. His first solo recital was in February of 2008. Kadar appeared at the Weill Recital Hall at Carnegie Hall in May of 2008, being selected though competitive auditions where over 600 musicians nationwide participated, and has performed at Jordan Hall, Boston. He is currently attending the Advanced Piano Seminar Course and Chamber Music classes at the New England Conservatory, where he has performed in contemporary and chamber music festival concerts.

Kadar is a high honor roll student at Stony Brook School in Westford. He has been a member of the math team since 3^rd grade, winning top prizes at the Academic Math League competitions, and is also a member of the speech and debate club. In addition to playing piano, Kadar also plays the violin and is the concert master in the Stony Brook Orchestra. He enjoys running and writing poems in his spare time.

Founded in Gloucester in 1952, the Cape Ann Symphony is a professional orchestra of over 70 players from throughout the New England area. They perform a subscription season of four concerts per year plus several Pops and youth concerts. The Symphony Board of Directors named Yoichi Udagawa the Music Director and Conductor of the Cape Ann Symphony in the summer of 2000 after a yearlong search. In addition to his leadership of Cape Ann Symphony, he is Music Director and Conductor of the Melrose Symphony Orchestra, and the Quincy Symphony Orchestra and a cover conductor at the Boston Pops Orchestra. Mr. Udagawa is on the faculty of the Boston Conservatory where he teaches conducting. Frequently invited to guest conduct, Mr. Udagawa has worked with many different orchestras including the Boston Pops Esplanade Orchestra, Nobeoka Philharmonic Orchestra, the Pro Arte Chamber Orchestra of Boston, the University of Texas Symphony Orchestra, the Indian Hill Symphony, the Garden State Philharmonic, the Brown University Orchestra, the Syracuse Society for New Music, the Boston Conservatory Orchestra, the Midcoast Symphony Orchestra, the Newton Symphony, the Austin Civic Orchestra, and the Mid-Texas Symphony.

Mr. Udagawa is at home in popular and contemporary music as well as the standard symphonic repertoire. He is known for his relaxed manner and ability to speak from the podium which have helped new audiences as well as enthusiasts gain a greater appreciation for symphonic music. His programs for the 2010-11 season include Brahms’ Double Concerto, Copland’s Old American Songs, Dvorak’s Symphony No. 8, Mendelssohn’s Italian Symphony, Schumann’s Symphony No. 4, Stravinsky’s Firebird Suite, and several world premieres including Michael Gandolfi’s Concerto for Bassoon and Clarinet, as well as special education, holiday, and pops programs.

Yoichi Udagawa, the son of a nuclear physicist father and singer/artist mother, was born in Tokyo, Japan in 1964. His family immigrated to the United States soon thereafter. He began playing the violin at age four and made his conducting debut at age fifteen. After receiving a music degree from the University of Texas at Austin,he continued advanced studies in conducting with Gunther Schuller, Seiji Ozawa, Morihiro Okabe, and Henry Charles Smith. A fan of many different styles of music, Mr. Udagawa also enjoys performing gospel music in addition to his conducting activities. He is also an accomplished violinist and an avid fan of exercise and yoga.

The Cape Ann Symphony’s Magical Classics Concert is Saturday, September 25, 2010 at 8 pm at the Fuller Auditorium located atBlackburn Circle,Route 128,Gloucester, MA.

Fuller Auditorium is handicapped accessible.
Ticket prices are $35 for adults, $30 for senior citizens, $15 for Young Adults
and Free for children 12 years old and under.

The Open Rehearsal is Friday, September 24 at 7:30 pm at Fuller Auditorium. For information, call
978-281-0543 or visit www.capeannsymphony.org