THE SEATTLE SYMPHONY ANNOUNCES THE 14TH ANNUAL CELEBRATE ASIA PROGRAM ON MARCH 20 AT BENAROYA HALL
Photo Credit: Brandon Patok
TWO COMMISSIONED NEW CONCERTOS BY FEATURED COMPOSERS TAN DUN, REENA ESMAIL AND KALA RAMNATH TO BE PREMIERED
FOR THE FIRST TIME EVER, EXPERIENCE CELEBRATE ASIA IN-PERSON OR ON SEATTLE SYMPHONY LIVE
Seattle, WA – On March 20, the Seattle Symphony celebrates tradition with its 14th annual Celebrate Asia concert. Every year, the Symphony honors the Asian community in Seattle through an exploration of the rich musical traditions of their heritage. This season’s program sees the return of treasured events, like pre- and post-concert performances in the Samuel & Althea Stroum Grand Lobby, and spotlights two significant new works, both born out of the pandemic. This year, the Symphony is excited to announce that for the first time ever, audiences will be able to enjoy Celebrate Asia either streamed on Seattle Symphony Live or in person at Benaroya Hall.
The program opens with Toshio Hosokawa’s Meditation, a sobering piece that explores the tragic aftermath of the devastating 2011 tsunami in Japan, and serves as a memorial to the victims. Next, Tan Dun’s Trombone Concerto: Three Muses in Video Game receives its U.S. premiere in the hands of Seattle Symphony Principal Trombone Ko-ichiro Yamamoto. Dun aims to surface forgotten pastimes in this piece, and connects his observations of humanity’s present with parts of the disappearing past. Then, hear the world premiere of Composer in Residence Reena Esmail and violin virtuoso Kala Ramnath’s co-composed Violin Concerto, performed by Ramnath herself. The pair wrote this work after Ramnath’s pandemic reflections on an environmental emergency urged her to reach out to Esmail to co-create a multi-stylistic commentary on humanity, nature and climate change. Rounding out the concert are the lush sounds of Debussy’s La mer, an outgrowth of the composer’s poetic and impressionistic vision of what music should communicate.
Ticket Information
For more information on tickets for the Celebrate Asia program, please visit www.seattlesymphony.org or contact the Seattle Symphony Ticket Office at (206) 215-4747 during the following times:
Tuesday–Friday, 10 a.m. to 5 p.m.; Saturday, 1 p.m. to 5 p.m.
Health And Safety
The Seattle Symphony is requiring all visitors to provide proof of vaccination (or present a negative COVID-19 test) with photo ID and wear masks at all times while in Benaroya Hall. This is in addition to numerous safety measures, including a hospital-grade air filtration system, increased cleaning and more. For additional information about how the Symphony is working to ensure a safe return to live music, please visit the Symphony’s Safety Page.
KAHCHUN WONG | CONDUCTOR
The Singaporean conductor Kahchun Wong is one of the most exciting and innovative musicians of his generation. He first came to international attention as the winner of the Gustav Mahler Conducting Competition in 2016. He is the Chief Conductor of the Nuremberg Symphony Orchestra since the 2018/2019 season. Wong has conducted some of the most distinguished international orchestras, including the New York Philharmonic, Los Angeles Philharmonic, Czech Philharmonic, Deutsche Radio Philharmonie Saarbrücken, Konzerthausorchester Berlin and Orchestre Nationale d'ile de France.
REENA ESMAIL | COMPOSER
Indian-American composer Reena Esmail works between the worlds of Indian and Western classical music, and brings communities together through the creation of equitable musical spaces. Esmail’s work has been commissioned by ensembles including the Los Angeles Master Chorale, Kronos Quartet, Imani Winds, Richmond Symphony, Town Music Seattle, Albany Symphony, Chicago Sinfonietta, River Oaks Chamber Orchestra, San Francisco Girls Chorus, The Elora Festival, Juilliard415, and Yale Institute of Sacred Music. Esmail is the Los Angeles Master Chorale’s 2020-2023 Swan Family Artist in Residence, and Seattle Symphony’s 2020-21 Composer-in-Residence. She received a Fulbright-Nehru grant to study Hindustani music in India. Previously, she was named a 2019 United States Artist Fellow in Music, and the 2019 Grand Prize Winner of the S & R Foundation’s Washington Award. Esmail was also a 2017-18 Kennedy Center Citizen Artist Fellow. She was the 2012 Walter Hinrichsen Award from the American Academy of Arts and Letters (and subsequent publication of a work by C.F. Peters).
TAN DUN | COMPOSER
The world-renowned artist and UNESCO Global Goodwill Ambassador Tan Dun, has made an indelible mark on the world’s music scene with a creative repertoire that spans the boundaries of classical music, multimedia performance, and Eastern and Western traditions. A winner of today’s most prestigious honors including the Grammy Award, Oscar/Academy Award, Grawemeyer Award, Bach Prize, Shostakovich Award, and Italy’s Golden Lion Award for Lifetime Achievement, Tan Dun’s music has been played throughout the world by leading orchestras, opera houses, international festivals, and on radio and television. Tan Dun was named as Dean of the Bard College Conservatory of Music. As dean, Tan Dun further demonstrates music’s extraordinary ability to transform lives and guide the Conservatory in fulfilling its mission of understanding music’s connection to history, art, culture, and society.
KALA RAMNATH HINDUSTANI VIOLIN & COMPOSER
Maestro Kala Ramnath with her "singing violin" stands among the world’s finest, most inspirational instrumentalists. Her playing has been featured on the Grammy-nominated Miles from India project, compositions of hers have appeared on the Grammy-winning album In 27 Pieces and the Kronos Quartet’s 50 For The Future. Ramnath was the first Indian violinist ever to be featured The Strad and she was the subject of a solo essay in the third edition to The Rough Guide to World Music. Kala comfortably forges musical alliances with artists of renown from different genres around the globe incorporating elements of Western Classical, Jazz, Flamenco and traditional African music into her rich and varied repertoire.
KO-ICHIRO YAMAMOTO | TROMBONE
Ko-ichiro Yamamoto is Principal Trombone of the Seattle Symphony and the Saito-Kinen Orchestra, and is a faculty member of the University of Washington School of Music. Active as a soloist, recitalist, chamber music performer and clinician, Yamamoto has performed with many groups, including the New York Philharmonic, Metropolitan Opera Chamber Orchestra, and as guest solo principal trombone of the NHK Symphony Orchestra. In 2012, Yamamoto helped organize Winds for Hope: A Benefit Concert for Japan, which took place in Benaroya Hall and raised funds to replace musical instruments for Japanese students affected by the 2011 Tohoku earthquake and tsunami.
Photo Credit: Brandon Patok
CELEBRATE ASIA
In partnership with numerous local community groups, the Seattle Symphony honors and celebrates the city’s Asian community with the fourteenth annual Celebrate Asia concert. The concept originated when local Asian leaders from the region’s Chinese, Filipino, Indian, Indonesian, Japanese, Korean, Thai and Vietnamese communities wanted to find a way to strengthen bonds with the broader community through a cultural celebration. Now in its fourteenth year, Celebrate Asia has become an annual signature event in Seattle. For more information about Celebrate Asia, visit seattlesymphony.org.
SEATTLE SYMPHONY LIVE
Seattle Symphony Live brings the Seattle Symphony’s dynamic performances to audiences anywhere in the world. Launched in 2020 to offer musical comfort despite the pandemic, the digital streaming service reached a global audience of more than 750,000 viewers with its live concerts, behind the scenes interviews, educational videos and more. With subscriptions starting at $12.99 per month, Seattle Symphony Live makes engaging with the orchestra’s exceptional musical content more possible than ever before.
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 Live streaming service, the orchestra’s concerts reach audiences at home and around the world.
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CELEBRATE ASIA
SPECIAL PERFORMANCE
Sunday, March 20, at 4 p.m.
Kahchun Wong conductor
Kala Ramnath Hindustani violin & composer
Ko-ichiro Yamamoto trombone
Toshio Hosokawa Meditation
Tan Dun Trombone Concerto: Three Muses in Video Game (Seattle Symphony Co-commission & U.S. Premiere)
Reena Esmail/Kala Ramnath Violin Concerto (Seattle Symphony Commission & World Premiere)
Debussy La mer
Celebrate Asia Program Schedule
PRE-CONCERT: 2:30–4 p.m.
SAMUEL & ALTHEA STROUM GRAND LOBBY
International Lion Dance Martial Arts Team
CONCERT: 4 p.m.
S. MARK TAPER FOUNDATION AUDITORIUM
POST-CONCERT: 5:50 p.m.
SAMUEL & ALTHEA STROUM GRAND LOBBY
CHIKIRI and The School of TAIKO
Celebrate Asia is generously sponsored by Naomi and Yoshi Minegishi.
Reena Esmail’s residency is generously supported by Parul and Gary Houlahan.
Celebrate Asia is generously sponsored by Perkins Coie.
Celebrate Asia 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.