THE SEATTLE SYMPHONY ANNOUNCES TWO NEW MUSICIANS AND SUNNY XIA’S TENURE EXTENSION

VIOLINISTS SEUNGHOON LEE AND ILANA ZAKS JOIN THE SYMPHONY DURING THE 2022/2023 SEASON

SUNNY XIA’S TENURE WITH THE SEATTLE SYMPHONY EXTENDED FOR THE 2023/2024 SEASON AS DOUGLAS F. KING ASSOCIATE CONDUCTOR

Seattle, WA – The Seattle Symphony announces two new musicians, both of whom made their Symphony debuts during the 2022/2023 season. The Seattle Symphony welcomes violinist SeungHoon Lee as the John & Carmen Delo Associate Principal Second Violin and violinist Ilana Zaks to the Second Violin section. The Symphony is also pleased to announce that Sunny Xia’s tenure is now extended for the 2023/2024 season as Douglas F. King Associate Conductor.

Associate Principal Second Violin SeungHoon Lee joins the Symphony after graduating from Rice University. Lee is an active solo performer, having won numerous awards and prizes all over the globe, including the Young Texas Artist Competition, International Solo Violin Competition and Korean Brahms Association Competition. Ilana Zaks joins the Second Violin section after receiving a master’s degree from Yale University. Zaks is an alumna of the prestigious Perlman Music Program, where she studied with Itzhak Perlman, and is the recipient of many honors including the Yale University Broadus Earle Prize for Outstanding Violinists (2022) and the Yale Women Faculty Forum Seed Grant (2022).

Assistant Conductor Sunny Xuecong Xia joined the Seattle Symphony at the beginning of the 2022/2023 season. During her tenure, she has led many performances, including conducting three Family Concerts, the Celebrate Asia program with violinist Kerson Leong, two Community Concerts as well as four Link Up performances. On Friday, April 21, Xia will conduct Artist in Residence Angelique Poteat’s new work Dear Humanity for Youth Chorus and Orchestra, which receives its world premiere by the Seattle Symphony at Benaroya Hall. Xia has made a tremendous contribution as the orchestra's Assistant Conductor this season and the Symphony is thrilled to have her continue her tenure as the 2023/2024 season's Douglas F. King Associate Conductor.

SEUNGHOON LEE | JOHN & CARMEN DELO ASSOCIATE PRINCIPAL SECOND VIOLIN

Born in South Korea, SeungHoon Lee started playing the violin at age 5 and received his bachelor‘s and master‘s degrees from Korea National University of Arts, studying with Sung-Ju Lee and Takashi Shimizu. Shortly before joining the Seattle Symphony, Lee graduated from Rice University under the tutelage of Cho-Liang Lin. Lee has won numerous awards and prizes all over the globe. He was the first prize winner of Young Texas Artist Competition, International Solo Violin Competition, Korean Brahms Association Competition and many others. Lee is an active solo musician and chamber music player participating in many international festivals such as Taipei Music Academy and Festival, Hida-Takayama Music Course, Singapore Violin Festival and International Academy of Arts Festival. As a newly appointed musician of the Seattle Symphony, Lee joins the orchestra for the 2022/2023 season. When Lee is off the stage, he enjoys his time with his wife and loves to find delicious restaurants and cafes all around the greater Seattle area.

ILANA ZAKS | SECOND VIOLIN

Ilana Zaks grew up in Boston and began playing the violin at the age of 3. She studied with Donald Weilerstein at the New England Conservatory, where she received a Bachelor‘s in Violin Performance. Zaks then earned her master‘s degree at Yale University, where she studied with Ani Kavafian. She is an alumna of the Perlman Music Program, where she studied with Itzhak Perlman. Zaks’ many honors include the Yale University Broadus Earle Prize for Outstanding Violinists (2022), Yale Women Faculty Forum Seed Grant (2022) and being a featured performer for Celebrity Series’ Concert for One (2019). She enjoys curating performances featuring multidisciplinary and multimedia collaborations that prioritize the inclusion of works by underrepresented and living composers. In 2020, she directed and recorded the first classical music visual album, The Persistence of Memory, which was released on Amazon Music. Zaks joined the Seattle Symphony in 2023.

SUNNY XUECONG XIA | 2023/2024 DOUGLAS F. KING ASSOCIATE 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 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.  

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