June 7, 2015
Spring Concert

"A CONCERTO EXTRAVAGANZA"

Featuring
8th Young Artists Concerto Competition Winners

Jodie Chiou, 16-year-old flutist
Iris Kwak, 15-year-old pianist
Sarah Ma, 12-year-old violinist
Dylan Shih-Wu, 11-year-old cellist

Program
Mozart Overture to The Magic Flute
Chaminade Concertino for Flute and Orchestra
Saint-Saens Introduction and Rondo Capriccioso
Tchaikovsky Variations on a Rococo Theme
Grieg Piano Concerto in A minor

Return to 2014-15 season

Sixteen-year-old flutist Jodie Chiou is from Marlboro, New Jersey.  She is a sophomore at the Biotech High School. Jodie is a principal flutist of the Bravura Youth Orchestra. Jodie has won prizes at the New Jersey Music Teachers Association Young Musicians Competition, she was also selected as a member of New Jersey All-States Band and Regional Orchestra.  Last summer, Jodie had the pleasure of joining Bravura Youth Orchestra on its China tour, traveling from Guangzhou to Macau, performing and collaborating with other music students in China.  In addition to playing the flute, Jodie’s passions lie in art and dance.  From sketching to pastels to sewing, she enjoys creating art in her free time, and she has been learning Chinese dance for six years.  Jodie Chiou will perform the Chaminade Flute Concertino in D Major. 

Fifteen-year-old pianist Iris Kwak is a sophomore at West-Windsor Plainsboro High School North. She has been studying piano since she was 5 years old. Iris has won awards in competitions such as the East Coast International Competition, New Jersey Music Teachers Association Young Musicians Competition, Steinway Society Scholarship Competition, Cecilian Music Club Young Artist Competition, and the National League of Performing Arts Solo and Chamber Music Competition. As a result of winning these competitions, Iris has performed at Zankel Hall and Weill Recital Hall at Carnegie Hall, Merkin Recital Hall. Iris has soloed with the Cairn University Symphony after winning its Young Artists Concerto Competition.  Iris co-founded Hartley's Legacy, a volunteer group which performs at nursing homes regularly, using their music to spread joy to the community. Iris will perform the 1st movement of the Grieg Piano Concerto in A minor.  

Violinist Sarah Ma, age 12, is the concertmaster of the Manhattan School of Music Pre-College Division repertory orchestra.  Sarah has won top awards in the Union City Young Artist Competition, East Coast International Competition, Le Petit Orchestre competition, New York Concerti Sinfonietta Shining Stars Competition, second in the 2014 Young Maestro Competition, and VIVO International Competition. She has performed as a soloist with several orchestras, including the Manhattan String Orchestra, New York Concerti Sinfonietta, and the Union City Philharmonic Orchestra. The Epoch Times review, “Sarah played with a radiant innocence at a ferocious clip that an adult would be hard-pressed to match...She has fleet fingers, a rich tone, and a warm vibrato.…Her inspiring playing and interpretation is to be extraordinary for a violinist of any age.” Sarah will perform the Saint-Saens Introduction and Rondo Capriccioso. 

Dylan Shih Wu is an 11 year old cellist who began his cello studies at age three. He has won top awards in the Golden Key Music Competition, American Protégé International Piano and Strings Competition, and the YWCA of Queens NY Music Competition. Dylan was a semifinalist and award winner at the 8th International Tchaikovsky Cello Competition for Young Musicians in Moscow, Russia.   Dylan was a grand prize winner of the 2015 American Fine Arts Festival International Concerto Competition.  He has been a soloist with the Adelphi Chamber Orchestra, and was recently invited as a soloist with the Allentown Symphony Orchestra.  Dylan has performed at venues such as Weill Hall, Steinway Hall, and Morse Hall at Lincoln Center and is a co-principal cellist of the Juilliard Precollege String Ensemble.  Dylan will perform the Tchaikovsky Rococo Variations.