Hopkins Symphony Orchestra
Press Release

THE JOHNS HOPKINS UNIVERSITY
OFFICE OF NEWS AND INFORMATION
901 S. Bond St., Suite 540
Baltimore, Maryland 21231
 
March 18, 2010
FOR IMMEDIATE RELEASE
CONTACT: Edie Stern
410-516-6542
Cell: 410-913-0745
hso@jhu.edu

WINNERS IN 2010 CONCERTO COMPETITION TO PERFORM

Two Johns Hopkins University undergraduates, violinist Patrick Hu and pianist Hyun-Sun Seo, have won the 2010 Hopkins Symphony Orchestra Concerto Competition.

Their prize is a performance with the Hopkins Symphony Chamber Orchestra on Sunday, March 28, at 7 p.m. in Shriver Hall Auditorium on the Johns Hopkins Homewood campus in Baltimore. Hu will play the first movement of W.A. Mozart’s Violin Concerto No. 5 in A Major, K. 219. Seo will play the first movement of Frederic Chopin’s Piano Concerto No. 2 in F Minor, Opus 21. Also on the program will be Dominick Argento’s Royal Invitation: Homage to the Queen of Tonga, Paul Hindemith’s Sonata for Solo Viola, Opus 25 No. 1, and Steve Reich’s New York Counterpoint. Vladimir Lande will conduct.

The Hopkins Symphony Orchestra Concerto Competition was created by 2008 alumnus Hernan del Aguila, who wanted to give Johns Hopkins Homewood campus students a chance “to further their musical studies, gain experience in auditioning for professional musicians and receive public recognition for their work.” The competition is open to undergraduate and graduate students who are not pursuing degrees in music.

The winners were chosen from an original field of 10 contestants, based on an application and audition. The judges were Hopkins Symphony Orchestra music director Jed Gaylin, HSO chamber conductor Lande, and Peabody Conservatory Dean Mellasenah Morris.

Hu, a sophomore majoring in international studies, was born and raised in Honolulu, Hawaii, and graduated from the Punahou School. He began playing violin at age 6, studying with Honolulu Symphony violinist James Stanford and concertmaster Ignace Jang. He won the Punahou Symphony Concerto Competition and received an honorable mention in the Honolulu Symphony's Youth Concerto Competition. He has participated in master classes with, among others, the Takács Quartet, Richard Young of the Vermeer Quartet, Martin Beaver of the Tokyo String Quartet, Pamela Frank, and Sally O'Reilly. Hu is now HSO principal second violinist and co-concertmaster of the Hopkins Symphony Chamber Orchestra. He studies with Qing Li, principal second violinist of the Baltimore Symphony.

Seo, a junior majoring in biomedical engineering, grew up in Seoul, South Korea, and moved to the United States when she was 11. She began studying piano at age 6. She studied with Lora Verkhovsky until age 13 and then with Soonja Kim throughout high school. Seo has won first prizes in numerous competitions, including those hosted by the Washington State Music Teachers Association, Seattle Young Artists Music Festival, Performing Arts Festival of Eastside, Eastside Solo & Ensemble, and Korean Music Association. In Seattle, she was adjudicated by Vladimir Viardo, Paul Roberts, and Leonard Richter. She attended the International School in Bellevue, Wash., where she played piano in the Jazz Band. As her senior project, she conducted a semester-long study of Chopin’s Ballades, and performed solo concerts of works by Chopin, Mozart, Prokofiev, Brahms, and Debussy. She now studies at the Peabody Conservatory with Corey McVicar.

Lande has directed the Hopkins Symphony Chamber Orchestra since 2005. He is music director of COSMIC (Chamber Orchestra of Southern Maryland, in Concert), the Washington Soloists Chamber Orchestra, and the Maryland Conservatory Orchestra, as well as a guest conductor of the National Gallery Orchestra in Washington, principal guest conductor of the Bachanalia Festival Orchestra in New York, and principal guest conductor of the St. Petersburg Symphony Orchestra in Russia. He regularly conducts the Donetsk Ballet Company in Europe and the United States. He has also conducted the Baltimore Opera Orchestra and at the Ravello Festival in Italy. Lande maintains busy solo and chamber careers as an oboist, and performs as a member of the Poulenc Trio.

The Hopkins Symphony Orchestra, a program of The Johns Hopkins University, is the only community orchestra in the city of Baltimore. Each year, it offers four symphonic and three chamber concerts and a special children's concert. HSO members are Johns Hopkins students, alumni, faculty and staff, as well as Baltimore-Washington area musicians.

HSO programs are supported by a grant from the Maryland State Arts Council, an agency funded by the State of Maryland and the National Endowment for the Arts.

Tickets for the March 28 concert are free for Johns Hopkins students and Maryland State employees; $6 for non-Johns Hopkins students, seniors (age 60+), and Johns Hopkins staff, faculty, and alumni; and $8 general admission. Tickets will be available at the door.

Parking for Shriver Hall is available for $5 at the South Garage, 3101 Wyman Park Drive, Baltimore, Md. 21211.

The final concert in the HSO’s 2009-10 season will be presented in Shriver Hall on Sunday, April 18, at 3 p.m. Jed Gaylin will conduct rising international star Stefan Jackiw in Sergei Prokofiev’s Violin Concerto No. 2 in G Minor, as well as Gabrieli’s Canzon à 12 for three brass choirs, and Franck’s Symphony in D Minor. Jackiw will give a free pre-concert talk at 2 p.m. For information about the competition winners, the March 28 performance, and all Hopkins Symphony programs, call 410-516-6542, e-mail hso@jhu.edu or visit http://www.jhu.edu/jhso. High-resolution digital photos are available upon request to hso@jhu.edu or acl@jhu.edu .

Related Web site: http://www.jhu.edu/jhso

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