The Children’s Orchestra Society’s Young Symphonic Ensemble, featuring 47 talented young musicians, under the baton of COS conductor and music director Michael Dadap, will present the 19th Annual Discovery Concert and Benefit Gala at Alice Tully Hall, Lincoln Center on Tuesday, April 30th, 2013 at 7:30 p.m. Violinist Christine Kwak will be COS’ featured guest artist, performing Tchaikovsky’s violin Concerto in D, Op. 35. COS’ 2013 Senior Discovery Awardee, 13-year old Kenta Nomura will perform the Paganini’s Violin Concerto in D, Op. 6. The concert program also includes Bernstein’s Candide Overture and Dvorak’s Symphony #9, “New World.”

Now in its 44th season, the Children’s Orchestra Society is a not-for-profit organization dedicated to teaching children the language of music. “Our child-centered teaching approach is unique,” says Executive Director Yeou-Cheng Ma, daughter of the orchestra’s late founder, Dr. H.T. Ma. “Each individual child enjoys the benefits of music making in a supportive environment.” Members are given the opportunity to perform in orchestral and chamber music concerts with well-known musicians as well as with their peers. COS also strives to involve members with their communities through performances for civic and cultural groups. From a fledgling group of 35 string players in 1984, the organization today has grown to more than 150 students. The 47-member Young Symphonic Ensemble, with members from age 10 to 18, under the baton of Michael Dadap, draws its highly talented members from throughout the NYC metro area. The ensemble performs yearly at Alice Tully Hall in Lincoln Center, plus other prestigious halls throughout the New York City area. The YSE has toured in the Philippines and Taiwan, as well as major North American cities.

Michael Dadap, COS’s artistic director since 1984, is an accomplished composer, guitarist, conductor educator and folklorist. He made his Carnegie Recital Hall debut as a classical guitarist in 1974 and has since performed internationally. Mr. Dadap’s published solo guitar recordings include Lambingan, (Tenderness), Songs of the Visayas for Voice and Guitar, Himig Ng Puso (Songs from the Hearts), Harana (Serenades for Solo Guitar), and Intimate Guitar Classics. He lectures on the Bandurria worldwide, and his compositions have received numerous recognitions. He was given the 2006 Presidential Award for Filipino Individuals and Organizations Overseas.

COS’s 2013 Senior Discovery Awardee is Kenta Nomura, an 8th grader at Jericho Middle School, is a 1st prize winner of NY Music, Morgan Park Music, and LIU concerto competitions. In 2012, he performed the Tchaikovsky violin concerto with New Britain Symphony at Welte Hall, and the Carmen Fantasy by Sarasate with the Festival Orchestra at Tilles Center. He received the Tilles Scholar Award for 2009, 2010, and 2011. He has been attending the LIU Chamber Music Festival since age five. A member of Children’s Orchestra Society since 2010, he was concert master of the Junior Symphonic Ensemble and currently plays in YSE. He started violin at the age of four. He is currently studying with Dr. Ann Setzer.

Violinist Christine Kwak was described as “an extraordinary talent who will become one of the best of her generation,” by Dorothy DeLay. By the time Christine was 11 years old, she had already made her debut at Carnegie Hall, Alice Tully Hall, and Avery Fisher Hall, where her debut with the American Symphony was received with critical acclaim; “at the tender age of nine, Christine is a complete violinist who would make any violinist envious” Today, she continues to perform as a soloist with renowned orchestras and in solo recitals across the country, in addition to teaching at Cornell University as a Visiting Lecturer and having her own private teaching studio in NYC. Christine graduated from Columbia University in 2007 with a Bachelor’s degree in philosophy, and received her Master’s degree from Juilliard in 2009.

Of the Tchaikovsky Violin Concerto, the composer himself said, “It is music that flows from the depths of an artistic soul roused by inspiration that alone can touch, move, and excite.” It was written after listening to Lalo’s Symphonie Espagnole (not necessarily for the first time), Tchaikovsky wrote in a letter “This evening I was seized… quite unexpectedly with a burning inspiration…” It was upon this enlightenment that he began the composition of his one and only Violin Concerto. This was the first time in his life that he had begun working on a new composition before completing the previous one. Within a few months and a re-do of the Andante second movement, the concerto was finished to Tchaikovsky’s satisfaction. The initial dedicatee of the concerto was Leopold Auer, who was scheduled to premiere the piece in 1879. However, he decided to reject the concerto as too difficult to play, claiming that it needed major revisions, along with Karl Davydov, Iosif Kotek, and Emile Sauret. The piece started to develop a reputation of being unplayable, which postponed its premiere. It was not until 1881 that Adolf Brodsky, captivated by the piece, took on the task of premiering it in Vienna. The concerto was not well received by the audience. Nevertheless, the impressed Tchaikovsky withdrew his initial dedication and gave the honor to Adolf Brodsky instead. Following its unfavorable first performance, the concerto – and Adolf Brodsky – became an enormous success. Brodsky went on to perform it in London and Moscow. Brodsky premiered the concerto on a J.B. Guadagnini, circa 1751 in Milan. The instrument was later acquired from him by his student, Anton Maaskoff, who began his career in Europe and ultimately settled in California. And it is on this very instrument that our guest soloist, Christine Kwak, will be performing!

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