Symphony Orchestra Augusta, Symphony Series features Principal Cellist in Farewell Performance Jan. 23
Music Director Shizuo Z Kuwahara and Symphony Orchestra Augusta feature cellist Yanghee Lee in concert on Saturday, January 23rd at 7:30 p.m. at First Baptist of Augusta, Walton Way Extension. Miss Lee will open the concert with Saint-Saëns Cello Concerto No. 1 in A minor, a work which British musicologist and analyst, Sir Donald Francis Tovey, described as “for once, a violoncello concerto in which the solo instrument displays every register without the slightest difficulty in penetrating the orchestra.” Many composers, including Shostakovich and Rachmaninoff, considered this concerto to be the greatest of all cello concertos. An appropriate work featuring Miss Lee, as this concert will be her last performance with Symphony Orchestra Augusta. She has recently won a position with the Bamberg Philharmonic (Germany), under the direction of Jonathan Lott. The Bamberg Philharmonic is one of the major orchestras in Europe performing throughout Europe and Asia. Maestro Kuwahara remarked: “Yanghee is one of the most talented cellists I have ever met. She is responsible for bringing strength to SOA’s string section. We’ll miss her very much, but I am very happy for her and wish her the best for a successful musical career in Europe.” Miss Lee recently commented, “I shall miss working with Maestro Kuwahara and the SOA; I have learned much here.”
The second half of the program features Maestro Kuwahara and the orchestra in Bruckner’s Symphony No. 4 E-flat major, nicknamed “Romantic,” and considered one of the composer’s most popular works. The nickname of Romantic was used by the composer himself however it does not refer to the modern conception of romantic love but rather the medieval romance as depicted in the operas Lohengrin and Siegfried of Richard Wagner. This symphony requires an instrumentation of one pair each of flutes, oboes, clarinets, bassoons, with four horns, three trumpets, three trombones, timpani and strings. From the 1878 revision onwards (and there were many), a single bass tuba is also incorporated into the instrumentation.
Single concert tickets are $25, $35 and $45. Full-time students and military personnel with valid I.D. may purchase $7 tickets at the concert box-office on concert night only, subject to availability. To purchase tickets, call 706.826.4705 or visit www.soaugusta.org.
Yanghee Lee, Cellist
A native of Seoul, Korea, Yanghee Lee was introduced to music at the age of four by her mother, also a cellist, and father, an artist. Ms. Lee completed her undergraduate education at Ewha Women’s University in Korea where she was principal cellist and a featured soloist for the Seoul Youth Philharmonic and Ewha Women’s University Orchestra. Upon graduation, Ms. Lee worked for the Incheon Metropolitan City Orchestra in Korea. While pursuing a musical career in Korea, Yanghee Lee developed a strong interest in contemporary music; she composed a solo piece for cello that premiered at Adelaide Fringe, an annual multi arts festival in Australia, and was also featured in a film.
At Indiana University, where Yanghee Lee attended on a Dean’s award scholarship, she studied under Mr. Janos Starker and Dr. Helga Winold. There she served as the principal cellist for the Indiana University Orchestra and the assistant principal for the Lafayette Symphony Orchestra. For the past several years, Ms. Lee has been invited to perform at music festivals including the Pacific Music Festival in Japan, Schleswig-Holstein Musik Festival in Germany, and the Spoleto Festival in the United States.
She has also worked with such renowned conductors as Christoph Eschenbach, Valery Gergiev, Charle Dutoit, Christopher Hogwood and Michael Tilson Thomas. Ms. Lee frequently travels to Kanazawa, Japan to work with an International Chamber group. In the fall of 2008 she joined both the Symphony Orchestra Augusta and South Carolina Philharmonic as principal cellist.
THE SYMPHONY SERIES SPONSOR IS MCGHEALTH. Concert sponsor for the evening’s performace is Mr. & Mrs. Charles W. Whitworth. Media sponsors are AT&T The Real Yellow Pages, Georgia Public Broadcasting, and The Augusta Chronicle.
Series and single tickets for Symphony Orchestra Augusta’s Symphony Series, Pops! at the Bell, Columbia County Music Series, and Family Fun Series concerts are available for purchase on the website – www.soaugusta.org, or by calling the Symphony office at 706.826.4705.
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