SOA Symphony Series features Violinist Kyoko Takezawa

Music Director Shizuo Kuwahara and Symphony Orchestra Augusta feature violinist Kyoko Takezawa in concert on SATURDAY, MARCH 27 at 7:30 P.M. at First Baptist of Augusta on Walton Way Extension.

This concert features the Georgia premier of “Chasing Light… ” by Joseph Schwantner.   Ford Made in America is made possible by a generous grant from Ford Motor Company Fund, the philanthropic arm of Ford Motor Company. Major support for the program is also provided by the National Endowment for the Arts, with additional funding from The Aaron Copland Fund for Music, Francis Goelet Charitable Lead Trusts, and The Amphion Foundation. 

Ms. Takezawa will be featured with the orchestra in Sibelius’ Violin Concerto in D minor.  The second half of the program features Maestro Kuwahara and the orchestra in Nielsen’s Symphony No. 2 “The Four Temperaments”.

Concert tickets are $25, $35 and $45. Tickets for full-time students and military personnel with valid I.D. are $7, sold at the box office, opening at 6:30 p.m., previous to the 7:30 p.m. concert. To purchase all other tickets in advance, call 706.826.4705 or visit www.soaugusta.org.

Kyoko Takezawa

As the embodiment of musicality, violinist Kyoko Takezawa electrifies audiences with a richness of playing, a virtuosic confidence of feeling, and a fiery intensity that establishes her as one of today’s foremost violinists. Ms. Takezawa’s interpretive insight and indisputable talent have made her a sought-after soloist with many of the world’s leading orchestras. She has collaborated with the late Isaac Stern, Yo-Yo Ma, Wolfgang Sawallisch, Joseph Suk, Pinchas Zukerman and many other distinguished artists.

Ms. Takezawa began violin studies at the age of 3 and at 7 toured the United States, Canada and Switzerland as a member of the Suzuki Method Association. In 1982 she placed first in the 51st Annual Japan Music Competition, and at 17 she entered the Aspen Music School to study with Dorothy DeLay, with whom Ms. Takezawa continued to study at The Juilliard School until graduating in 1989. In 1986 she was awarded the Gold Medal at the Second Quadrennial International Violin Competition in Indianapolis and, most recently, she received the prestigious Idemitsu Award for outstanding musicianship. Ms.Takezawa, who has been performing on the Antonio Stradivarius “Campocselice” (1710) on loan to her from the Nippon Music Foundation, recently has been given the Guarneri del Gesu “Wieniawski” (1742), on loan to her provided by the Stradivarius Society in Chicago.

THE SYMPHONY SERIES SPONSOR is MCGHEALTH, INC.  Concert Sponsors for the evening’s performance are MR. & MRS. W. CHARLES MOYE.  Media sponsors are AT&T The Real Yellow Pages, Georgia Public Broadcasting, and The Augusta Chronicle.

Tickets for Symphony Orchestra Augusta’s Symphony Series, and Pops! at the Bell, are available for purchase on the website – www.soaugusta.org, or by calling the Symphony office at 706.826.4705.