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MEDIA CONTACT
Jason Rapp, Communications Director
South Carolina Philharmonic
721-B Lady Street , Columbia SC 29201
(P) 803.771.7937
(F) 803.771.0268
E-Mail: JasonRapp@SCPhilharmonic.com
Web site: www.SCPhilharmonic.com
17 October 2007
FOR IMMEDIATE RELEASE
Kuan to Make History with Philharmonic
COLUMBIA , S.C. – When Carolyn Kuan steps onto the Koger Center stage on Saturday, Nov. 10, it will be the first time a female conductor candidate has conducted the South Carolina Philharmonic.
Never before has the Philharmonic had, or been conducted by, a woman who was a candidate to be its music director. In the 2007/2008 “Magnificent Seven” season, the orchestra features three women, including Kuan, who could someday become the orchestra’s first female music director.
The 7 p.m. Master Series concert opens with the Academic Festival Overture, an audience favorite by Johannes Brahms, whom Kuan calls one of her “most beloved” composers. Shostakovich’s Fifth Symphony, which Kuan calls “mysterious, powerful and full of emotion,” is also programmed.
Violinist Lee-Chin Siow joins Kuan and the orchestra for the Bruch First Violin Concerto. A seasoned soloist, she has performed in more than 20 countries on four continents. In 2006, she premiered the Barber Violin Concerto with the national orchestras of the Ukraine in Kiev and Liev. A frequent guest of the Singapore Symphony Orchestra, Siow has performed with the Royal Philharmonic Orchestra, the national symphony orchestra of Chile, the Dallas Symphony Orchestra and the Houston, Syracuse and Charleston symphonies. She is currently the director of strings and professor of violin at the College of Charleston.
The third of seven SCP music director finalists, Carolyn Kuan is currently the assistant conductor of the Seattle Symphony. Her previous associations include assistant conductor for North Carolina Symphony and Baltimore Opera Company and artist-in-residence at the New York City Ballet. Recent and upcoming guest conducting debuts include performances with Baltimore Symphony, Bournemouth Symphony (U.K.), Detroit Symphony, National Symphony and San Francisco Symphony. She has also worked with the BBC Philharmonic, Nash Ensemble and Scottish Ensemble and is the first female to receive the Herbert von Karajan Conducting Fellowship, which resulted in a residency at the 2004 Salzburg Festival.
Born in Taipei, Taiwan, Kuan graduated cum laude from Smith College and received a master of music from the University of Illinois and a Performance Diploma from the Peabody Conservatory. She has studied with Marin Alsop, Kurt Masur, Gustav Meier and Leonard Slatkin.
Kuan presents Classical Conversations at 6:20 p.m. in the Koger Center Large Rehearsal Room, offering ticket holders her unique insight into the evening’s program.
Available online at www.capitoltickets.com or by phone at 803.251.2222, tickets are $40, $32, $23, $16 and $13. Southern Valet provides valet parking for just $6.
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High-res guest artist and staff photos are available at http://www.SCPhilharmonic.com/pressbox.html