UPDATED:  December 26, 2010 5:53 PM
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Baltimore Symphony Orchestra Showcases Diverse Talent and Programming

By: Cathy Crenshaw Doheny

Above: Qing Li
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The Baltimore Symphony Orchestra (BSO) is considered one of the world’s most important orchestras. With a devoted national and international following, the BSO has completed tours throughout the United States, Europe and Asia, including three in Japan. Locally, the BSO produces year-round performances at the Joseph Meyerhoff Symphony Hall (The Meyerhoff) in Baltimore and The Music Center at Strathmore (Strathmore) in North Bethesda.

An organization that prides itself on promoting diversity, the BSO roster includes accomplished musicians from all over the world, including eight artists of Asian descent.

Qing Li was the first Chinese musician in the BSO when she joined the symphony in 1993 as a section violinist. She became the Acting Assistant Concertmaster in 1999 and the Acting Associate Principal Second Violin in 2000. A native of Beijing, Qing Li began studying violin at age four with her father, who served as the concertmaster of the Chinese National Opera and Dance Theater for 35 years. At age 12, Qing Li was admitted to the Music Academy of the Central Conservatory of Music in Beijing, one of the most prestigious music schools in the world. At age 19, she was discovered during a master class by acclaimed teacher Berl Senofsky, who then brought her with a fellowship scholarship to Peabody Conservatory in Baltimore.

“Getting out of China in the 80’s was not as easy as today,” says Qing Li. “I brought with me a violin my father bought for 800 Yuan, two large suit cases with all my belongings, and $36 USD. Equipped with not one word of English, I started my life in America and, within 5 years, I had a Bachelor of Music degree and a performance certificate.”

She has since become an award-winning soloist, chamber musician and recitalist performing throughout America, Europe and Asia, while also maintaining her position with the BSO.

Another musician of Asian descent, cellist Bo Li, is equally proud to be a member of the BSO. Also born in China, he began studying cello at age eight with his mother, who was a professor at the Wuhan Conservatory of Music.

“I grew up in a musical family. My father, a voice teacher, was also a professor at the Wuhan Conservatory of Music, and my sister is a pianist,” says Bo Li.

After attending the Shanghai Conservatory of Music, he immigrated to the U.S. in 1991 to finish his Bachelor of Music degree at Illinois State University and then earned his Master’s degree from the New England Conservatory.

“The resources for classical music in China were limited. I am still amazed at how our teachers in China trained so many good string players with such limited resources,” he says. “I came to the U.S. in 1991 and discovered that music education is different here. With more resources, I began to form my own style. Freedom, imagination and the ability to connect have now become the fundamentals of my musical journey.”

After playing with several ensembles, including the Atlanta Symphony and the Metamorphosen Chamber Ensemble, and serving as principal cellist of the New York String Orchestra in Carnegie Hall, Bo Li joined the BSO in 2001.

“With the BSO, I am honored to play with some of the best musicians in the whole country,” he says. “I enjoy the diversity of my colleagues, many of whom came to the U.S. from Asia, Europe and Russia to study and, just like me, decided to stay.”

An active soloist and chamber musician, Bo Li can be heard at venues across the country. In May, local audiences will have the privilege of hearing him perform chamber works of Haydn, Bartók and Mendelssohn with the Atlantic String Quartet in a BSO concert.

Other Asian musicians will also be featured by the BSO in upcoming concerts. This month, South Korean soprano Jegyung Yang will sing the role of Papagena in a semi-staged concert version of Mozart’s opera, “The Magic Flute.” The performances will take place on February 24th at Strathmore and February 26th and 27th at The Meyerhoff. An award-winning soprano, Yang holds degrees from the École Normale de Musique in Paris and from Seoul National University’s College of Fine Arts.

Also this month, the BSO will once again welcome to the stage acclaimed Chinese pianist Yuja Wang. Like Qing Li, Wang was also born in Beijing and studied at the Central Conservatory of Music. At age 15, she came to the U.S. to study at the Curtis Institute of Music in Philadelphia, where she graduated in 2008. Winner of the prestigious Avery Fisher Career Grant, 23-year-old Wang is now an exclusive recording artist for Deutsche Grammophon and is one of the most sought after young pianists in the world.

On February 10th at Strathmore and February 11th and 13th at The Meyerhoff, Wang will perform with the BSO Rachmaninoff’s Second Piano Concerto; a piece she recently recorded with the Mahler Chamber Orchestra and Claudio Abbado conducting. This will be her third appearance with the BSO.

“The orchestra has great musicians who really listen well and are supportive,” says Wang. “I love Meyerhoff and Strathmore halls, both of which have excellent acoustics.”

Later this month, on February 25th at The Meyerhoff, the China Traditional Orchestra Anhui, one of the greatest music performance groups in China, will be featured. Affiliated with the Anhui Song and Dance Ensemble, the orchestra has made significant contribution to the development of Anhui folk music. They have presented concerts in over 30 countries and have also given special performances for government officials, including the Prime Minster of Denmark and the Presidents of Zambia, Mali, Mozambique and Yemen.

For the BSO, this type of programming is part of an overall mission to reach out to the local Asian American community.

“The BSO greatly values the Asian American community surrounding our two venues, the Music Center at Strathmore and the Joseph Meyerhoff Symphony Hall,” says BSO Public Relations Manager Laura Farmer. “By hosting Asian artists and performing works by great Asian composers, the BSO reaches out to the vibrant Asian communities in Baltimore and Washington, D.C.”

For more information, visit: www.bsomusic.org

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