April 13 performance webcast for free at dso.org, YouTube, and via Facebook Live as part of DSO’s Live from Orchestra Hall series
April 16 Chamber Recital: DSO Wind Quintet with DSO musicians at the Ferndale First United Methodist Church
Tickets on sale now at dso.org
Detroit, (March 19, 2024) – South Korean conductor Shiyeon Sung will make her Detroit Symphony Orchestra (DSO) debut at Orchestra Hall on April 11–13 with a program on the PVS Classical Series featuring DSO Principal Cello Wei Yu.
The program will open with two brilliant works by Lili Boulanger, the first woman to win the prestigious Prix de Rome composition prize. Also on the program is Tchaikovsky’s Variations on a Rococo Theme featuring Wei Yu and Dvořák’s Symphony No. 6, where big, boisterous melodies shine.
The following week, a quintet comprised of DSO musicians Hannah Hammel Maser (flute), Alexander Kinmonth (oboe), Ralph Skiano (clarinet), and Scott Strong (horn), along with bassoonist Ryan Reynolds, will perform a chamber recital on April 16 at 7 p.m. at the Ferndale First United Methodist Church (22331 Woodward Avenue, Ferndale, MI 48220). This recital will feature John Harbison’s Quintet for Winds.
Tchaikovsky and Dvořák will take place Thursday, April 11 at 7:30 p.m., Friday, April 12 at 8 p.m., and Saturday, April 13 at 8 p.m. in Orchestra Hall. The April 13 performance will be webcast for free at dso.org, YouTube, and via Facebook Live as part of the DSO’s Live from Orchestra Hall series.
Tickets for these performances start at $19 and can be purchased at dso.org or by calling the Box Office at 313.576.5111, open Monday through Friday, 9 a.m. to 5 p.m.
The title sponsor of the DSO’s Classical Series is PVS Chemicals, Inc. DSO Live is presented by Ford Motor Company Fund. Technology support comes from the John S. and James L. Knight Foundation. Digital programming is produced from the Al Glancy Control Room.
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TCHAIKOVSKY & DVOŘÁK
PVS Classical Series
Thursday, April 11 at 7:30 p.m.
Friday, April 12 at 8 p.m.
Saturday, April 13 at 8 p.m.
Orchestra Hall
Shiyeon Sung, conductor
Wei Yu, cello
Brilliant works by Lili Boulanger, the first woman to win the prestigious Prix de Rome composition prize, leave a stunning first impression. DSO Principal Cello Wei Yu stars in the elegance of Tchaikovsky’s Variations on a Rococo Theme and Dvořák’s signature talent for big, boisterous melodies shines throughout his Sixth Symphony. Leading the way, trailblazing South Korean conductor Shiyeon Sung makes her Orchestra Hall debut.
LILI BOULANGER D’un soir triste
LILI BOULANGER D'un matin de printemps
PYOTR ILYICH TCHAIKOVSKY Variations on a Rococo Theme, Op. 33
ANTONIN DVOŘÁK Symphony No. 6 in D major
DSO WIND QUINTET
Chamber Recital
Tuesday, April 16 at 7 p.m.
Ferndale First United Methodist Church (22331 Woodward Avenue, Ferndale, MI 48220)
Hannah Hammel Maser, flute
Alexander Kinmonth, oboe
Ralph Skiano, clarinet
Scott Strong, horn
Ryan Reynolds, bassoon
A DSO wind quintet brings an adventurous evening of works by American composers to an intimate venue. The Quintet for Winds by Pulitzer Prize winner John Harbison is featured, a piece Harbison describes as “extremely challenging to play,” and born from a collaboration with “resourceful, inquisitive, and fearless wind players.”
JOHN HARBISON Quintet for Winds
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About Shiyeon Sung
South Korean conductor Shiyeon Sung is a trailblazer of her profession. She is the first female conductor out of South Korea to make the leap to the podium of internationally renowned orchestras, including the Royal Concertgebouw Orchestra, the Orchestre Philharmonique de Radio France, the Los Angeles Philharmonic, the Konzerthaus Orchestra Berlin, and the Bamberg Symphony.
When she was appointed Assistant Conductor of the Boston Symphony Orchestra in 2007, her reputation as one of the most exciting emerging talents on the international music circuit was already secured: shortly before, Sung had won the Sir Georg Solti International Conductors' Competition and the Gustav Mahler Conductors’ Competition in Bamberg. During her three-year tenure in Boston, she began a close collaboration with the Seoul Philharmonic Orchestra and conducted their season-opening concert in 2007. In 2009, the orchestra established an Associate Conductor’s position especially for her, a position she held until 2013.
The list of orchestras that Sung has worked with since then is remarkable. It includes renowned European orchestras such as the Rotterdam Philharmonic Orchestra, the Orchestre Philharmonique de Radio France, the Swedish Radio Symphony Orchestra, the Philharmonia Orchestra, the Konzerthaus Orchestra Berlin, and the Bamberg Symphony, as well as the National Symphony Orchestra Washington, the Sydney Symphony Orchestra, and the Los Angeles Philharmonic, which she led in a spectacular debut concert with Martha Argerich at the Tongyeong International Music Festival. In addition, she appeared as guest conductor at the Teatro Colón and the Stockholm Opera.
She was Chief Conductor of the Gyeonggi Philharmonic Orchestra from 2014 until the end of 2017, during which time she led the orchestra to international success. Following a performance in 2015 at the Philharmonie Berlin, in 2017 Sung and her orchestra were the first Asian orchestra to be invited for a guest appearance at the Musikfest Berlin, the renowned international orchestra festival. Their recording of Mahler’s Symphony No. 5 for Decca documents Sung’s outstanding work with the group of predominantly young orchestral musicians, for which she was awarded the Musical Performance Prize 2017 from the Daewon Cultural Foundation. After her departure from Gyeonggi, Sung relocated to Berlin, where she now resides. Sheremains a popular guest in her home country and regularly returns to the Korea National Opera and the Seoul Philharmonic Orchestra.
Her debuts with the Royal Concertgebouw Orchestra, the Bavarian Radio Symphony Orchestra, the Atlanta Symphony, the Utah Symphony, the Orquesta Nacional de España, the Haifa Symphony, the Bilbao Symphony Orchestra, the Orquesta de Valencia, and the Auckland Philharmonia were special highlights of the 2021–2022 season. In the 2022–2023 season, she made debuts with the Royal Philharmonic Orchestra, the Haifa Symphony, the Swedish Chamber Orchestra, the Queensland Orchestra, the Tucson Symphony Orchestra, and the Hofer Symphoniker, as well as the orchestras of Navarra and Tenerife in Spain. She also returned to the Orquesta Filarmónica de Buenos Aires for a concert in the Teatro Colon, the Bilbao Orkestra Sinfonikoa, the Oviedo Filarmónica, the Antwerp Symphony Orchestra, and the Auckland Philharmonia.
Born in Pusan, South Korea, Sung won various prizes as a pianist in youth competitions. From 2001 to 2006, she studied orchestral conducting with Rolf Reuter at the Hanns Eisler School of Music in Berlin and continued her education with advanced conducting studies with Jorma Panula at the Royal College of Music in Stockholm.
About Wei Yu
Wei Yu was appointed Principal Cello of the Detroit Symphony Orchestra by Music Director Laureate Leonard Slatkin in 2014. He made his solo debut performing Dvořák's Cello Concerto and has appeared as soloist with the DSO every season since. Before joining the DSO, Yu was a member of the New York Philharmonic for seven seasons.
Yu was a prizewinner at the Hudson Valley Philharmonic String Competition, the Holland American Music Society Cello Competition, the Music Teachers National Association Competition (MTNA National Collegiate Strings), Canada’s National Music Festival, Calgary’s Kiwanis Festival, and China’s National Cello competitions.
An avid chamber musician, Yu has been invited to the Marlboro, Ravinia, Great Lakes Chamber Music, and Mainly Mozart music festivals. Yu has collaborated with musicians including cellist Carter Brey and David Soyer; pianists Richard Goode and Menahem Pressler; violinists Augustin Hadelich, Midori, and Pinchas Zukerman; and members of the Guarneri, Emerson, and Juilliard Quartets. As a member of the New York Philharmonic ensembles, he made regular appearances at Merkin Concert Hall.
A successful instructor, Yu serves as a faculty member at the Northwestern University Bienen School of Music. He has given cello masterclasses at universities and festivals in the United States, Canada, Poland, and China. During the summer, Yu teaches at the Morningside Music Bridge International Music Festival in Calgary, Canada; Carnegie Hall's National Youth Orchestra, and the Center Stage Strings Summer Institute at the University of Michigan.
Born in Shanghai, China, Yu began studying the cello at age four and made his concerto debut at age 11, performing Elgar’s Cello Concerto with the Shanghai Symphony Orchestra. He received a Bachelor of Music from North Park University in Chicago and a Master of Music from The Juilliard School. His principal teachers include Mei-Juan Liu, John Kadz, Hans Jørgen Jensen, and David Soyer.
About the DSO
The acclaimed Detroit Symphony Orchestra is known for trailblazing performances, collaborations with the world’s foremost musical artists, and a deep connection to its city. Led by Music Director Jader Bignamini since 2020, the DSO makes its home at historic Orchestra Hall within the Max M. and Marjorie S. Fisher Music Center, offering a performance schedule that features the PVS Classical, PNC Pops, Paradise Jazz, and Young People’s Family Concert series. In addition, the DSO presents the William Davidson Neighborhood Concert Series in metro area venues, as well as eclectic multi-genre performances in its mid-size venue The Cube, constructed and curated with support from Peter D. & Julie F. Cummings. A dedication to broadcast innovation began in 1922, when the DSO became the first orchestra in the world to present a live radio broadcast of a concert and continues today with the groundbreaking Live from Orchestra Hall series of free webcasts.
Since its first school concerts a century ago, and particularly since the founding of the Civic Youth Ensembles in 1970, the DSO has been a national leader in bringing the benefits of music education to students, teachers, and families in Detroit and surrounding communities. The DSO remains committed to expanding its participation in the growth and well-being of Detroit through programs like its Detroit Neighborhood Initiative—cultural events co-created with community partners and residents—and Detroit Harmony, a promise to provide an instrument and instruction to any student in the city who wants to learn. With unwavering support from the people of Detroit, the DSO actively pursues a mission to impact lives through the power of unforgettable musical experiences.