MASTER CONCERT II

JANUARY 16, 2010

The critically acclaimed Key West Symphony Orchestra continues its astounding twelfth season of innovative music with its Master Concert No. 2, featuring compositions and performances by the award winning Israeli violinist Ittai Shapira and the internationally renowned Korean percussionist Jin Hi Kim, on January 16^th at the Broward Center for the Performing Arts.

Israeli violinist Ittai Shapira has performed with renowned symphonies such as the Russian Philharmonic and London Philharmonic, as well as served as both conductor and soloist for noted chamber orchestras around the world. He will play his spirited original composition Concierto Latino with the symphony. 

“I wrote Concerto Latino after realizing I could no longer stay passive about my passion towards Latin music and dances,” Shapira shares. “This work has elements of a variety of dances, including Salsa, Tango, Rumba, and Flamenco in addition to certain Jewish sounds like the Sepharadic.”

Shapira grew up in Israel where he studied with the instructor of many well know Israeli violinists.  He moved to NY at 15 to study at the Juilliard School and began performing in his late teens.  In addition to playing a standard repertoire as a guest soloist, he also plays about fifteen different concertos that were written especially for him in addition to his own compositions.

KWSO Master Concert No.2 will also feature the internationally recognized composer and innovative performer, Jin Hi Kim.

Jin Hi Kim is known for introducing the komungo -- an ancient fretted bass zither with six silk strings that are plucked with a thin bamboo stick -- to the wider world through her contemporary chamber and orchestral compositions as well as her large-scale multimedia pieces. 

At age 16, Jin Hi Kim’s father recommended that she begin they study of traditional Korean music at an esteemed South Korean music conservatory.  There she learned both court and folk styles of singing, drumming, and playing bamboo flutes.  She selected the komungo as her major instrument of study which was considered audacious as the komungo has, since the fourth century, been favored by male Confucian scholars, and generally not played by women at all.

Jin Hi Kim went on to become an acclaimed composer and performer who has earned a place in the American avant-garde music scene and has been presented on the main stages of leading national and international cultural venues.  This acclaimed performer will bring to the Key West stage authentic Korean drums, which demand a combination of musicianship and choreography, to play her provocative Monk Dance with the Key West Symphony.

KWSO Master Concert No. 2 will also include Antonin Dvorak’s powerful composition Symphony No. 8 which premiered in Prague in 1890.  Many critics believe Dvorak’s Eighth is the best of his symphonies, and has been unfairly overshadowed by the immense popularity of Dvorak’s better known Symphony No. 9.

Sebrina Maria Alfonso, who was born and raised in Key West, is the talented musical director and conductor of the Key West Symphony.  Her New York debut conducting the American Symphony Orchestra was called “dynamic” and “commanding” by New York critics. When selected as a prizewinner in the prestigious Stokowski International Competition, the New York Times also observed, “Ms. Alfonso was overwhelmingly favored by the audience.” 

Tickets are available for the January 16^th at the Broward Center for the Performing Arts.  Patrons can purchase tickets by going online to www.browardcenter.org  or calling 954-462-0222. 

History

When Music Director and Conductor, Sebrina Maria Alfonso, first raised her baton on Friday, December 11, 1998, she began a musical journey for the Key West Symphony Orchestra that would stretch over a decade into the future. In fact, the 2008/2009 Season marked our 11th year of performing some of the world's great masterpieces and introducing audiences to the music of exciting contemporary composers.

Clearly, a small community the size of Key West, no matter how strongly motivated, cannot begin to sustain a talent pool required for a full symphony orchestra. A different model was needed - one that ultimately brought together professional musicians from other orchestras all over the United States. It is this remarkable aggregation of talent that defines the Key West Symphony Orchestra today - approximately 90 musicians representing various orchestras throughout the U.S and soloists from around the world.

Like its bigger city counterparts, funding for such an operation required a portion of revenue from ticket sales, a portion from corporate donors and private patrons, and a portion from ancillary activities like the KWSO's successful Opera program and musical educational outreach programs like SolFest. However, as we look to our next decade, we have faced the same stark economic realities as performing arts groups all across America.

We have decided to address this new reality not with contraction but with growth. Our vision is to expand our performance venues to include the largest South Florida area, Miami/Fort Lauderdale. This area has over 200,000 people who classical music aficionados, representing a far greater potential for future growth. In the near term, for our 12th season, we have expanded to the Broward Center for the Performing Arts/Amaturo Theatre with the hopes to build a home base there with an expanded performance schedule.

Two years ago, we celebrated our 10th anniversary and, with great hope for the future, cordially invite you to our 20th and beyond!