Philadelphia Orchestra’s David Kim Joins Drexel University Orchestra for Master Class and Concert
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World-famous violinist and concertmaster of The Philadelphia Orchestra David Kim will join the Drexel University Orchestra from Drexel’s Antoinette Westphal College of Media Arts & Design this fall for a master class and concert.
On Wednesday, Oct. 29, Kim will mentor eight selected students in a master class from 5 – 6:30 p.m. in the Main Auditorium in Drexel’s Main Building (3141 Chestnut St.). The students will play a piece of their own choosing and receive one-on-one feedback from Kim. Students, faculty and the general public are welcome to observe. After the class, Kim will join the whole orchestra for a rehearsal, in preparation for the upcoming concert on Sunday, Nov. 23.
Students selected to participate in the master class include cellists Cyrus Ahmadi, a sophomore biomedical engineering major in the School of Biomedical Engineering, Science and Health Systems, and Keziah Sheldon, a freshman physics major in the College of Arts and Sciences; violist Michael Flynn, a freshman chemical engineering major in the College of Engineering; and violinists Seung Cho, a sophomore materials science and engineering major in the College of Engineering; Hanji Liu, a pre-junior computer science major in the College of Computing & Informatics; Carson Lloyd, a physics major in the College of Arts and Sciences; Errol Oliveros, a freshman biological sciences major in the College of Arts and Sciences; and Joseph Zia, a junior software engineering major from the College of Computing & Informatics.
The students were selected by Rosalind Erwin, who became director of the orchestra last year. In the past year, Erwin has expanded the former string ensemble into a full symphony orchestra made up of 61 students and performing standard orchestral repertoire.
“Because Drexel doesn’t have a music major, the orchestra is made up of students who are engineers, physicists, mathematicians and so on, who are playing music just because they are passionate about it,” said Erwin. “It really brings the entire university together. And we are thrilled to have the concertmaster of a major orchestra and a performer of such caliber joining us onstage. The students are gobsmacked.”
On Sunday, Nov. 23, the students will get to put what they’ve learned into practice at a concert in the Main Auditorium in Drexel’s Main Building, beginning at 7:30 p.m.
During the first half of the concert, the Drexel University Orchestra will perform Johannes Brahms’ “Academic Festival Overture” and “Capriccio espagnol” by Russian composer Nikolai Rimsky-Korsakov. After an intermission, Kim will join the students onstage for a performance of Peter Ilych Tchaikovsky’s “Violin Concerto in D Major, Op. 35” in its entirety. The concert will be followed by a reception and an opportunity to meet Kim. The concert is free and open to the public. No RSVP necessary.
Violinist David Kim was named concertmaster of The Philadelphia Orchestra in 1999. He appears as soloist with The Philadelphia Orchestra each season as well as with numerous orchestras around the world. Conductors with whom he has performed include Kazuyoshi Akiyama, Myung Whun Chung, Christoph von Dohnanyi, Charles Dutoit, Christoph Eschenbach, Rafael Frubeck de Burgos, Vladimir Jurowski, Peter Oundjian, and Wolfgang Sawallisch. He also appears internationally at festivals such as MasterWorks (USA) and Pacific (Japan).
As a highly sought-after pedagogue, Kim presents master classes at schools and institutions such as Juilliard, the New World Symphony in Miami, Princeton, Yale and the Korean National University of Arts. He serves as Artist in Residence at the Hyogo Performing Arts Center Orchestra in Japan, performing and holding master classes several times each season.
Rosalind Erwin has appeared as guest conductor with orchestras and ensembles in Europe and has been active as a conductor and music educator throughout the United States. Erwin currently holds the positions of music director/adjunct faculty of the Drexel University Orchestra in the Westphal College, and director/artistic staff of the Philadelphia Young Artists Orchestra, feeder orchestra to the venerable Philadelphia Youth Orchestra. An accomplished instrumental performer, Erwin appeared as clarinet soloist with the Pittsburgh Symphony and performed with the Philadelphia Orchestra. During her tenure as music director of the Pottstown Symphony Orchestra, Erwin elevated this regional orchestra to exceptional artistic heights, expanded educational outreach and brought contemporary music into the mainstream of concert programming.
About the Drexel University Orchestra
The Drexel University Orchestra is a full symphony orchestra comprised of strings, woodwinds, brass and percussion. The members of the group have the opportunity to further their individual and ensemble playing skills through weekly rehearsals and a concert performance at the end of each quarter. The orchestra's repertoire consists of works from the standard orchestral repertoire, and has included symphonies, suites and overtures by Beethoven, Wagner, Mozart, Bizet, Bach, Brahms and Mahler. Performance scholarships are available for string players for the Drexel University Orchestra (woodwind, brass and percussion scholarships for orchestra are provided through the Concert Band). Auditions for the Drexel University Orchestra and scholarship recommendation are held during Accepted Students Weekends in March and April.