INTERNATIONAL SEJONG SOLOISTS 2003-2004 SEASON HIGHLIGHTS INCLUDE NPR PERFORMANCE TODAY RESIDENCY; EUROPEAN DEBUT AT RNCM MANCHESTER INTERNATIONAL CELLO FESTIVAL; AND PERFORMANCE AT ZANKEL HALL

The International Sejong Soloists ensemble will have a European and U.S. tour, and summer residencies at the Aspen Music Festival and the inaugural Great Mountains Music Festival & School.

(PRWEB) November 3 2003--International Sejong Soloists (ISS), the New York-based conductor-less string ensemble widely-acclaimed for its precision, high energy, rich sound and diverse repertoire, will kick off its 2003-2004 season with a National Public Radio (NPR) Performance Today residency from November 3 to November 7. The season will continue with an annual benefit on Sunday, November 9 hosted by CNN anchor Paula Zahn that features guest artists Cho-Liang Lin and David Finckel as well as the New York premiere of Krzysztof Pendereckis Sinfonietta for Strings; a Sunday, December 7 performance at Zankel Hall; a Thursday, May 6 European debut at the RNCM Manchester International Cello Festival; a U.S. tour, with collaborations with Eugenia Zuckerman and Orli Shaham; and summer residencies at both the Aspen Music Festival and at the Great Mountains Music Festival & School, the international music festival launching in Gangwon, South Korea in July 2004.

ISS, which consists of 14 members, will be one of the largest groups ever to be NPR Performance Today Artists-in-Residence, broadcasting from November 3 to November 7. Normally those named to the residency are individual artists, duos, trios or quartets, however, the shows producers were so impressed when ISS collaborated with pianist Orli Shaham during her residency in 2002, that they selected the group for the honor. Their residency is sponsored by Samsung Electronics America and the Korea Foundation.

Performance Today created the Young Artists-in-Residence program in 1994 to identify the nations most talented, upcoming performers and to give them an opportunity to perform for a national audience. The ensemble will reach the programs approximately 1.5 million listeners and 262 public radio stations with an eclectic mix of well-known pieces and new music. The repertoire will include Dvoraks Serenade for Strings, Tchaikovskys Serenade for Strings, Griegs Holberg Suite, Op. 40 and Bragato Graciela y Buenos Aires for cello and string orchestra and other favorites.

ISS will perform on Sunday, November 9 with violinist Cho-Liang Lin and cellist David Finckel at Kaleidoscope," its fourth annual benefit concert hosted by CNN news anchor Paula Zahn. The event will take place at the New-York Historical Society in Manhattan and feature the New York premiere of Pendereckis Sinfonietta for Strings. Pendereckis Sinfonietta for Strings, an orchestral version of his String Trio (1990--91), was premiered on February 17, 1992, by the Sinfonia Varsovia under the composers direction at the Polish Radio Concert Hall in Warsaw. Like many of Pendereckis shorter works, the Sinfonietta shares thematic material with several of his larger works-in this case the Interludium between Acts I and II of his opera Ubu rex, which also dates from 1990--91, and the Adagio (Symphony No. 4) from 1989.

International Sejong Soloists will put classical music in the reach of the next generation as it performs a family concert called Shall We Dance? at Zankel Hall at Carnegie Hall on December 7. Children and adults alike will take something from the recital, which will be hosted by storyteller and spoken word artist Charlotte Blake Alston.

ISS will make its European debut at the RNCM Manchester International Cello Festival in May 2004. The ensemble will give two performances at the Festival, on May 6 and May 8.

July 2004 will mark ISS return for its ninth year as ensemble-in-residence to the Aspen Music Festival. ISS Aspen residency is sponsored by the Samsung Foundation of Culture, which also serves as a major sponsor of ISS throughout the year.

From July 24 through August 8, ISS will serve as the host ensemble of the Great Mountains Music Festival & School, the inaugural international music festival of Gangwon, South Korea. The governor of South Koreas Gangwon Province, who is looking to make PyeongChang into an international arts town by establishing the festival, has appointed Hyo Kang music director of the three-week event. The festival will follow the tradition set by the Aspen Music Festival, with both teaching and concerts by distinguished performers.

ISS U.S. tour will include performances at the Sugden Community Theater in Naples, FL presented by Classic Chamber Concerts on December 15; the Porter Center for Performing Arts in Brevard, NC presented by Breward College on March 4; the Heymann Performing Arts Center in Lafayette, LA, with pianist Orli Shaham, presented by the Performing Arts Society of Acadiana on March 18; the University of Missouris White Hall presented by the Conservatory of Music on March 20; First- Plymouth Church in Lincoln, NE presented by Abendmusic on Mar 21; Baldwin First United Methodist Church presented by the Baker University Music Department on March 23; the Goodrich Theater in Oneonta, NY, with flutist Eugenia Zukerman, presented by the Oneonta Concert Association on April 15; Kent State University, with Eugenia Zukerman, presented by Kent Classic Arts on April 17; the University of Denvers Newman Center for the Performing Arts presented by Denver Friends of Chamber Music on April 21; and the Leo Rich Theatre in Tucson, AZ presented by the Arizona Friends of Chamber Music on April 28.

About International Sejong Soloists:

Praised by The Washington Post as a top-notch conductor-less string orchestra," ISS has performed at the worlds most prestigious venues since its founding in 1995. Uniquely comprised of todays leading young soloists hailing from eight different nations, the New York-based ensemble is known for its cohesiveness, beautiful sound, and refreshing style-performing string orchestral works as well as solo and chamber repertoire. Continually performing to capacity audiences, ISS has given critically acclaimed concerts at venues such as Carnegie Hall, Lincoln Centers Alice Tully Hall, the Kennedy Center, the 92nd Street Y, Suntory Hall in Japan, Seoul Arts Center in Korea, the National Arts Theatre in Taiwan, and in the Rising Stars Series at Ravinia. ISS is an ensemble-in-residence at the Aspen Music Festival and host ensemble of the Great Mountains Festival & School in Gangwon, South Korea. At the invitation of the World Cup committee, ISS performed for the 2002 Federation Internationale de Football Association (FIFA) Congress representing 204 nations in Seoul, Korea. In December 2002, the ensemble was featured on CNNs American Morning with Paula Zahn. International Sejong Soloists is sponsored in part by the Samsung Foundation of Culture.

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