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Timothy Chooi with Michelle Cann Generously sponsored by Deborah LaGorce JANUARY 24 I 3:30 PM CHRISTENSEN PERFORMANCE HALL on the Madeline Janis Courter Stage BIG ARTS 2021 CREATE INSPIRE CONNECT www.BIGARTS.org or (239)395-0900 COMING UP Monday Night Film January 25, 7:00 p.m. Talking Points: Fred Guttenberg January 28, 4:00 p.m. Ranky Tanky January 30, 4:00 p.m. & 8:00 p.m. Monday Night Film February 1, 7:00 p.m. Talking Points: Lyn Millner February 4, 4:00 p.m. Michael Cleveland & Flamekeeper February 6, 4:00 p.m. & 6:00 p.m. Monday Night Film February 8, 7:00 p.m. Talking Points: Ian Sherr February 11, 4:00 p.m. FORUM: Dr. Arin Reeves February 14, 7:30 p.m. FOR DETAILS GO TO BIGARTS.ORG 2 Timothy Chooi with pianist, Michelle Cann Canadian-American violinist Timothy Chooi has garnered huge critical and public acclaim, most recently when he won second prize at the 2019 Queen Elisabeth Competition in Belgium. Timothy has already made a name for himself, garnering numerous prizes including first prize in the 2018 Joseph Joachim International Violin Competition in Germany and first prize in the 2018 Schadt Violin Competition in the U.S. In addition to having already performed with every major orchestra in his home country of Canada, Timothy has played with the Brussels Philharmonic under Stéphane Denève, Santa Barbara Symphony, and Orchestre Philharmonique de Liége and is making his Carnegie Hall debut. Sponsored by Deborah LaGorce This performance is dedicated to Jan Holly and her many years of selfless work on the classical committee for BIG ARTS. We are deeply grateful for her expertise and talent that helped to make the BIG ARTS Classical Series such a resounding success. 3 BIOS Powerful and finely nuanced interpretations, sumptuous sonorities, and a compelling stage presence are just a few of the hallmarks of internationally acclaimed violinist Timothy Chooi. A popular soloist and recitalist, the Canadian-American Chooi is sought after as much for his passionate performances as for his wide-ranging repertoire. He has garnered huge critical and public acclaim, most recently when he won Second Prize at the 2019 Queen Elisabeth Competition in Belgium. He had already made a name for himself having been awarded numerous prizes, among them First Prize in the 2018 Joseph Joachim International Violin Competition in Germany and the First Prize in the 2018 Schadt Violin Competition in the USA, as well as the Michael Hill Violin Competition in New Zealand and the Montreal Symphony ManuLife Competition in Canada. In 2018, he also won the Prix Yves Paternot at the Verbier Festival, a prize which recognizes the most promising and accomplished musician of the annual academy for young professional musicians, earning him his debut as a solo artist in the 2022 Verbier Festival. In addition to having already performed with every major orchestra in his home country of Canada, he has also played with the Brussels Philharmonic under Stéphane Denève, Santa Barbara Symphony, Orchestre Philharmonique de Liége, Auckland Philharmonia Orchestra, and Malaysian Philharmonic Orchestra. He also participated in an extensive recital tour with Jeunesses Musicales du Canada, appearing at the Ravinia Festival and making his Carnegie Hall debut. Future and recent highlights include reinvitations to the Toronto Symphony Orchestra with Peter Oundjian, Montreal Symphony Orchestra, National Arts Centre Orchestra Ottawa, and Belgian National Orchestra, as well as debuts with the Chicago Symphony Orchestra, Russian National Orchestra and Mikhail Pletnev, DSO Berlin, Brandenburgisches Staatsorchester Frankfurt, Saarländisches Staatsorchester, and the Sichuan Symphony Orchestra. Upcoming recitals will see him perform in cities all over the world including 4 Seoul, Brussels, Hannover, Antwerp, Philadelphia, and Vancouver and at the Gstaad Menuhin Festival. Timothy Chooi was born in 1993 in Victoria BC, Canada, and made his orchestral debut at the age of seven performing with his brother Nikki and the Victoria Symphony Orchestra. When Chooi was fourteen years old, he won a full scholarship to attend the Academy Program at the Mount Royal Conservatory in Calgary, Alberta, Canada; and two years later was accepted to the Curtis Institute of Music in Philadelphia, where he studied with Ida Kavafian. Just a few months after enrolling at Curtis, he made his concerto debut with the Montreal Symphony Orchestra under the baton of Jean Francois Rivest and was hailed by La Presse in Montreal as “the miracle violinist.” During his studies, he also won the EMCY Prize at the 2014 Yehudi Menuhin International Competition and the Vadim Repin Scholarship Award in New York. Chooi went on to complete the master’s programme at the Juilliard School under the tutelage of Catherine Cho. His mentors include Pinchas Zukerman, Pamela Frank and Patinka Kopec. Chooi performs on the 1717 Windsor-Weinstein Stradivarius on generous loan from the Canada Council for the Arts. Concert pianist Michelle Cann is a young artist with a deep musical commitment to performing a wide range of repertoire throughout the U.S. and to bringing the arts to local communities. Cann made her orchestral debut at age fourteen and has since performed with various orchestras including the Florida Orchestra, the New Jersey Symphony Orchestra, the Cleveland Institute of Music Symphony Orchestra, the Memphis Symphony Orchestra and the Pennsylvania Philharmonic. She appeared as guest soloist with the Knoxville Symphony, where she performed Gershwin’s Rhapsody in Blue and Florence Price’s Concerto in One Movement. Recently, she performed with members of the Los Angeles Philharmonic in its Green Umbrella Series at the Walt Disney Concert Hall in Los Angeles and, again, at the Barbican 5 in London. She regularly appears in recital and as a chamber musician throughout the U.S., China and South Korea at premiere concert halls including the National Center for the Performing Arts in Beijing and the Kennedy Center for the Performing Arts, and recently performed a solo recital at the Bermuda Festival on the island of Bermuda. Cann has frequently been featured on both WRTI 90.1 and WHYY TV in Philadelphia on such shows as Creatively Speaking with Susan Lewis, Onstage at Curtis, and Philadelphia Music Makers, where she was the host of the hour-long program that alternated between her own personal reflections and solo performances. She has also appeared as cohost/collaborative pianist with the nationally broadcasted program NPR’s From the Top, appearing in Interlochen, Michigan, with actor/conductor Damon Gupton; Boston, Massachusetts, with violinist Leila Josepfowicz; and in La Jolla, California, with violinist Vijay Gupta. In 2016, Cann soloed with The Dream Unfinished Orchestra in New York City, an organization whose purpose is to bring to the forefront those female and minority composers too long lingering in the background of American music. She performed the New York City premiere of Concerto in One Movement by composer Florence Price, the first African-American woman to be recognized as a symphonic composer. Her performance was well received by the audience and press alike. The Boston Musical Intelligencer wrote “Michelle Cann…was a compelling, sparkling virtuoso, bringing this riveting work to life in its first New York performance.” Recently, she performed a chamber recital with members of the Cincinnati Symphony Orchestra as their MAC Music Innovator. This program highlights leading African American classical musicians who embody artistry, innovation and a commitment to education and community engagement. In May, 2020, Cann was scheduled for a solo performance with the New York Youth Symphony Orchestra in Carnegie Hall’s Stern Auditorium prior to the Covid-19 outbreak. In January 2021, she 6 will perform Florence Price’s Concerto in One Movement with the Philadelphia Orchestra. Hailing from a musical family in Avon Park, Florida, Cann began the piano at age seven, but soon added organ, steel drums, trombone, tuba and violin. Her primary focus on the piano earned her top prizes in state, national and international competitions, including the International Russian Piano Music Competition, the Blount Young Artists National Competition and, most recently, the Wideman International Piano Competition. She received her bachelor’s and master’s degrees in piano performance from the Cleveland Institute of Music, studying with Paul Schenly and Daniel Shapiro, and received an artist diploma from the Curtis Institute of Music in Philadelphia, studying with Robert McDonald. Currently, Cann holds the inaugural Eleanor Sokoloff Chair in piano studies at Curtis. Her summer festival appearances include the Taos Chamber Music Festival, YellowBarn Chamber Music Festival, Perlman Music Program Chamber Music Festival, Artist in Residence at Pianofest in the Hamptons and as a member of the piano faculty at the Luzerne Music Center in Lake Luzerne, New York. Most recently, she served on the faculty of Sphinx Performance Academy during their inaugural year at the Julliard School and also performed in the Sphinx Symphony Orchestra during the 23rd annual Sphinx Competition. Cann is a young leader in creating opportunities for music education in her community. During her time in Philadelphia, she has served as the choir director of two thirty-member children’s choruses in the El-Sistema-inspired program, “Play On Philly.” She served as one of three Curtis Institute of Music inaugural fellows of ArtistYear. Through that one-year fellowship, she worked with local community partners such as City Year, Teach for America and AmeriCorps to bring the arts to local Philadelphia communities where arts education and access are unattainable. Cann currently resides in Philadelphia. 7 PROGRAMBIOS attr. VITALI Chaconne in G minor (11’) BEETHOVEN Sonata No. 8 in G major, Op. 30, No. 3 (19’) Allegro assai Tempo di Minuetto, ma molto moderato e grazioso Allegro vivace FRANCK Sonata in A major (28’) Allegro ben moderato Allegro Recitativo — Fantasia: Ben moderato — Molto lento Allegretto poco mosso CHEN GANG Sunshine on Tashkurgan (7’) 8 NOTES Notes on the Program by Dr.