CONNECTICUT’S OWN VIOLIN SENSATION SIRENA HUANG TO PERFORM WITH HSO DECEMBER 12-15

Guest Conductor Joel Smirnoff to Lead Program of Tchaikovsky, Sibelius, and Vaughan Williams
Hartford, Connecticut - The Hartford Symphony Orchestra will perform a wintry program highlighting the string section of the orchestra at Greensleeves & Sirena on Thursday, December 12 – Sunday, December 15, 2013 at The Bushnell Center for Performing Arts.  Led by guest conductor and renowned violinist Joel Smirnoff, the program will feature Tchaikovsky’s Symphony No. 3, “Polish” and Sibelius’ Concerto for Violin in D minor, as well as Vaughan Williams’ Fantasia on Greensleeves. Renowned violinist, Sirena Huang, will be joining HSO once again, performing Sibelius’ Concerto for Violin.  

The program will open with Vaughan Williams’ Fantasia on Greensleeves. First written as an entr’acte for Shakespeare’s Merry Wives, this piece relies heavily on the graceful and flowing string lines placed throughout.  The first half of the program will continue with violin virtuoso Sirena Huang performing Sibelius’ Violin Concerto in D minor.  This beautifully difficult work will feature HSO’s talented string section and will highlight the blended sound of their instruments.

After intermission, HSO will perform Tchaikovsky’s Symphony No. 3 in D Major, “Polish.”  This piece’s nickname, “Polish”, references the recurring Polish (polonaise) dance rhythms prominent in the symphony’s final movement.  Many western critics and audiences viewed this symphony as a symbol of Polish independence, with the final scene as an expression of liberation from Russian domination and the reinstatement of their freedom.                

This concert will mark Sirena Huang’s ninth engagement with the HSO.  Hailing from Windsor, CT, Huang made her HSO debut in 2009, when the scheduled guest artist was stranded in Europe due to the Icelandic volcano eruption and she served as a last minute replacement.  Ms. Huang began playing violin at age four and made her orchestral debut with the National Taiwan Symphony at age nine.  Since then, Ms. Huang has performed with many orchestras including the New York Philharmonic, Russian Symphony Orchestra and the Cleveland Orchestra.  Ms. Haung was awarded the First Prize Gold Medal at the International Tchaikovsky Competition for Young Musicians in 2009, received First Prize at the Thomas & Evon Cooper International Competition in 2011, and was given the Bernard and Mania Hahnloser Prize for Violin at the Verbier Festival in Switzerland in the summer of 2011.

Joel Smirnoff, is a Lifetime Grammy Award recipient, and recently joined the Cleveland Institute of Music as President in 2008.  He is the former chair of the violin department at The Juilliard School and has been a long time member of the Juilliard String Quartet, joining them in 1986.  Formally the group’s second violinist, Mr. Smirnoff was also a member of the Boston Symphony Orchestra for six years.  Mr. Smirnoff has conducted the San Francisco Symphony, Saint Paul Chamber Orchestra, Phoenix Symphony, Louisiana Symphony, Chicago Philharmonic, New World Symphony, Norwegian Chamber Orchestra, and Basel Sinfonietta, among others.