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The Philadelphia Orchestra announces the appointment of two new musicians
Hai-Ye Ni appointed principal cello and Daniel Han joins the
first violin section
(Philadelphia, September 15, 2006) – The Philadelphia Orchestra Association announces the appointment of Hai-Ye Ni as principal cello and Daniel Han as section first violin. Ms. Ni comes to Philadelphia from the New York Philharmonic where she has been associate principal cello since 1999 . Mr. Han comes to the Orchestra from the Minnesota Orchestra where he was a member from 2005 to 2006. Both appointments are effective at the beginning of the 2006-07 season.
Hai-Ye Ni first came into prominence after her critically praised New York debut at Alice Tully Hall in 1991. This performance came as a result of her winning first prize at the Naumburg International Cello Competition. She has since won first prize in the 1996 International Paulo Cello Competition in Finland, and was a recipient of the prestigious Avery Fisher Career Grant in 2001. Ms. Ni also won best performance of a work by Tchaikovsky at the Tchaikovsky International Competition in Moscow.
Hai-Ye Ni made her debut with the Chicago Symphony in 1997 under the baton of Christoph Eschenbach at the Ravinia Festival. At Yo-Yo Ma’s recommendation, she made a United States tour to introduce Bright Sheng’s cello concerto Two Poems. During her tenure at the New York Philharmonic, Ms. Ni collaborated with Bobby McFerrin in the Vivaldi Concerto for Two Cellos, and made her solo debut in 2003. Her solo engagements include the San Francisco Symphony, the Vienna Chamber Orchestra, the Orchestre Nationale de France, the Vancouver Symphony, the Houston Symphony, and the China National Orchestra.
Ms. Ni has performed recitals at Carnegie Hall’s Weill Recital Hall, the Kennedy Center for the Performing Arts, and the Smithsonian Institute, and has been a participant at the Marlboro Music Festival and the Chamber Music Society of Lincoln Center. She has performed with artists such as Pinchas Zukerman, Yefim Bronfman, Leonidas Kavakos, Jean-Yves Thibaudet, Joshua Bell, and members of the Emerson String Quartet. Her solo CD on Naxos was chosen CD of the week by Classic FM London.
Born in Shanghai, China, in 1972, Hai-Ye Ni began her cello studies with her mother and later studied at the Shanghai Conservatory of Music. Ms. Ni continued her musical education with Irene Sharp at the San Francisco Conservatory of Music, Joel Krosnick at the Juilliard School of Music, and William Pleeth in London.
Daniel Han joined the Minnesota Orchestra’s first violin section in 2005, after serving as a member of the Fort Worth Symphony Orchestra and guest concertmaster of the Daejeon Philharmonic in Korea. He received his bachelor’s and master’s degrees and artist diploma from Boston University, where he was a student of Roman Totenberg and was awarded the prestigious Esther Kahn Award.
A native of Lexington, Kentucky, Mr. Han studied with Kurt Sassmannshaus and Dorothy DeLay at the University of Cincinnati College-Conservatory of Music Preparatory Department. While there, Mr. Han was an annual soloist with the CCM-Starling Orchestra and Philharmonia Orchestra, as well as concertmaster of the Starling Chamber Orchestra, performing with them as soloist at the Aspen Music Festival, and on their tours to Germany, Switzerland, Austria, and New York (at Alice Tully Hall). He has also performed solos with the Fort Worth Symphony, the Boston Classical Orchestra, the Boston University Symphony, and the UK Symphony, among others. An avid chamber musician, he has attended the Aspen Music Festival, Kneisel Hall, and Bravo! Vail Valley Music Festival, where he worked with such artists as Seymour Lipkin, Ida Kavafian, and members of the Juilliard, Tokyo, and Orion string quartets. Mr. Han has also been a guest artist at the Music in the Mountains Festival in Durango, Colorado.
Founded in 1900, The Philadelphia Orchestra has distinguished itself as one of the leading orchestras in the world through a century of acclaimed performances, historic international tours, best-selling recordings, and its unprecedented record of innovation in recording technologies and outreach. The Orchestra has maintained an unparalleled unity in artistic leadership with only six music directors piloting its first century: Fritz Scheel (1900-07), Carl Pohlig (1907-12), Leopold Stokowski (1912-41), Eugene Ormandy (1936-80), Riccardo Muti (1980-92), and Wolfgang Sawallisch (1993-2003).
This rich tradition is carried on by Christoph Eschenbach, who became music director in 2003. The 2006-07 season, Mr. Eschenbach’s fourth, highlights the music of Mozart and Shostakovich. In January 2007, Mr. Eschenbach leads the Orchestra in the Academy of Music 150th Anniversary Concert. During his tenure, Mr. Eschenbach has conducted Beethoven’s nine symphonies paired with music of our time; led a four-week Late Great Works Festival; launched the Orchestra’s first-ever multi-year cycle of Mahler’s complete symphonies; and led tours of Europe, Asia, and Florida and Puerto Rico.
The Orchestra began a three-year partnership with Ondine Records in 2005, and has released two recordings taken from live concerts with a third scheduled for October 2006. As of April 2006, the Orchestra is broadcast regularly on NPR. Other recent highlights include a five-year, $125 million endowment campaign launched in 2003; the Orchestra’s move to The Kimmel Center for the Performing Arts in 2001; and the Orchestra’s 100th anniversary in 2000.
The Philadelphia Orchestra annually touches the lives of more than one million music lovers worldwide through its performances, publications, recordings, and broadcasts. The Orchestra presents a subscription season in Philadelphia each year from September to May, in addition to education and community partnership programs, and appears annually at Carnegie Hall. Its summer schedule includes an outdoor series at Philadelphia’s Mann Center for the Performing Arts, free Neighborhood Concerts, a three-week residency at Saratoga Performing Arts Center in upstate New York, and an annual week-long residency at the Bravo! Vail Valley Music Festival beginning July 2007. |
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