The Philadelphia Orchestra announces the appointment of two new musicians

Yumi Kendall became assistant principal cello and Rachel Ku joined the viola section with the opening of the Orchestra's 2004-05 season

(Philadelphia, September 24, 2004)

The Philadelphia Orchestra Association announces the appointment of two new musicians who joined the Orchestra at the opening of the 2004-05 season. Yumi Kendall joined the Orchestra as assistant principal cello, and Rachel Ku, as a member of the viola section. Both women are 2004 graduates of the Curtis Institute of Music.

Assistant Principal Cello Yumi Kendall studied with David Soyer, cellist of the Guarneri String Quartet. While at Curtis, where she completed her Bachelor of Music degree in May 2004, Ms. Kendall held the Institute's Jacqueline du Pré Memorial Fellowship and was the recipient of a merit-based full-tuition scholarship. She has served as principal cello in the Haddonfield Symphony, the American Youth Philharmonic, and the National Orchestra Institute. Ms. Kendall began studying cello at age five; made her recital debut at age seven in Boulder, Colo.; and in 1998 made her orchestral solo debut with the National Symphony Orchestra at the Kennedy Center in Washington, D.C. Since that time, Ms. Kendall has performed on numerous occasions in the Washington, D.C. area, including a solo appearance with the cellists of the National Symphony Orchestra in a tribute concert honoring Mstislav Rostropovich. Her participation in summer festivals and institutes includes the Summer Music Institute at the Kennedy Center, the Boston University Tanglewood Institute, Music from Angel Fire, the Verbier Festival, the Taos School of Music in New Mexico, Encore School for Strings, and the Marlboro Festival. Ms. Kendall is also a member of the Dryden String Quartet, which includes her brother, violinist Nicolas Kendall, a member of Time for Three; their cousin Daniel Foster, principal violist of the National Symphony; and Nurit Bar-Josef, concertmaster of the National Symphony.

Recipient of several awards and honors, Ms. Kendall won first place in the Friday Morning Music Club Competition, first place in the National Symphony Orchestra Young Soloists' Competition, and the judges' commendation award at the Johansen International Competition. Ms. Kendall resides in Center City Philadelphia.

Violist Rachel Ku studied with Joseph de Pasquale, former principal viola of The Philadelphia Orchestra, and was a member of the Curtis Symphony Orchestra, where she served as principal viola during the 2002-03 season. Ms. Ku has studied viola since age eight, and piano since age five. She made her solo debut in her native Taipei in 1995, and has appeared as a soloist with the Delaware Symphony, the Witherspoon Chamber Orchestra, the Dwun-Hwa Orchestra, and the Curtis Chamber Ensemble. In recent summers, Ms. Ku has participated in the International Music Festival in Saluzzo, Italy; Encore School for Strings; the Sarasota Music Festival; the Kneisel Hall Chamber Music Festival; and the Taos Chamber Music Festival.

Ms. Ku's awards and honors include first prize in the 2004 Delaware Symphony Orchestra Young Soloists Competition, first prize in the Matinee Musical Club of Philadelphia scholarship competition, second prize in the 2002 Riverside Symphony Caprio Young Artists Competition, an honorable mention in the 2001 Philadelphia Orchestra Albert M. Greenfield Student Competition, and first prize in the 1997 Taiwan National Viola Competition. Ms. Ku resides in Center City Philadelphia.

Following a dynamic inaugural season as music director of The Philadelphia Orchestra, Christoph Eschenbach continues his creative artistic partnership with the venerable ensemble. Held in highest esteem by the world's foremost orchestras and opera houses for his commanding presence, versatility, and consummate musicianship, Mr. Eschenbach has been acclaimed for his creative insight and dynamic energy, as a conductor, collaborator, and ardent champion of young musicians.

Highlights of his second season with the Orchestra include a season-long focus on Dvorak and other Czech composers; a four-week festival entitled Late Great Works; and the continuation of the Orchestra's five-season long, first-ever Mahler cycle. Mr. Eschenbach and the Orchestra conclude the season with a tour of Asia.

Mr. Eschenbach continues as music director of the Orchestre de Paris. This season he also leads the Lyric Opera of Chicago's season opening production of Mozart's Don Giovanni; the Los Angeles Philharmonic; the Staatskapelle Berlin; the Hamburg NDR Symphony; the Staatskapelle Dresden; and the Chicago Symphony at Ravinia.

Mr. Eschenbach has made numerous recordings on various labels as conductor, pianist, or both. His discography includes works of Adams, Berg, Berlioz, Brahms, Glass, Mahler, Mendelssohn, Messiaen, Picker, Pintscher, Rouse, Schnittke, Schoenberg, Schumann, Strauss, Tchaikovsky, and Webern.

Before turning to conducting, Mr. Eschenbach had earned a distinguished reputation as a pianist. He began winning major competitions at age 11, and made his United States debut in 1969 with the Cleveland Orchestra; his conducting debut was in Hamburg in 1972. In 1981 he became principal guest conductor of Zurich's Tonhalle Orchestra, and was chief conductor from 1982-86. Additional posts include music director of the Houston Symphony (1988-99); chief conductor of the Hamburg NDR Symphony (1998-2004); and music director of the Ravinia Festival, summer home of the Chicago Symphony (1994-2003).

Among Mr. Eschenbach's most recent awards are the Légion d'Honneur of France and the Officer's Cross with Star and Ribbon of the German Order of Merit. In 1993 he received the Leonard Bernstein Award, presented to him by the Pacific Music Festival, where he served as co-artistic director from 1992-98. Additional information about Mr. Eschenbach can be found at
www.christoph-eschenbach.com.

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. With only six music directors piloting The Philadelphia Orchestra through its first century, the ensemble has maintained an unparalleled cohesiveness and unity in artistic leadership.

This rich tradition is carried on by Christoph Eschenbach, who began his tenure as the Orchestra's seventh music director in September 2003. As Mr. Eschenbach and the Orchestra inaugurate a new era in the ensemble's esteemed history, the Orchestra has announced the launch of the public phase of a five-year, $125-million endowment campaign, entitled A Sound, A City, A Civilization. Commitments to the campaign include a lead gift of $50 million from the Annenberg Foundation, along with other major leadership gifts that have allowed the Orchestra to raise the original campaign goal from $75 million to $125 million.

In addition to Mr. Eschenbach's appointment as music director, the Orchestra has observed several important milestones in recent years. The Orchestra's 2002-2003 season celebrated Wolfgang Sawallisch's ten highly acclaimed years at the Orchestra's helm and paid tribute to his artistic achievements with the release of a Grammy-nominated three-disc set of Schumann recordings, the first recordings made in Verizon Hall at The Kimmel Center for the Performing Arts. The Orchestra moved to its new home at the Kimmel Center in December 2001, after celebrating its 100th Anniversary through a series of activities surrounding the year 2000, including the internationally televised gala Birthday Concert on November 16, 2000, a tour of Europe in 2000, and tours of Asia and the United States in 2001. A tour in the spring of 2003 took the Orchestra to nine cities in the United States, Mexico, and South America. Christoph Eschenbach and the Orchestra capped their first full season together with a tour of the music capitals of Europe in the spring of 2004.

The Philadelphia Orchestra annually touches the lives of more than 1 million music lovers worldwide through its performances (more than 300 concerts and other presentations each year), publications, recordings, and broadcasts. A major winter subscription season is presented in Philadelphia each year from September to May, in addition to education and community partnership programs. The Orchestra presents a series of concerts each year at New York's Carnegie Hall, performing encores of some of its acclaimed concerts from Philadelphia. Its summer schedule includes a month-long outdoor season in Philadelphia at The Mann Center for the Performing Arts, free concerts in local neighborhoods, and a three-week residency each August at the Saratoga Performing Arts Center in upstate New York.

The Kimmel Center for the Performing Arts hosts the Orchestra's home subscription concerts. The Center includes two performance spaces, the 2500-seat Verizon Hall, designed and built especially for the Orchestra, and the 650-seat Perelman Theater for chamber music concerts. Designed by architect Rafael Viñoly along with acoustician Russell Johnson of Artec Consultants Inc., the Kimmel Center provides the Orchestra with a state-of-the-art facility for concerts, recordings, and education activities. The landmark building is named in honor of Philadelphia businessman and philanthropist Sidney Kimmel, who gave the largest individual gift toward its construction. Mr. Kimmel has served on the Board of Directors of The Philadelphia Orchestra since 1995.

The Kimmel Center for the Performing Arts (KCPA) and the historic Academy of Music (where the Orchestra performed for 101 seasons) are operated together as a single cultural facility by Kimmel Center, Inc. (KCI). A variety of Philadelphia's other performing arts groups serve as resident companies for the two buildings. KCI owns, manages, supports, and maintains the KCPA. Kimmel Center, Inc., also manages the Academy of Music, owned by The Philadelphia Orchestra Association since 1957, and where the Orchestra continues to present the highly anticipated annual Academy Anniversary Concert and Ball.