Cascade Symphony Orchestra: Happy Holidays!
$30 ($26 senior, $10 student/youth)
- Christina Wu, violin
- Michael Miropolsky, conductor
Leroy Anderson — Sandpaper Ballet
David Lovrien — Minor Alterations: Christmas Through the Looking Glass
Jerry Bock — Symphonic Dances from Fiddler on the Roof
Percy Faith — Pizzicato Polka
Josef Strauss / Johann Strauss II — Pizzicato Polka
Jules Massenet — "Méditation" from Thaïs
Antonio Vivaldi — Violin Concerto No. 4 in F minor, Op. 8, RV 297 "L'inverno" ("Winter" from The Four Seasons)
Frederick Loewe — My Fair Lady (medley)
John Cacavas / Traditional — Christmas Music for Orchestra
James H. Burden / John Williams — Star Wars Medley
Cascade Symphony Orchestra presents Happy Holidays!
The Holiday Concert is sure to be a blast! Along with your favorite Christmas carols you’ll hear delights from Johann Strauss to John Williams. You might raise your eyebrows hearing Minor Alterations by David Lovrien, who called his medley Christmas Through the Looking Glass. Our concertmaster Christina Wu will indulge you with the gorgeous "Meditation" from the opera Thaïs by Jules Massenet, and stormy "Winter" from Vivaldi's The Four Seasons.
Additionally, per CSO tradition, we are proud to welcome some of the best high school music students in our area to perform side-by-side with the orchestra during the Sunday Holiday Concert.
Performances on Dec. 15 & 16.
About Christina Wu, violin
Currently serving as concertmaster in Cascade Symphony Orchestra, Christina also appears
frequently with the Seattle Symphony Orchestra, Seattle Metropolitan Chamber Orchestra. She is a recurring artist at the AIMS Festival Orchestra in Graz, Austria. Her past affiliations include first violin with Washington Symphony Orchestra, Singapore Symphony Orchestra, Westmoreland Symphony Orchestra, and Wheeling Symphony Orchestra. Her notable collaborations feature legends such as Leon Fleisher, Kiri Te Kanawa, the Vienna Boys' Choir, Jose Carreras, Claus Peter Flor, Joseph Silverstein, and Alan Gilbert.
Christina started playing the violin at the age of five, receiving her early training at the Wuhan
Conservatory of Music. She obtained her Bachelor's Degree in violin performance with honors under Zuo Jun and Alexandra Souptel at the National University of Singapore, and later was granted a full scholarship to pursue her Master's Degree and Performance Certificate from Carnegie Mellon University, where she studied with the renowned violinist Cyrus Forough who himself was the student of the legendary violinist David Oistrakh.
About Michael Miropolsky, conductor
A native of Russia, Michael Miropolsky has served as principal violinist with the Moscow State Symphony, performed with the Radio and Television String Quartet in many countries around the world, and recorded internationally on the Melodia label.
Michael Miropolsky came to the United States in 1990 and has been the Assistant Principal Second Violin with the Seattle Symphony Orchestra as well as a featured soloist. Along with his numerous musical activities; judging competitions, and extensive teaching, Mr. Miropolsky, who strongly believes in the value and importance of musical education, often conducted presentations at schools and colleges. He coaches young musicians and orchestras, gives master classes, and performs as a guest conductor all across the state of Washington.
Michael Miropolsky is both the founder and conductor of the Jewish Community Center Chamber Orchestra, conductor of the Northwest School Orchestra in Seattle, and served as a faculty member for the University of Puget Sound. He also founded and is the conductor of the Seattle Conservatory of Music Chamber Orchestra Young Virtuosi, which has grown to be the finest student group in the area. He released the group’s first CD, The Best of Young Virtuosi, in 2001.
In 1999 Michael Miropolsky founded the Seattle Violin Virtuosi, a unique ensemble consisting of 12 violins and a piano accompaniment. Three years later, he founded the Seattle Chamber Orchestra and continues to serve as Music Director for both organizations. He released eight CDs with the aforementioned groups on the Ambassador label. The groups earned immediate recognition from critics and audience alike. The Seattle Times named these groups "the best of both musical worlds: Russian tradition and American excellence."
In 2002, Michael Miropolsky was chosen as the new Music Director of the Cascade Symphony Orchestra. He released the orchestra’s first CD, Symphonic Treasures, in 2007. In 2009, Miropolsky was elected as the Music Director of the Bellevue Philharmonic Orchestra.
He led the Seattle International Film Festival Orchestra in the SIFF Gala in 2012. In 2013, Miropolsky took leadership of the Thalia Symphony Orchestra.
His latest recording projects include a CD of opera arias with soprano Christina Kowalski, a CD with euphonium virtuoso Adam Frey and the Bellevue Philharmonic Orchestra, and CD with the Seattle Violin Virtuosi entitled Berceuse. In 2013, Michael Miropolsky, Rick Steves and the Cascade Symphony Orchestra created the innovative program, Europe, a Symphonic Journey, which received a 60-minute presentation on PBS and was released on both CD and DVD.
In addition to his musical endeavors, Michael Miropolsky wrote an autobiography, Theme and Variations: My Life's Journey, and the Cascade Symphony Orchestra published the orchestra’s first cookbook, Measures and Pleasures.
https://cascadesymphony.org/music-director/