Yi Xin (DMA ’14) advanced to the final round of live auditions for the Assistant Principal Cello position of the Saint Louis Symphony Orchestra. He was one of only four cellists remaining from hundreds of applicants worldwide. This is the second year in a row that Yi made the finals of a major orchestra audition.

The Saint Louis Symphony Orchestra is the second-oldest symphony orchestra in the United States, preceded only by the New York Philharmonic. Since September 2005, the American conductor David Robertson is the Music Director of the St. Louis Symphony, having been named to that position in December 2003.

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The Longhorn Cellos are back on American Public Media’s Performance Today!

Heard today during the second hour of the broadcast is the Longhorn Cellos’ performance of Heitor Villa-Lobos’ Bachianas Brasileiras No. 5 for Soprano and Cello Ensemble with soprano Mela Dailey and conductor Peter Bay. The recording was made during a concert in Bates Recital Hall in Austin, TX on Friday, September 14, 2012.

Performance Today is broadcast on 260 public radio stations across the country and is heard by about 1.3 million people each week. To find out where and when Performance Today is broadcast in your area, visit http://performancetoday.org/stations.

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At a house concert for UT donors Joe and Teresa Long, Bion Tsang and his students (James Burch DMA ’16, Ying Zhang DMA ’15, Dave Campbell DMA ’14) gave the world premiere performance of Astor Piazzolla’s Otoño Porteño (from his Four Seasons of Buenos Aires) for Four Cellos. Classical guitarist and composer Joseph Williams II (DMA ’13) made this new arrangement based upon Leonid Desyatnikov’s version of the Piazzolla Seasons for solo violin and chamber orchestra.

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Jun Seo (MM ’11, DMA ’14) performs as guest soloist with the Austin Eurythmy Ensemble in their latest production, Project Zero Circle — Begninnings. Featuring the music of Sofia Gubaidulina and Maurice Ravel, the multimedia event first opens in Austin at the Austin Waldorf School Performing Arts Center and then travels on tour to California, Scotland and Switzerland. For ticket, tour and more information, visit www.projectzerocircle.org.

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Congratulations to Esme Devra West (BM ’14) for performing her challenging senior recital of all unaccompanied cello works: Gaspar Cassadó’s Solo Suite, Thomas Demenga’s “EFEU” for Solo Cello (composed for the Emanuel Feuermann International Cello Competition), and Bach’s 4th Solo Suite. The backdrop behind Esme in the breezeway by the Nettie Lee Benson Latin American Collection at UT helped make for a memorable evening…

During the Cleveland Orchestra’s visit to the UT Butler School of Music, Principal Cellist Mark Kosower gave a master class for students followed by a short talk by cellist William Brian Thornton.

Ilana Zaks, 14, with Bion Tsang

Alex Zhou, 12, with Bion Tsang

Rennosuke Fukuda, 14, with Bion Tsang

Daniel Lozakovitj, 12, with Bion Tsang

Elvina Sung-Eun Auh, 14, with Bion Tsang

Ludvig Gudim, 15, with Bion Tsang

Jaewon Wee, 14, with Bion Tsang

Professor Bion Tsang backstage with the seven junior finalists of the 2014 Menuhin International Violin Competition: Ilana Zaks, 14, (American); Alex Zhou, 12, (American); Rennosuke Fukuda, 14, (Japanese); Daniel Lozakovitj, 12, (Swedish); Elvina Sung-Eun Auh, 14, (Korean/American); Ludvig Gudim, 15, (Norwegian) and Jaewon Wee, 14, (South Korean).

Eric Bartlett works with the Longhorn Cellos: (left to right) Kristina Doan, Deborah Seale, Lauren Peacock, Mic Vredenburgh, Jun Seo, Chloe Jang, Tim Pizzichemi, Hannah Rose, Diana Burgess, Esme Devra West, David Campbell, Ying Zhang. Not pictured: Ariel Kao, Nora Karakousoglou, Daniel Smith and Yi Xin.

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