Kaleidoscope: A Spectrum of Movement and Sound

Join the Ventana Ballet and Austin Camerata (with artistic director Daniel Kopp, MM ’18) inside KMFA’s Draylen Mason Music Studio for their second annual collaboration.

Featuring original choreography and work from talented living composers, Kaleidoscope blends ballet, modern, and contemporary dance with a live string quartet to put on a brand-new show.

Tickets for tonight’s opening VIP performance are $60.00 and include colorful cocktails and small bites. General admission seats for Friday and Saturday’s shows are $40.00 and include a complimentary bar.

TONIGHT | 7:30 p.m.
Friday & Saturday | 6:30 p.m. & 8:30 p.m.

Tickets on sale through Eventbrite

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Aili Kangasniemi (BA ’25) has been selected for an internship with Primo Artists. Based in New York, Primo Artists is one of the top artist management agencies in the world. Founded in 2015 by industry leader Charlotte Lee, Primo Artists’ select roster includes some of the world’s finest classical musicians: Violinist/conductor Itzhak Perlman, violinists Joshua Bell, Nicola Benedetti and Randall Goosby, pianists Seong-Jin Cho and Beatrice Rana, conductors Cristian Măcelaru, James Gaffigan, Christian Reif and Gemma New, and composers Valerie Coleman and Wynton Marsalis. With nearly 25,000 followers of its channels, Primo Artists recently launched a Social Media and PR Division and represents a growing roster of clients to optimize and build their presence in an ever-evolving digital world.

Congratulations, Aili, and Hook ’em Horns!

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After a 3-month long trial, Seulki Lee (DMA ’19) has been offered a Co-Principal Cello position with the Estonian National Symphony Orchestra (Eesti Riiklik Sümfooniaorkester, ERSO). Celebrating its 100th anniversary in 2026, ERSO occupies a unique position in the intersection of cultures, bringing together Nordic, Western and Russian musical traditions and has become the most prominent orchestral ambassador of Estonia abroad. Since the 2020/21 season, its Chief Conductor and Artistic Director is Olari Elts. Neeme Järvi, the longest-serving chief conductor of ERSO, continues with the orchestra as an Honorary Artistic Director for Life.

Congratulations, Seulki, and Hook ’em Horns!

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Selina Yilin Xu (BM ’24) has been named a recipient of a 2023-2024 Rainwater Grant from the Butler School of Music. The $5,000 award will help support Songs of the Era: Shanghai Jazz Project, Selina’s effort to revive the underrepresented music genre, known as Shanghai Jazz, that emerged in 1920s-era Shanghai, China. The project will feature two live multimedia concerts with several Shanghai Jazz songs rescored into Western notation for a jazz band, as well as Chinese music history lectures and a history exhibition on the evolution of qipao. Selina strives to promote cultural understanding and appreciation of Asian artists and their contributions to the world of music by presenting this unique music genre that fuses both Western music and Chinese folk tunes.

Congratulations, Selina!

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Tonight, February 3, at 7:30pm CT, Katsuaki Arakawa (MM ’25) appears with the Austin Civic Orchestra in their annual Texas Rising Stars artist showcase. Katsu performs the Schumann Cello Concerto in A Minor with the ACO and conductor Jacob Schnitzer. Other works include the Sibelius Violin Concerto (featuring Emmanuelle Sievers) and Holst’s The Planets.

For more information, visit austincivicorchestra.org.

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Hyugrai “Ray” Kim (DMA ’19, AD ’24) appears on the podcast The Cello Sherpa with host Joel Dallow. They chat about Ray’s path from a childhood in South Korea through Atlanta for High School. When a global pandemic affected his ability to stay in the U.S., Ray returned to South Korea for mandatory military service, taught himself to play the trombone and still managed to find his way back to the Atlanta Symphony Orchestra to land a job in the cello section.

Listen now….

Christina Chan Song An (DMA ’20), with her new Diletta Trio, appears this Saturday, November 11, at 7pm PT, at the Curtis Theatre in Brea, CA. The program includes piano trios by Dvořák, Rachmaninoff and Smetana.

For more information, visit www.curtistheatre.com/.

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Earlier this week, from Jones Hall Stage in Houston, Yeyoung Yoo (DMA ’24) won a spot on the Substitute and Extra Musicians list with the Houston Symphony Orchestra. Founded in 1913 by the guiding hand of Miss Ima Hogg, the Grammy Award–winning Houston Symphony has played a central role in Houston’s cultural and civic life for more than 100 years. Currently led by Music Director Juraj Valčuha, The symphony is now one of America’s oldest performing arts organizations and the largest performing arts organization in Houston.

Congratulations, Yeyoung, and Hook ’em Horns!

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