This past weekend, junior Javy Chie-Wei Liu (BM ’26) won the audition for acting Principal Cello with the Valley Symphony Orchestra in McAllen, TX, to fill in for Benjamin Ponder while he is on a leave of absence. The VSO, now in its 73rd season of classical music performances in the Rio Grande Valley, is a resident ensemble at the McAllen Performing Arts Center, the City’s state-of-the-art performance hall that opened in 2017. Annually, the VSO presents five to six masterworks concerts, educational concerts, several special chamber and community events, plus Bravo! VSO, their annual fundraising gala.
Congratulations, Javy, and Hook ’em Horns!
Next week, 
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Frank Jenkins (DMA ’13) has been appointed as Managing Director of Austin Chamber Music Center. Frank has been an influential figure in Austin’s classical music scene for over a decade. In his previous role as Program Director for Austin Soundwaves, Frank led the day-to-day operations and strategic growth of school and community-based programs, benefiting over 1,100 students and community members annually. Frank has also previously held administrative positions and served on committees with the Austin Symphony Orchestra.
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.
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.
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.
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.
