TWO STARS, THREE CENTURIES SHINE AT SINFONIA TORONTO’S SEASON FINALE

Music Director Nurhan Arman and Sinfonia Toronto will wrap up the orchestra’s Sixteenth season in grand style on Friday, May 2, at 8 pm in George Weston Recital Hall of the Toronto Centre for the Arts. The program will feature virtuoso pianist Ilya Poletaev in the beloved Chopin Piano Concerto No.2. The concert also includes the Toronto premiere of Toronto composer Alice Ho’s Mira for violin and orchestra

To be performed Sinfonia Toronto violinist Xiaohan Guo. The concert will conclude with Prokofiev’s masterpiece of miniatures Visions Fugitive.

Ilya Poletaev captured First Prize at the prestigious 2010 International Johann Sebastian Bach Competition in Leipzig and, as the winner, appeared in recital at the Leipzig Gewandhaus. He was the First Prize winner of the XX Concorso Sala Gallo Piano Competition in Monza, Italy. A prizewinner at the 2011 George Enescu International Competition in Bucharest, he also captured First Prize at the 2009 Grieg International Competition, and was a laureate of the 2008 National Stepping Stone Competition in Canada. Mr. Poletaev began studying in Moscow at the age of six and continued his studies in Israel until he moved to Canada at the age of 14. He holds a Bachelor’s degree from the University of Toronto, as well as a doctorate and a Master’s degree from the Yale University. Currently he is a professor at McGill University in Montreal.

ST violinist Xiaohan Guo was born in Shenyang, China. She began her violin studies at the age of six, winning many awards in numerous youth competitions. She graduated from the Shanghai Conservatory. She won first prize in the 2001 Mozart Violin Concerto Competition. Since her arrival in Canada in 2004, she completed her Master’s Degree and a Doctorate program at the University of Montreal. She has been featured as a soloist with I Musici de Montreal and Sinfonia Toronto.

Now in its 16th season, Sinfonia Toronto has toured in Europe twice, receiving glowing reviews. It has released four CD’s, including a JUNO Award winner, and performs in many Ontario cities. Its extensive repertoire includes all the major string orchestra works of the 18th through 21st centuries, and it has premiered many new works. Under the baton of Nurhan Arman the orchestra’s performances present outstanding international guest artists and prominent Canadian musicians.

Nurhan Arman has conducted throughout Europe, Asia, South America, Canada and the United States, returning regularly to many orchestras in Europe. Among the orchestras Maestro Arman has conducted are the Moscow Philharmonic, Deutsches Kammerorchester Frankfurt, Filarmonica Italiana, St. Petersburg State Hermitage Orchestra, Orchestre Regional d’Ile de France, Hungarian Symphony, Milano Classica and Belgrade Philharmonic. During the 2014-15 season he will conduct in Italy, Austria, Poland and Mexico.

Tickets are $49 adult; $39 senior and $19 student. They can be purchased from 1-855-985-2787 or http://www.sinfoniatoronto.com

Details at a glance:

TWO STARS, THREE CENTURIES

Saturday, May 2, 2015 Toronto Centre for the Arts

ILYA POLEATEV Pianist

XIAOHAN GUO Violinist

Multiply the excitement! Two outstanding artists

plus extreme eclectic beauty

SCHUBERT German Dances

CHOPIN Piano Concerto No. 2

ALICE HO Mira for violin and orchestra

PROKOFIEV Visions Fugitive Op. 22

Tickets $49 adult; $39 senior; $19 student

1-855-985-2787 or http://www.sinfoniatoronto.com