Bainbridge Symphony Orchestra to Present WOMEN OF POWER! Works Written and Conceived Exclusively by Women Composers

Bainbridge Symphony Orchestra and Music Director & Conductor Mario Alejandro Torres present a unique concert filled with great and powerful works written and conceived exclusively by women composers. These "Women of Power" went to great lengths to ensure that they had the same rights to work and to be acknowledged in the same way as their male counterparts. Works by Elfrida Andrée, Amy Beach, and Louise Farrenc will give our beloved audience a glimpse of the extraordinary, but often overlooked, contributions of women to orchestral music.

Mario Alejandro Torres is a conductor, teacher, and performer native to San Pedro Sula, Honduras. Currently based in Seattle, Washington, Mr. Torres made his Benaroya Hall conducting debut in collaboration with Maestros Ludovic Morlot and David Alexander Rahbee in an exciting concert with the University of Washington Symphony Orchestra. For the past two years, he has served in a conducting fellowship with the Seattle Symphony, assisting Maestro Morlot in collaboration with artists such as Hilary Hahn and John Luther Adams. As the former Music Director of Poulsbo Community Orchestra, he brought a new and exciting sound to the ensemble. Outside of the United States, he has conducted performances with the Eddy Snijders Orchestra in Paramaribo, Suriname, and in his hometown with the professional Chamber Orchestra of San Pedro Sula, and Victoriano Lopez School of Music Choir.

Pianist Yuka Sasaki has garnered glowing concert reviews and top prizes at competitions from the U.S. and abroad. Tessinar Zeitung from Switzerland describes Ms. Sasaki as "...Superbly talented" and says, "...this pianist should be mentioned above all." She began playing piano at age five in Johannesburg, South Africa before moving back to her native Japan. She has concertized internationally including recitals at the Teatro Civico and Domenico Sarro in Italy, the Piccolo Mondo International Music Festival in Switzerland as well as in Japan at the Yokohama Kenmin Hall, OJI Hall and Tokyo's prestigious Suntory Hall, where she received praise as possessing a "...virtuosic technique, fantastic musical temperament with a beautiful sound" (Ongakuno Tomo magazine, Japan). Concerto appearances include performances with the Okazaki Symphony in Japan, Seattle Philharmonic Orchestra, Sammamish Symphony, University of Washington Symphony Orchestra, Northwest Symphony Orchestra, Thalia Symphony, and the Federal Way Symphony. Currently on the faculty at the Music Department of Seattle Central College, she also has served as adjudicator for the Washington Music Educators Association and the Northwest Chopin Festival. Ms. Sasaki maintains a private studio from which her students have won numerous awards and been accepted to some of the world's foremost music schools and conservatories.

Bainbridge Symphony Orchestra's winter concert is November 8 and 9, Saturday at 7:30 p.m. and Sunday at 3:00 p.m. Maestro Torres offers a pre-concert chat on Sunday, November 9 at 2:15 p.m. Tickets, $21 for adults, and $18 for seniors, students, military, and teachers, may be purchased online at www.bainbridgeperformingarts.org, by phone at 206.842.8569 or in person at BPA, 200 Madison Avenue North, Bainbridge Island. Each youth receives free admission when accompanied by a paying adult thanks to the BSO's "Youth in Music Initiative" funded by Wicklund Dental. BPA Box Office hours are 1:00 to 4:00 p.m. Wednesday through Friday, and one hour prior to each performance.

BPA is supported, in part, by Bainbridge Community Foundation, the City of Bainbridge Island, and One Call for All. Bainbridge Performing Arts is pleased to offer an "Open Doors" program. Free and reduced-cost tickets to most events are available to community members in need through our partner Helpline House thanks to a grant from the Mabee Family Foundation. Please contact the BPA Box Office at 206.842.8569 or Helpline House to reserve tickets today.

Find out more about BPA at www.bainbridgeperformingarts.org

To post a comment, you must register and login.