Wooster Symphony Orchestra spring concert to feature cellist Mingyao Zhao
The Wooster Symphony Orchestra spring concert will feature guest musician Mingyao Zhao, a cellist who has performed as a soloist and recitalist in China, the United States, Canada, South Korea, and Poland. Performances take place on Friday, Feb. 16 at 7:30 p.m. and Saturday, Feb. 17 at 7:30 p.m. in the Gault Recital Hall of Scheide Music Center (525 E. University Street) at The College of Wooster.
Conducted by Jeffrey Lindberg, professor of music at the College, Wooster Symphony Orchestra will perform Bizet’s Symphony No. 1 in C Major, Haydn’s Concerto No. 2 in D Major for Violoncello and Orchestra, and Rimsky-Korsakov’s Capriccio Espagnol.
Zhao is a member and frequently acting principal cello of the Canton Symphony Orchestra and was formerly the principal cello of the Eastern Connecticut Symphony Orchestra. In addition to her busy performance schedule, Zhao teaches cello at The College of Wooster and Oberlin Community Music School. In the fall of 2023, Zhao appeared as a featured artist with The Cleveland Orchestra Chorus at Severance Music Center. Zhao has received many awards and honors over the course of her professional career including winner of the Cleveland Institute of Music concerto competition, the bronze medal at the IX Carlos Prieto International Cello Competition, the Aldo Parisot Award, the silver medal at the Texas Young Artist Music Competition, and first prize in the Haydn Competition at CelloFest in Fort Worth.
In addition to conducting the Wooster Symphony Orchestra, Lindberg teaches courses in jazz history, improvisation, and trombone and directs the Wooster Jazz Ensemble. While at Wooster, Lindberg has drawn attention to lesser-known composers and exposed his students and community members to world-class soloists and compositions. Lindberg is also the co-founder and artistic director of the Chicago Jazz Orchestra, Chicago’s oldest professional jazz orchestra in continuous operation.
Tickets for the concert are $10 for adults and are available at Buehler’s Milltown and Towne Market, Scheide Music Center, and at the door before the concert. Tickets are free for Wooster students, faculty, staff, and retirees. For more information, call 330-263-2047.
Posted in News on February 7, 2024.
