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Cellist Bion Tsang Makes His Austin Symphony Orchestra Debut on March 30

Updated: Thursday, March 15 2012, 09:19 AM CDT
By Rob Faubion, Austin On Stage
 
Maestro Peter Bay and the Austin Symphony Orchestra will welcome acclaimed cellist Bion Tsang for performances on March 30 and 31 at 8 p.m. each night at the Long Center for the Performing Arts.   The concerts mark the Austin Symphony debut of the Austin-based, award-winning musician.

Tsang will open the evening with a performance of Antonín Dvořák’s "Cello Concerto in B Minor."  Internationally recognized as one of the outstanding instrumentalists of his generation, Tsang made his professional debut at age 11 in two concerts with Zubin Mehta and the New York Philharmonic.  He has appeared as soloist with the New York, Moscow and Hong Kong Philharmonic Orchestras, the National, American, Pacific, Delaware and Atlanta Symphony Orchestras, the Saint Paul and Stuttgart Chamber Orchestras and the Taiwan National Orchestra.

A faculty member of the Sarah and Ernest Butler School of Music at The University of Texas at Austin, Tsang was the recipient of the Texas Exes Teaching Award after just his first year of service.  He was also named “Instrumentalist of the Year” by the Austin Critics Table in 2004.

The symphony will also perform "Summa," a 20th Century work by Estonian composer Arvo Pärt.  Originally composed as a liturgical work for voices and organ, "Summa" was later stripped of the text and arranged for string orchestra.

The concert will close with Mozart’s "Jupiter Symphony No. 41," winner of the Austin Symphony’s “Clash of the Classical Titans” Tournament from last season.  Austin Symphony patrons chose the "Jupiter Symphony" from a list of 128 classical works they wanted to hear during this Centennial Celebration season.

Tickets start at $19, and student rush tickets are available 20 minutes prior to performance for $5 cash and current student ID.   Bob Buckalew will present a pre-concert talk at 7:10 p.m. each night on the orchestra level of Dell Hall.

The Long Center is located at 701 W. Riverside Drive, at the corner of Riverside and South 1st.   For tickets and more information, call (512) 476-6064 or 1-888-4-MAESTRO (toll-free), or visit AustinSymphony.org.

(Bion Tsang photo courtesy U.T. Butler School of Music)Cellist Bion Tsang Makes His Austin Symphony Orchestra Debut on March 30