CONDUCTOR SAMUEL WONG LEADS
THE MANNES ORCHESTRA ON
TUESDAY, MAY 6, 2003 AT THE MILLER THEATER

CONCERT FEATURES MANNES COMPETITION WINNERS:
HARPIST JIAN LUI, SOPRANO SU-JUNG KIM, AND
FLAUTIST CASSIA LIMA

(New York, NY – April 4, 2003) Conductor Samuel Wong leads The Mannes Orchestra on Tuesday, May 6, 2003 at 8:00 p.m., at Columbia University's Miller Theater located at 116th Street and Broadway, NYC. Mr. Wong is Principal Conductor of the Mannes orchestra. From 1999-2002, he was Director of the Mannes Orchestra. Mannes College of Music competition winners will be featured on the program. The program includes Griffes' Poem for Flute and Orchestra with flautist Cassia Lima, Ginastera's Concerto for Harp and Orchestra, Opus 25 with harpist Jian Liu, Arditti's "Il Bacio" with soprano Su-Jung Kim, and Schubert's Symphony No. 5 in B-flat Major, D. 485. For more information on tickets, call the Miller Theater at 212-854-7794.

Flautist Cassia Lima makes her debut as soloist with the Mannes Orchestra as an award for having placed first in the Winds, Brass, and Percussion Division of the 2002 Mannes Concerto Competition. She is currently a master's degree candidate at Mannes, where she receives a scholarship and studies with Keith Underwood. Ms. Lima began her musical studies at age 6 in her native Brazil, where she earned her bachelor's degree at Sao Paulo State University as a student of Jean-Noel Saghaard. While in Brazil, Ms. Lima received numerous honors. In 1994, 1996, and 2000, she won the Young Soloist Competition, sponsored by the Experimental Repertory Orchestra of Sao Paulo, with which she played for eight years, often serving as Principal Flutist. She captured First Place at the 1997 National Young Flutists Competition, sponsored by the Brazilian Flute Association and was First Prize winner at the XV Brazilian Young Instrumentalists Competition in 2001.

A veteran of Brazilian Music Festivals, she participated in Curitiba Music Workshop in 1992, 1993, 1994, 1995, and Campos deo Jordão Winter Festival in 1997 and 2002, where she was honored with a letter of achievement. She has performed in master classes conducted by Alain Marion, Paula Robinson, Emmanuel Pahud, and Mary Clardy in Brazil; and by William Bennet, Jeffrey Khaner and Bonita Boyd in the USA.

Soprano Su-Jung Kim was awarded First Place in the Voice Division of the 2002 Mannes Concerto Competition. She is a Master of Music degree candidate at Mannes, where she studies with Beth Roberts. Ms. Kim attended Kye-Won Art High School in the city of Kyungki-do in her native Korea, where she studied with Soon-hee Lee. She went on to earn her Bachelor of Music degree at Kyung-Hee University in Seoul, as a student of Mi-hae Park.

In Korea, Ms. Kim has been active as a concert soloist and in opera. She has participated in three seasons of the "Joy of Singing" series in Seoul, in 2001, singing Adina in a concert presentation of Donizetti's L'elisir d'amore. As a participant in the 2001 New International Festival, she sang Papagena in a concert presentation, conducted by Richard Barret, of Mozart's Die Zauberflöte, and she has appeared as soloist with the Korea Philharmonic Orchestra. In 2001, she won first prize in her division at the Fifth Korea Chamber Orchestra Competition, and in 2000 was awarded second prize at the Korean American Youth Cultural Friendship Association Competition.

In 2000, she traveled to Salzburg to participate in The International Summer Music Festival of he Mozarteum, where she studied with Elio Battaglia. In January, 2003, she appeared in an evening of opera scenes presented by the Mannes Opera, with the Mannes Orchestra, singing two Rossini roles, Rosina in Il Barbiere di Siviglia, and La Comptessa in Le Compte Ory.

Harpist Jian Liu makes his debut as soloist with the Mannes Orchestra as his award for placing first in his division of the 2002 Mannes Concerto Competition. At Mannes, he studies with Susan Jolles, and will receive his Master of Music degree in spring 2003. Mr. Liu began his study of music with the piano at age 7 in his native Hunan, China. At age 9 he went to Beijing to study at China's most prestigious music school, the Central Conservatory of Music. At age 11 he switched his studies from piano to harp, which he studied with Yin Zhuo and Lin Lin Wei. He served as principal harpist with the Young People's Symphony Orchestra of China, and graduated from the Central Conservatory at age 18. He then came to the United States to study at Mannes College, where he earned his Bachelor of Music degree in 2001, and was honored as the only student selected to perform at that year's Graduation Award Ceremonies. Mr. Liu has participated in several of Mannes' Festivals - "Bach 1999", "The Schumanns and Their Circle 2001", and "La Belle Époque 2002" - as well as at the 2002 annual Amnesty International Benefit Concert at Mannes. He has served as principal harpist of the Mannes Orchestra since his arrival at the school. As a freelancer, Mr. Liu has been principal harpist of New York's Da Capo Opera Orchestra since 1999.

Samuel Wong will conduct the Hong Kong Philharmonic in the 2002-03 season when they tour London, Paris, Dublin, Belfast, Seoul, and Macau. He will also return to Spain, where he will conduct the orchestra of Asturias. Maestro Wong recently signed a third contract (until 2005) with the Honolulu Symphony. His recent CD releases include Busoni: "Turandot Suite; Sarabande et Cortège; Berceuse élégiaque" (Naxos) and Bright Sheng: "China Dreams, Nanking! Nanking!, and Two Songs from the Sung Dynasty." A Takemitsu disc will be recorded in January 2003.

****

Mannes College of Music, founded in 1916, is one of the world's major conservatories of music. A division of New School University, Mannes offers undergraduate and graduate degree programs, as well as a Professional Studies Diploma program. Notable alumni from Mannes include soprano Frederica von Stade, pianists Murray Perahia and Richard Goode, and conductors Semyon Bychkov, Myung-Whun Chung, JoAnn Falletta and Julius Rudel. Joel Lester is Dean of the College. For further information on Mannes, call (212) 580-0210 or go to the Web site at www.mannes.edu.