Press Release
February 8, 2010
Orchestra Announces Three Finalists in The Next Star Talent Competition
Last spring, Orchestra Nova San Diego, under the leadership of artistic director and conductor Jung-Ho Pak, announced the world’s first classical music talent competition to include voting from the Internet community and concert audience members. The orchestra now announces the three finalists for that competition.
Born in Ensenada, Mexico (Baja California), Maria loved to sing, but her dad wanted her to study engineering – which she did for three years before deciding to make a 5-hour bus trip every day for more than a year to study music at San Diego State University. Gorden, a systems engineer with Sony who was born in China, never went to a music school but has a passion for music, practicing the piano three hours a day, even with a full-time job. Hei-ock has a Masters degree from the Juilliard School of Music and a doctorate in music from Catholic University of America, but put aside music to pursue other passions as well as more stable income by working as a research assistant to the executive director of Birch Aquarium at Scripps Institution of Oceanography.
They each have a passion for music and they each have a dream. These three exceptionally talented individuals are the three finalists selected through Internet voting and a live audition before an Orchestra Nova panel for an opportunity to make their dreams come true.
Gorden Cheng, piano
Hei-ock Kim, piano
Maria Lozano, soprano
They were selected from nine semi-finalists which included a percussionist, two violinists, two additional sopranos, and another pianist. Internet voting closed on January 30 for the semi-finalists. The Internet voting represented 40% and the live audition judging represented 60% of the final voting.
All three will perform with Orchestra Nova in March as guest soloists in concerts in three venues: St. Paul’s downtown, Sherwood Auditorium in La Jolla and the Irwin M. Jacobs Qualcomm Hall in Sorrento Valley. Audience members at each venue will cast votes for a winner.
The concert will begin with Mozart’s The Impresario Overture and will conclude with Schubert’s Symphony No. 5. The three finalists will perform their selections with the orchestra before the intermission.
The final winner will be determined by a combination of Internet voting (20%) – currently available at www.orchestranova.org, concert audience voting (65%) and Orchestra Nova musicians’ voting (15%). The winner will be announced at the conclusion of the third concert in La Jolla. The winner will be invited to perform with Orchestra Nova in a future concert.
The concerts:
Friday, March 5, 7:30 p.m. – Downtown, St. Paul’s Cathedral
Saturday, March 6, 8:00 p.m. – Sorrento Valley, Irwin M. Jacobs Qualcomm Hall
Monday, March 8, 7:30 p.m. – La Jolla, Sherwood Auditorium
More information and tickets available at www.orchestranova.org or by calling 858-350-0290.
All three finalists and Maestro Jung-Ho Pak are available for interviews. Photos are available. Please contact marketing@orchestranova.org.
