In Wednesday’s (2/1) Times Union (Albany, New York), Dayelin Roman writes, “Bethlehem High School senior Aria Shi said she will be able to show off her viola skills to her Chinese grandparents on their home turf this summer when she visits Asia with the Empire State Youth Orchestra. On Tuesday, the orchestra announced it will make a two-week, six-performance summer tour through China and South Korea. The 96-piece ensemble will perform in Beijing and Shanghai before heading to South Korea. In that country, concerts are planned for U.S. troops stationed there. The shows will be held at a world expo in Yeosu and on Sorok Island, where leprosy patients were forcibly quarantined in the early 20th century. Some leprosy patients still live on the island. ‘I want to go there and just for that moment,’ Aria said, ‘let them forget what they’ve been through.’ The orchestra also will perform in Seoul as a benefit for a history museum on Sorok Island. In 2010, a performance by the London Philharmonic Orchestra was the first exposure to Western music on the island. At the World Exposition in Yeosu, the orchestra will perform in a new concert hall. … The orchestra is raising funds and is selling Yankee Candle products. It also held a gold party at Glennpeter Jewelers and is holding an online fundraiser at kickstarter.com.”
Posted February 1, 2012
