For Immediate Release

Contact : Patsy Fang Chen, Artistic Director

T. 718-834-8904, CP 917-912-8288

E-mail: patsychen@aol.com

A Holiday Tradition in Queens since 1998!

YOUTH ORCHESTRA, CYCNY will present its 16^th Annual Christmas Concert, which is admission free and open to the public.

THE HOLIDAY Concert

Sunday, December 15^th – 4 pm

Benjamin N. Cardozo High School

(5700 223^rd St., Bayside, NY 11364-1936)

Free Admission, Open to the Public, No ticket required

And

Fundraising Event Concert for Florence E. Smith Senior Services

(10219 34th Ave, Flushing, NY 11368)

Saturday, December 7, 1:30 pm

And

Christmas Concert at Silvercrest Center for Nursing and Rehabilitation,

Sunday, December 8^h, 10:30 am

(144-45 87th Avenue, Briarwood, NY 11435)

This concert is for residents and their families.

Music Director and Conductor Chijen Christopher Chung will lead 60 young and enthusiastic musicians to feast the concert stage with the Classical, Popular, Broadway, Movie, Asian and Christmas Music

The following works:

Richard Wagner/ Grand March from "Tannhäuser"

Claude Debussy/ Clair de Lune

Peter Tchaikovsky/ Selections from "Swan Lake" I. Theme II. Waltz

Felix Mendelssohn/ Hark! The Herald Angels Sing

Ludwig van Beethoven/ The Turkish March

Andrew Lloyd Webber/ Highlight from "Phantom of the Opera"

Taiwanese Folk Song/ Peach Blossom Takes the Ferry

Henry Mancini/ The Pink Panther Theme

Bob Krogstad/ The Bells of Christmas

Information: T.917-912-8288, 347-306-2511 E-mail : YouthOrch8@aol.com, or visit :www.YouthOrchestra.com

The Youth Orchestra, CYCNY

A Queens-based Youth Orchestra since 1996. The orchestra holds its open audition in September and January for new members; meets for rehearsal on each Saturday from 1-4 PM, at MS 158 in Bayside, Queens, from October to June.

The orchestra presents 2 formal concerts annually. A Holiday Concert free for the community during holiday season in Queens; and the Annual Concert at Alice Tully Hall of Lincoln Center in spring. The orchestra also performs concerts at senior centers and nursing homes. In some summers, this orchestra had organized concert tours to West Coast, Europe and mostly Asia.

Our mission is to provide the orchestral and cultural experiences to talented and serious young music students age 11-18, with our unique repertories of Classical, Popular, Jazz, Film, Broadway and Asian Music. We also train the members to be great team workers for their bright futures.

The faculty members of Youth Orchestra, CYCNY are Chijen Christopher Chung, music director/conductor and string instructor, Lovell P. Chang, woodwind & brass instructor; Chi-Ching Grace Lin, percussion instructor; and Chi-Wei Chang, librarian & woodwind instructor.

THIS CONCERT IS SUPPORTED, IN PART, BY THE PUBLIC FUNDS FROM THE NEW YORK CITY DEPARTMENT OF CULTURAL AFFAIRS.

Photo of Youth Orchestra, CYCNY on May 25, 2013 at Alice Tully Hall, Lincoln Center

Chijen Christopher Chung, Conductor

A native of Kaohsiung, Taiwan, Christopher Chung began his musical studies in piano, violin and cello at the ages of five and nine. Following a successful musical career in high school, he attended the National Taiwan Normal University where he majored in cello and was awarded the Certificate of Music Education.
Upon moving to the United States, Mr. Chung studied under the tutelage of master cellist Peter Wiley (of the famed Guarneri String Quartet), at the prestigious Conservatory of Music at Purchase College, SUNY, where he received both his Bachelors and Masters Degree in Cello Performance.

In addition to his academic credentials, Mr. Chung’s wide professional experience encompasses symphony orchestra and chamber music performances, conducting, teaching, studio recording and administration. He has served as Associate Principal Cellist of the Taipei Symphony Orchestra, Principal Cellist of the Yin-Qi Symphony Orchestra and Chorus and Principal Cellist of the Yin-Qi Chamber Orchestra in Taiwan. He has also performed with the Chinese Community Chamber Orchestra at Carnegie Hall, New York Symphony Orchestra and the Amadeus String Quartet and Piano Trio.
Mr. Chung’s teaching positions include the Guang-Ren High School, Xi-Men Elementary School, Guan-Du Christian College in Taiwan and, in the United States, Music Director and cello and piano instructor at the Song of Songs Music School, Eastern School of Music and Amadeus Conservatory of Music. In 2003, he served as Director and featured cellist for the world premiere of an original Chinese-language adaptation of A Streetcar Named Desire at the Hwa-Sun Culture Center in Taipei, Taiwan.

A long-time string faculty member and this season’s conductor of Youth Orchestra, CYCNY, Mr. Chung is proud to have performed with the orchestra as soloist in Elgar’s Cello Concerto, at Alice Tully Hall in Lincoln Center. Since September, 2013, he was appointed as the Music Director of Youth Orchestra, CYCNY.

Mr. Chung has long believed that music has the power to transform lives, to transcend cultures and languages and to bring people together in important and lasting ways. It is for this reason that he dedicates his life toward inspiring a new generation of young musicians to pursue their dreams through the challenging and life-changing process of music education.

Photo of Chijen Christopher Chung, Music Director/Conductor

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