Solo & Chamber music by Four Seasons Chamber Orchestra

Program:
1 Kaija Saariaho: Nocturne for Solo Violin. Violin: Mei Mei Wei

2. Dvorak: Dvorák: Piano Quintet No. 2, Op. 81.

Piano: Alexei Ulitin, Violin I: Lily Wei Ye, Violin II: Hanbing Jia, Viola: Matthere Maffett, Cello: Gita Ladd

3. Duck Tang: Pastoral Song

Piano: Alexei Ulitin, Violins: Mei Mei Wei, Hanbing Jia, Viola: Matthew Maffett, Cello: Gita Ladd

Intermission

4. Bach: Sonata No. 2, movement 3 -4

Violin: Mei Mei Wei
5. Schubert: Impromptu

Piano: Zheng Yue

The Four Seasons Chamber Orchestra of Washington DC lead by Mei Mei Wei, unites, educates, and enriches our community through the entrancing and transformative power of orchestral music experiences. We are committed to being a first-class chamber orchestra and a cultural leader in the Washington DC area creating extraordinary musical experiences for all, to presenting a wide variety of exciting chamber music and developing new chamber music audiences of all ages. While we showcase the great masters, we also seek out new voices that speak to the current culture.

We will create a new era of musical excellence and community engagement that will inspire and enrich the lives of all who experience the Four Seasons Chamber Orchestra

Mei Mei Wei
Mei Mei Wei was a winner of the Artists International Violin Competition in New York, where she was invited to play solo recital at Carnegie Hall. Her performance was highly praised by the “New York Concert Review.”

As an active recitalist and chamber musician, Mei Mei Wei has performed on four continents including North America, Europe, Asia, and Australia. She has played with many orchestras such as the Phoenix Symphony, the Louisiana Philharmonic Orchestra, the New York Chamber Orchestra, the Chamber Music Festival in Main with Vermeer Quartet. She recently has performed solo recital tours in Germany, China, South Korea, Japan, Australia and other countries as well.

Mei Mei Wei held the positions of Associate Concertmaster of the Louisiana Philharmonic Orchestra for 5 years, First Violin Section of the Phoenix Symphony for 8 years and Concertmaster/ /Artistic Director of Shanghai Baroque Chamber Orchestra for 12 years.

Mei Mei Wei earned her bachelor’s degree at the Shanghai Conservatory of Music, masters degree at the University of Southern California, and a doctor of musical arts degree at Louisiana State University. She was on the faculty of Louisiana State University, The Colburn School of Music, the Idyllwild Summer Music Festival in California, the Shanghai Conservatory of Music, and the Music School of East China Normal University.

After returning to China, where she resided from 2008-2020, she was invited to teach at the Shanghai Conservatory and East China Normal University and was appointed the Music Director, Soloist, and Concertmaster of the Shanghai Baroque Chamber Orchestra. Over those 12 years, she successfully led the orchestra, playing at the most renowned concert halls in China, where she has gained popularity among Chinese audiences. Under her leadership, the orchestra has become one of the best chamber orchestras in China. In recognition of her achievements, she was selected as a “Specially Recruited Expert”, under the prestigious “Thousand People Plan”, sponsored by the Chinese government.

Every summer she teaches at the Manhattan International Music Festival where she is the Artistic Director, a violin faculty member, and performs extensively solo and chamber music with world-class artists such as Shmuel Ashkenasi, Alexander Shtarkman, Kevork Mardirossian, Dennis Parker, and many others. She also teaches at the Montecito International Music Festival in California. She conducted violin master classes at many universities such as Louisiana State University, Shanghai Conservatory of Music, East China Normal University and Sydney Conservatory and other institutions. Dr. Wei is also Music Director/Concertmaster/ Soloist of both the Four Seasons Chamber Orchestra in Washington DC and the Shanghai Baroque Chamber Orchestra.

Lily Wei Ye
Lily Wei Ye was born in Phoenix, Arizona. She is the daughter of Mei Mei Wei. She was introduced to the violin when she was six years old. In 2008, Lily moved to Shanghai and attended Concordia International School Shanghai, graduating in 2013. She participated in Concordia's APAC string festivals and became one of the soloists in her senior year.

Lily attended the Meadowmount School of Music in Westport, New York during the summers of 2012 to 2015. She won first prize in the Hong Kong International Youth Music Competition in 2015. In the same year, she placed second at the 19th International Violin Competition in Bari, Italy. In 2016, Lily attended the New York International Music Competition and Festival in Taiwan and received Gold.

Lily also attended the Aspen Music Festival in summer of 2017 and studied with Cornelia Heard and Naoko Tanaka. She graduated with her Bachelor Degree at the New School's Mannes College of Music. Lily recently received her Dual Masters Degree both in Classical Violin Performance and in Music Education at the Manhattan School of Music and Columbia University’s Teacher College respectively. She has played in the Lincoln Center and made her solo debut at Carnegie Hall in 2019. She has performed solo recitals at the UN Headquarters in NYC，The Shanghai Oriental Arts Center and Shanghai Ploy Grand Theatre since then. As a soloist, she also toured in Boston, New Orleans, North Carolina and other cities in U.S as well as South Korea, Taiwan, Singapore, Japan and other countries in Asia. Early 2020, She was invited to play as a soloist with New York Chamber Players Orchestra at the Cary Hall of DiMenna Center in Manhattan.

Currently she is music teacher and teaching in Washington DC and at the same time she is doing her Doctor of Music Arts degree at Columbia University. Lily is also Co-Concertmaster of Four Seasons Chamber Orchestra in Washington DC and Assistant Artist-Director of the Manhattan International Music Festival where she teaches and plays both solo and chamber music with world-class musicians.

Gita Ladd

Noted by the Baltimore Sun as a "superb cellist", and heralded by the Washington Post as one "whose cello sings as

poignantly as any voice, a defining glory", Gita Ladd is one of the most sought after cellists of the Baltimore-

Washington, D.C. area. For most of that time she performed as a titled member of the Baltimore

Symphony Orchestra, including several appearances as Principal Cello for the annual "Messiah" performances and at the

SummerMusicFest Series. She has also performed as Principal Cello with the Baltimore Chamber Orchestra, the

Baltimore Choral Arts Society, Baltimore Opera Company, Concert Artists of Baltimore, Post Classical Ensemble of

Washington D.C., Cincinnati Chamber Orchestra, and as Assistant Principal Cello of the Knoxville Symphony. Ms. Ladd

has also been a member of the Cincinnati Symphony Pops, and has played frequently at the Kennedy Center with various

ensembles including the Washington Opera, Washington Ballet, Washington Chorale and American Ballet Theatre. Ms.

Ladd has toured with Tony Bennett, Henry Mancini, Clay Aiken and Mannheim Steamroller, and has performed with

Renee Fleming, El Divo, Christina Aquilera, Vince Gil and the Three Irish Tenors.

Ms. Ladd has a long standing commitment to the education of young musicians. She was on the Peabody Conservatory

faculty in the spring of 2002, and joined the UMBC faculty in 2006. Beside her cello studio, faculty recitals, and

performances with the contemporary music ensemble, "Ruckus", and frequently appeared in many Baltimore area schools as a clinician and soloist, and coach.

Besides her musical talents, Ms. Ladd has devoted much time and energy to human service work at local agencies,

through Anne Arundel Mental Health Agency, and volunteerism at the Ordnance Road Correctional Facility.

Ms. Ladd received a diploma from the Curtis Institute of Music in Philadelphia, and has attended the Cleveland Institute of

Music and the Cincinnati Conservatory of Music

Album release October 2022, Ms. Ladd is featured as one of three cello soloists on Scott Ordway’s The Outer Edge of Youth available on all major platforms

Matthew Maffett
Matthew Maffett is an active soloist, orchestral and chamber musician throughout the Washington DC area. Since 2011 he has been a section violist in the United States Air Force Band’s String Ensemble, regularly performing at the White House and other high-profile government events. After receiving degrees from the Indiana University Jacobs School of Music and the prestigious Colburn School in Los Angeles, CA, Matthew appeared at numerous festivals around the globe, including the Schleswig-Holstein, Manchester, and Norfolk festivals, among others. Since residing in Washington DC, Matthew has regularly performed with the IBIS Chamber Music Society, Eclipse Chamber Orchestra, Annapolis Symphony, National Philharmonic and the National Symphony Orchestra. His principal teachers include Csaba Erdélyi, Atar Arad, and Paul Coletti.

Duke Tang,
Duke Tang, a well-known composer and music educator, studied composition, conducting, and music in general, as well as ethnomusicology at Shenyang COM, UOG, and UMD. He is the chairman of CMSGW and the music director of WCTO. Xiaoxiao (Shirleen) Zhu iT, a professional cellist, holds a MM degree in Cello Performance from Towson University. She has worked as a cello instructor at Music & Art Center in MD and is an active member of CMSGW and the China Cellist Association. Quanxing Xia ME, an erhu soloist who was an erhu player in the Shanghai Chinese Traditional Orchestra, is a board member of CMSGW and the director and concertmaster of WCTO.

Zheng Yue

An emerging pianist from Shanghai, Zheng Yue currently pursues Master of Music in piano with Dr.Inesa Sinkeyvich at Manhattan School of Music. Born in a musical family where his elders were known for their contribution to music history, education, and aesthetics in China, Zheng has always been taught to explore and find his passion. He started to play the piano at 4 and had studied with Professor Zhou Ting of Shanghai Conservatory of Music for four years. Graduating from McGill University in 2020 with a major in economics, Zheng rediscovered his love for piano and challenged himself to transition into a pianist. Since then, he has performed in more than 30 concerts and recitals in Shanghai at prestigious venues such as the Shanghai Oriental Arts Center, repertoire including piano works by Chopin, Beethoven, and Schubert, and chamber works by Brahms. In the past two years, Zheng has worked as a classical music project manager in the studio of internationally acclaimed Chinese conductor Long Yu, curating and promoting concerts with Shanghai Symphony Orchestra and Beijing Music Festival, and completed a master degree in music management at University of Leeds. In Leeds he has been exposed to a rich piano culture, attended music festivals, and learnt from numerous outstanding concert pianists, and eventually offered a place to Manhattan School of Music. Specialized in Chopin’s works, he is often praised

Hanbing Jia
Hanbing Jia has been performed as soloist and ensemble musician in US, Europe and his native China. He has performed with Washington National Opera, Baltimore Symphony Orchestra, China Philharmonic Orchestra, China National Opera, Shenzhen symphony orchestra, and beyond. He currently serves as section first violin in National Philharmonic Orchestra, Annapolis Symphony Orchestra and Delaware Symphony Orchestra.

Hanbing has won numerous competitions, including Premium Gold Award at the 2018 4th International String Competition of Hong Kong International Arts Platform. He has performed as soloist and recitalist in locations including UK, Spain, Austria and China. He found and served as the first violin in Ming-De Quartet, which is prize-winner of China National Jinzhong String Quartet competition in 2011. He performed chamber recital with Ming-De Quartet in Beijing, Tianjin, Guangzhou, Shenzhen. In December 2011, Mr. Jia was invited to play chamber concert with Ming-De Quartet for President of Poland Mr. Bronisław Komorowski.

Hanbing started his violin study at age four. He received his Master of Music degree and Graduate Performance Diploma from Peabody Conservatory of Johns Hopkins University. His teacher includes Herbert Greenberg, Oleg Rylatko, Paul Kantor, Gregory Lee, Frank Ge-Fang Yang, Doris Lederer, Andrzej Grabiec and Antoine Goulard. He previously received his Bachelor of Music degree from Renmin University of China, studied with renowned violinist and pedagogue Ke- Qiang S

Alexei Ulitin

A native of Kiev, Ukraine, Alexei Ulitin enjoys a vibrant career as a chamber musician, solo pianist and a teacher. Ulitin recently joined Collaborative Piano faculty at the University of Maryland, College Park. He also serves as a piano faculty at Rowan University (New Jersey). From 2016 to 2018, he worked as a visiting assistant professor of collaborative piano at the Indiana University Jacobs School of Music. Ulitin has worked as a member of the musical staff at several music festivals, including Aspen, Meadowmount, Siena and the Northern Lights. He has been a recipient of the New Horizons Fellowship at Aspen Music Festival for three years. His recital partners have included Stephen Wyrczynski, Emilio Colón, Daniel Perantoni, Demondrae Thurman, Anton Belov, Marian Stieber and Jon Garrison. Ulitin has won prizes in numerous competitions, including the 2014 Baltimore Music Club Competition (first prize), 2014 Wonderlic Piano Competition, 2013 Liszt-Garrison International Piano Competition, 2010 International Young Artist Piano Competition in Washington, D.C. (first prize) and 2010 Music Teachers National Association competition (Eastern Division Winner). He earned a Bachelor of Music from Rowan University, a Master of Music from the National Music Academy of Ukraine (Kiev) and a Doctor of Musical Arts from the University of Maryland.

Event Venue & Nearby Stays

Bradley Hills Presbyterian Church, 6601 Bradley Boulevard, Bethesda, United States