(TOMS RIVER, NJ) -- A symphony fit for a true hero, Beethoven's Symphony No. 3, Eroica, revolutionized the very nature of music. This majestic work celebrates the true heroes of humanity and is considered one of the "greatest symphonies of all time". The Garden State Philharmonic presents this work on Saturday, May 18th at 7:00pm at Jay and Linda Grunin Center for the Arts at Ocean County, Toms River, NJ. They also welcome world renowned pianist, Ko-Eun Yi to the stage for Beethoven’s Piano Concerto, No.5 “Emperor”.
Korean pianist Ko-Eun Yi, a winner of the CAG Victor Elmaleh Competition, has earned praise for playing with “élan and fire and a surplus of bravura technique” (Cincinnati Enquirer). She has garnered numerous top prizes in her young career, with recent successes at the 2010 World Piano Competition in Cincinnati and the 2010 Wideman International Piano Competition in Jackson, Mississippi. The Washington Post applauded her recent debut recital in DC: “a masterful technician … Her finger-work was immaculate, inner voices were keenly drawn out, and there was no lack of power when needed.”
She has been featured on WQXR’s long-running Young Artists Showcase program, including a live interview and performance in studio, and she was also invited to participate in WQXR’s June 2016 Chopin Piano Marathon, with a live video-stream of her performances of Chopin’s Ballade No.1 and Scherzo No.1, followed by later audio broadcast.
The Cincinnati Enquirer praised her Gold medal-winning concerto performance at the World Piano Competition: “…a fantasy world of shimmering sounds and colors. Her playing was at once flawless and dazzling…” Additional recent concerto highlights for Ko-Eun include performances with the Barcelona, Jerusalem, and Boston, Roswell and New West Symphony Orchestras, the Seoul Philharmonic Orchestra, and the Aspen Concert Orchestra, working with such conductors as Lawrence Foster, Leon Fleisher, and Christopher Wilkins, and Marcelo Lehninger. She toured South America playing Saint-Saëns concerto No. 2 with the New England Youth Philharmonic Orchestra conducted by Benjamin Zander.
Born in Seoul, Korea, Ko-Eun Yi began her piano studies at the age of three. She earned her Bachelor and Master of Music degrees at The Juilliard School studying with Jerome Lowenthal and completed her Professional Studies degree with André-Michel Schub at Manhattan School of Music. She earned a Doctor of Musical Arts degree from Stony Brook University School of Music, as a student of Christina Dahl.
The Grunin Center is located on the Ocean County College campus, 1 College Drive, Toms River, New Jersey.
