CORRECTED – FOR IMMEDIATE RELEASE

M E D I A  A D V I S O R Y

June 21, 2018 – Richmond, Virginia: The Richmond Symphony announced at its Annual Board Meeting a two-year contract extension for Associate Conductor Chia-Hsuan Lin, the appointment of new Assistant Conductor Daniel Myssyk and new Board Members Joshua Bennett and The Honorable Samuel Koo.

Chia-Hsuan Lin has served as the Richmond Symphony’s Associate Conductor since January of 2015 and served as its primary Pops, LolliPops, Discovery Series and Richmond Symphony Youth Orchestra conductor during that time. The new contract extends her time with the Symphony at least through the 2019-20 season.

Daniel Myssyk joins the Symphony in the new role of Assistant Conductor, where he will conduct Symphony performances, serve as the conductor for the Richmond Symphony Youth Orchestra and provide artistic leadership for the Symphony’s overall Youth Orchestra Program. Mr. Myssyk has a diverse conducting and music education background and also serves as Associate Professor and Director of Orchestra Activities at Virginia Commonwealth University.

The Symphony also announced two new members of its Board of Directors. Joining the Board is Joshua Bennett, Vice President of Technical Services at Dominion Energy; and Samuel Koo, President of World Embrace, Executive Director of Great Mountains Music Festival and School, and former UN Assistant Secretary General and Commissioner General.

During the meeting, Board Chair Richard Smith and Executive Director David J. L. Fisk showed
appreciation for members retiring from the Board at the end of the 2017-18 season: Arthur S. Brinkley
III, Dr. Lisa Edwards Burrs, Adele Johnson, Sarah Knakmuhs, Anne Kenny-Urban and Chet G. Wade.
The Symphony also gave special recognition to Richmond writer Clarke Bustard for his years of service
covering classical music in the area.

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Chia-Hsuan Lin – Bio
Lauded for her clarity and elegance on the podium, Chia-Hsuan Lin has shared her talents in many diverse musical settings throughout the world. Ms. Lin continues her second season as Associate Conductor of the Richmond Symphony and as Music Director of the Richmond Symphony Youth Orchestra in 2017. Her ’16 ’17 season featured sold-out concerts in the RSO’s Metro Collection Series and “The Genius of John Williams” pops show, and a crowd of 10,700 for Henrico County’s “Red, White, and Lights” Independence Day celebration.

“[Ms. Lin] moves with the command and energy of a soccer star,” wrote Larry Hayes (former editor, Journal Gazette) in his 2016 review of the Fort Wayne Philharmonic’s highest-attend Masterworks subscription concert in the last decade, featuring Ms. Lin at the helm. Appointed as Assistant Conductor to the Fort Wayne Philharmonic in 2014, Ms. Lin directed family, ballet, pops, education, and community concerts across the North Indiana region. Lin has since returned to conduct a Chamber Orchestra subscription concert, Messiah, and “Patriotic Pops” to a record audience of over 7,000 at Parkview Field.

Lin debuts as guest with the Virginia Symphony in their 2017 Pops series. A featured guest in Classical Revolution RVA’s Mozart Festivals in 2016 and 2017, Lin actively conducts and shares orchestral music in innovative, non-traditional settings. Ms. Lin conducted the 2014 Peninsula Music Festival Orchestra as one of three young talents chosen for the Emerging Conductor Program. Reflecting her great passion for contemporary and vocal works, Ms. Lin conducted Mark Adamo’s Little Women at Northwestern University, and University of Cincinnati’s 2012 production of Mozart’s Don Giovanni, where she was also Music Director of the University’s Symphony Orchestra. She was a semi-finalist in the 2013 Jeunesses Musicales International Conducting Competition in Bucharest, Romania. Lin participated in the 2012 Cabrillo Festival of Contemporary Music, and the 2011 CCM Spoleto Music Festival in Italy.

Studying piano from the age of 3, and a trained percussionist, Ms. Lin performed with the renowned Taipei Percussion Group from 2003 to 2010. She received her undergraduate degree in percussion and graduate degree in conducting from National Taiwan Normal University, where she studied with Apo Hsu. Under Mark Gibson, she earned a graduate degree at the University of Cincinnati College-Conservatory of Music. In 2012, Ms. Lin received the Foreign Study Award for Music from the Taiwan Education Bureau to begin her doctorate with Victor Yampolsky at Northwestern University.

Daniel Myssyk – Bio
VCU Associate Professor and Director of Orchestral Activities Daniel Myssyk was Music Director of the Montreal based Orchestre de chambre Appassionata from 2000 to 2016. A few years back, he brought the orchestra on its first American tour, which included two concerts in Richmond. They also toured before enthused audiences in Ontario in January of 2014. In 2017, he made his debut with the Grands Ballets Canadiens de Montréal, l’Orchestre de la Francophonie, and the Lubbock Symphony Orchestra (TX), where he is currently a finalist for the music director position. Since 2015, he has been a regular guest conductor of the Guanajuato Symphony Orchestra in Mexico.

Myssyk conducts repertoire from the classical, romantic, modern and contemporary periods with great attention to stylistically appropriate detail. He maintains a continuous engagement with opera in a variety of styles ranging from Mozart to Menotti. Sensitive to the music of our time, he has contributed to the creation of many contemporary North-American works, including the world-premiere of Anthony Brandt’s opera, “The Birth of Something” with Da Camera in Houston. Under his leadership, three recent VCU Opera productions of “The Gondoliers” (2015), “The Old Maid and the Thief” (2012), and “Hansel & Gretel” (2011) won top prizes at the National Opera Association competition. His involvement toward the youth reflects a well-honed passion for music education. In addition to his work at VCU, he is a regular collaborator with the All-Virginia State Orchestra, the American Youth Philharmonic Orchestra, the Richmond Symphony Youth Orchestra, and the Hampton Roads Chamber Players, among others.

Myssyk’s recordings have received widespread critical acclaim. In 2012, he completed the recording of “Czech Serenades” with works by Suk and Dvorak. The CD was in nomination for best recording of the year at the “ADISQ” awards, Quebec’s equivalent of the Grammys and at the Prix Opus from the Conseil québécois de la musique. Jean-Yves Duperron of the Classical wrote: “Conductor Daniel Myssyk and the members of the Appassionata Chamber Orchestra ply their magic in this music, and shape each and every phrase, and infuse each and every note, with care and sincere expression. I’ve rarely heard these two works played with this much conviction.”

In 2010, his CD “Idyla” (on Fidelio label), was nominated for an Opus Prize as best recording of the year. A CD featuring American trumpet player and VCU colleague Rex Richardson playing Dana Wilson’s “Concerto for Trumpet and Strings” was released on Summit Records, earning rave reviews from the International Trumpet Guild Journal.

His most recent CD, on the Atma label, features works by Quebec composer François Dompierre and has earned excellent reviews from Radio-Canada and Magazine Son et image.

About the Richmond Symphony
Celebrating its 60th Anniversary Season in 2017/18, the Richmond Symphony is the largest performing arts organization in Central Virginia, and its reach extends throughout the Metro Richmond region and across the Commonwealth from its home downtown in the Dominion Energy Center for the Performing Arts. The organization includes an orchestra of more than 70 professional musicians, the 150-voice Richmond Symphony Chorus and over 260 students in the four ensembles in the Richmond Symphony Youth Orchestra Program. Each season, more than 200,000 people enjoy its live concerts and radio broadcasts. The Richmond Symphony also provides inspirational and immersive educational programming for over 55,000 students and teachers each year.

Its 40-week season (from September through June, plus an annual July 4th concert and summer concert series) includes the following series and programs under the headings of Classics, Currents and Community: Masterworks, Pops, Metro Collection, Casual Fridays, LolliPops, Rush Hour, Discovery, Come & Play, Messiah, Big Tent community festivals, and annual contracts with Richmond Ballet and Virginia Opera. The Richmond Symphony was recently named as one of 21 American orchestras selected as a leader in orchestra innovation by the League of American Orchestras through its Futures Fund Initiative. The Richmond Symphony is partially funded by the Virginia Commission for the Arts and the National Endowment for the Arts.

Contacts:

Erin Frye: Marketing and PR Manager

p. 804.788.4717 ext. 121 e. efrye@richmondsymphony.com

Scott Dodson: Director of Advancement and Patron Communications

p. 804.788.4717 ext. 120 e. sdodson@richmondsymphony.com