Friday, February 7, 2025 (Ann Arbor, MI) — On Saturday, February 22, the Ann Arbor Symphony Orchestra and Music Director Earl Lee will present their February MainStage performance at the historic Michigan Theater in Ann Arbor. Acclaimed violinist Stefan Jackiw will appear as soloist in Pyotr Ilyich Tchaikovsky’s violin concerto after last appearing with the A2SO for the opening concert of their 2023/24 season. Jackiw will replace violinist and 2023 Gramophone Young Artist of the Year Stella Chen, who has been forced to withdraw due to scheduling conflicts.
Chen remarks: “I regret not being able to join the Ann Arbor Symphony Orchestra and Maestro Lee at this month’s concert. Ann Arbor is a city I was dearly looking forward to exploring, and I hope to rejoin the orchestra to perform in the very near future!”
Music Director Earl Lee shares: “Stella [Chen]’s absence is a loss for the A2SO, as we were excited to perform the Tchaikovsky concerto with her—a central work in her 2019 Queen Elisabeth Competition gold medalist program. That said, I’m hugely excited to be reunited with Stefan [Jackiw], an exceptional musician who will bring remarkable artistry to this centerpiece of the violin repertoire.”
For Sarah Calderini, the A2SO’s Executive Director, Jackiw’s return is an exciting development for the Symphony: “Stefan’s solo debut with the orchestra in 2023 was one of the highlights of our season, and we’re looking forward to rekindling our artistic partnership by way of his upcoming performance.”
Heralded as one of America’s foremost violinists, Stefan Jackiw continues to captivate audiences with playing that combines poetry and purity with impeccable technique. Celebrated for playing of “uncommon musical substance” that is “striking for its intelligence and sensitivity” (Boston Globe), Jackiw has appeared as a soloist with the Boston, Chicago, Cleveland, New York, Philadelphia, and San Francisco symphony orchestras, among others. His teachers have included Zinaida Gilels, Michèle Auclair, and Donald Weilerstein. He holds a Bachelor of Arts from Harvard University, as well as an Artist Diploma from the New England Conservatory, and is the recipient of a prestigious Avery Fisher Career Grant. Jackiw first appeared with the Ann Arbor Symphony Orchestra on September 23, 2023 as part of their 23/24 Season Opener, partnering with the orchestra and Music Director Lee in Erich Wolfgang Korngold’s Hollywood-inspired violin concerto.
The February 22 concert will feature a trio of US and Russian composers. American composer Jessie Montgomery’s single-movement 2022 work, Overture, opens the program, followed by Tchaikovsky’s violin concerto and Dmitri Shostakovich’s tortured Symphony No. 10, considered by many to be the composer’s greatest symphony. The concert is supported in part by awards from the Michigan Arts & Culture Council and the National Endowment for the Arts.
Tickets to the concert can be booked at www.a2so.org/24-25-february-mainstage and discounts are available for students, children, and groups of 10 or more.
Concert details:
Tchaikovsky Violin Concerto
Saturday, February 22 2025 (8 PM) — The Michigan Theater (Ann Arbor)
Stefan Jackiw, violin
Earl Lee, conductor and Music Director
Jessie Montgomery: Overture
Pyotr Ilyich Tchaikovsky: Violin Concerto
Dmitri Shostakovich: Symphony No. 10
(734) 994-4801
www.a2so.org