DAEGU CITY SYMPHONY ORCHESTRA
The Daegu City Symphony Orchestra was founded in 1964. Since then they have played a great role in maintaining the strong traditions of this important Korean cultural city. Daegu City, the third largest metropolitan area in Korea, is located in southeastern Korea. With a population of approximately 2,700,000 people, it is well known for its fruit growing and textile production. For more information, please visit the city's website at http://tour.daegu.go.kr/.
Daegu Cultural & Arts Center (the location of the orchestra's rehearsal facilities, executive offices and concert hall) is located in the city's beautiful Duryu Park. The organization consists of a Chief Conductor, 89 performing members and an official staff of 5, including librarian and orchestra manager. The Daegu City Symphony presents around 25 concerts annually, including subscription programs, concert on tour and an annual Symphonic Music Festival in Seoul. They are one of the major orchestra in Korea and are striving to move to the next level of performance with their Maestro and Chief Conductor Vakhtang Jordania. The orchestra's first chief conductor was Ki Hong Lee, the second was Jong UekWoo, the third was Soo Il Kang, and the fourth was Sung Wan Park. The orchestra only performed with Korean conductors and soloists in almost all of their concerts during the tenures of the first four Chief Conductors. Both the orchestra and Daegu City administrations devoted all their energies to bringing together the best possible musicians and conductors to prepare a base for creating a very high level orchestra. Beginning with their fifth Chief Conductor, the orchestra invited a conductor from outside Korea who brought extensive international experience. The fifth conductor was Ravil Martynov (Russian) and the sixth was Boguslaw Madey (Poland). These two maestros brought great musical experience and talent to the position. Because of these ongoing orchestra building efforts, the Daegu City Symphony has reached a high level musically, and the repertoire has been expanded not just to European classical music but to Eastern Europe, Russian and American music as well. In December 2003, the orchestra performed the World Premiere of American composer David Winkler's "Sarang gwa Pyongwha" for Mixed Chorus and Orchestra. Daegu City invited Vakhtang Jordania (Georgian, living in the United States) as its seventh Chief Conductor in January 2002 and looks forward to a wonderful new era of musical and cultural growth for both the orchestra and Daegu City, both within Korea and around the world. Jeffrey James Arts Consulting of New York will also be working with the Daegu City Symphony Orchestra management team. Information about Mr. James and his organization can be found at http://www.jamesarts.com.
 The Conductor 
Chief Conductor and Artistic Director Vakhtang Jordania was born in the Republic of Georgia, where he studied piano from the age of five. After graduating from the Tbilisi Conservatory, he studied symphonic and operatic conducting at the Leningrad Conservatory, graduating with honors. A top prize at the 1971 Herbert von Karajan Competition catapulted him to the highest circle of Soviet artistry. From his assistantship with the legendary Yevgeny Mravinsky until his defection to the United States in 1983, Mr. Jordania held positions as music director of the Leningrad Radio Orchestra, the Saratov Philharmonic, and the Kharkiv Philharmonic. The Tchaikovsky Competition was under his baton twice. Conducting for more than one hundred concerts a year, he regularly toured the USSR, collaborating with musicians such as David and Igor Oistrakh, Leonid Kogan, Dmitri Shostakovich, Kiril Kondrashin, and Emil Gilels. Immediately after his defection, he made his Carnegie Hall debut, which was hailed by the New York Times as "a confident and spirited performance - the full house leaped to its feet." Success quickly followed in France, Germany, Austria, Holland, Belgium, Japan, Korea, Ireland, New Zealand, Australia and South America. In the United States, his appearances in New York, Los Angeles, Salt Lake City, Minneapolis, Rochester, Denver and Fort Worth brought more critical acclaim. Since his defection, he has held music director positions with the Chattanooga Symphony and Opera, the Spokane Symphony, the Korean Broadcasting System Symphony Orchestra in Seoul, and currently with the Russian Federal Orchestra of Moscow. He is also the Laureate Music Director for Life of the Kharkov Philharmonic Orchestra of Kharkov, Ukraine. Maestro Jordania has regularly conducted at many prestigious opera houses in Russia, the United States, the Ukraine, and Korea, including the Bolshoi and Kirov Theaters. In the United States he conducted the North American premiere of Dvorák's Rusalka. He is currently the Principal Guest Conductor of the Kharkov Opera. His webpage is at http://www.jamesarts.com/vakjo2.htm.
He has recorded for Melodiya, Koch International Classics, Soundset Summit, Helicon, Trained Ear, Cantabile, and Angelok Classics, and been nominated for Grammy Awards. He also recorded many soundtracks, including the award-winning film Dersu Uzala, directed by Akira Kurosawa. Three of his compact discs have been nominated for Grammy Awards (Rachmaninoff Symphony No.2 with Russian Federal Orchestra, Angelok Classics; in five categories for Hovhaness Symphonies Nos. 46 and 39 with KBS Symphony Orchestra, KOCH International Classics; and music of James Cohn with Latvian National Symphony, XLNT Music). For more about his recordings, visit the Angelok1 website at http://www.jamesarts.com/Angelok1.htm. In 1999 and 2000, the IBLA International Competition hosted the "Jordania Prize", which was named after Vakhtang Jordania, and designed to further the knowledge of young artists who compete in worldwide competitions. Maestro Jordania was honored in 2001 with the creation of the Vakhtang Jordania International Conducting Competition in the Ukraine. Since then it has been an annually held event, which attracts contestants from over 25 different countries. For more information visit the competition website at http://www.jamesarts.com. You can find more information about Vakhtang Jordania on the Internet at http://jamesarts.com/vakjo2.htm.
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