Rhapsody in Red, White & Blue Performers

In an age when many artists' fortunes begin with a meteoric ascent and quickly cool with the inexorable free-fall, pianist Jeffrey Biegel has managed to buck that trend, fashioning a career of steady success studded with concerts at major venues with major orchestras, a Grammy winning recording, and more than 25 commissioned works by living composers. His life takes its roots from age three, barely able to hear nor speak, until corrected by surgery. The 'reverse Beethoven' phenomenon explains his lifelong commitment to music, having heard only vibrations in his formative years. In 2025, he performed the World Premiere of Adolphus Hailstork's "Concerto no. 3" with the Pacific Symphony Orchestra, and performes the premieres of melissa manchester's "AWAKE!" for Piano and Orchestra with the Endless Mountain Music Festival, and James Lee III's "Concerto in A" with the Louisiana Philharmonic Orchestra. The 2024 recording of Jake Runestad's "Dreams of the Fallen" with True Concord Voices and Orchestra garnered a Grammy nomination, on the Reference Recordings label. June 2023-August 2027 features the Rhapsody National Initiative, the first 50-state project for a new work for soloist and orchestra, also the first 50-state project for a new work without composer fees from orchestras. Peter Boyer's "Rhapsody in Red, White & Blue" has embraced the nation and also has a recording with the London Symphony Orchestra on the Naxos label. In 2022, he premiered Jim Stephenson's 'Piano Concerto', Daniel Perttu's 'A Planets Odyssey' for piano and orchestra, Farhad Poupel's "The Legend of Bijan and Manijeh" for piano, orchestra and chorus, his own concerto, 'Three Reflections: Freedom (JFK), Justice (RBG) Equality (MLK)', and Christopher Marshall's 'Thanksgiving Variations on "We Gather Together"'. 2021 saw the world premieres of his "Reflection of Justice: An Ode to Ruth Bader Ginsburg" with the Dallas Symphony Orchestra, and Ellen Taaffe Zwilich's "Remembering Ruth Bader Ginsburg" for mezzo-soprano, piano and orchestra in tribute to the late Supreme Court Justice Ruth Bader Ginsburg, with mezzo-soprano Denyce Graves. Also, the world premiere of Ellen Taaffe Zwilich's "Shadows" newly arranged for piano and seven players with the Idaho State Civic Symphony. The pandemic year 2020 focused on composing original "Waltzes of Hope", "Sonatina", and "Three Reflections: JFK, RBG and MLK" for solo piano, and for piano and orchestra, orchestrations by Harrison Sheckler. It was also a time for Mr. Biegel to raise the necessary funds to commission Mr. Boyer's new "Rhapsody". Moravian College in Bethlehem, PA, conferred the Honorary Degree of Doctor of Humane Letters upon Mr. Biegel in 2015, for his achievements in performance, recordings, chamber music, champion of new music, composer, arranger and educator. In 2019, Kenneth Fuchs's "Piano Concerto: 'Spiritualist'" with the London Symphony Orchestra led by JoAnn Falletta received a Grammy Award for Best Classical Compendium, featuring Mr. Biegel as its soloist. In 2019, the first digital recordings were released on Mr. Biegel's Naturally Sharp label: "Cyberecital: An Historic Recording", "A Pianist's Journey", and the September 2021 release of George Gershwin's "Rhapsody in Blue" 1924 version with the Adrian Symphony Orchestra, Bruce Kiesling conducting. Mr. Biegel created the first largest consortium of orchestras in 1998 for Ellen Taaffe Zwilich's 'Millennium Fantasy' premiered with the Cincinnati Symphony Orchestra in 2000, followed with Charles Strouse's 'Concerto America' with the Boston Pops, Lowell Liebermann's 'Concerto no. 3' with the Milwaukee Symphony Orchestra, William Bolcom's 'Prometheus' for piano, orchestra and chorus, with the Pacific Symphony and Pacific Chorale, Richard Danielpour's 'Mirrors' with the Pacific Symphony, Ellen Taaffe Zwilich's 'Shadows' with the Louisiana Philharmonic Orchestra, Jake Runestad's 'Dreams of the Fallen' with the Louisiana Philharmonic Orchestra and Symphony Chorus of New Orleans, Lucas Richman's 'Piano Concerto: In Truth' with the Knoxville Symphony Orchestra, recorded with the Pittsburgh Symphony Orchestra, and Kenneth Fuchs's "Piano Concerto: 'Spiritualist'" with the Springfield Symphony Orchestra (MA). He also premiered and recorded Giovanni Allevi's 'Concerto for Piano and Orchestra' and commissioned Christopher Theofanidis's "Concerto no. 2 for Piano and Orchestra" with the Harrisburg Symphony Orchestra, the "Peanuts Concerto" by Dick Tunney, based on music by Vince Guaraldi, Jimmy Webb's 'Nocturne for Piano and Orchestra' and, PDQ Bach's 'Concerto for Simply Grand Piano and Orchestra' by Peter Schickele with the Colorado Symphony Orchestra. Bringing new music to youth orchestras saw the world premiere of Daniel Dorff's 'Piano Concerto' with the Etowah Youth Orchestra, conducted by Michael Gagliardo. He studied at The Juilliard School with Adele Marcus, herself a pupil of Josef Lhevinne and Artur Schnabel, and is currently on faculty at the Conservatory of Music at Brooklyn College.

Praised by the Seattle Times as “poised yet passionate,” Taiwanese-American conductor Julia Tai is becoming one of today’s most dynamic and engaging conductors on the international stage. Currently in her fourth season as Music Director of the Missoula Symphony Orchestra & Chorale. She has established a reputation for her creative programming, community engagement, and innovative education programs. Her career has led to acclaimed performances and rehearsals with the American Youth Symphony, Bakersfield Symphony Orchestra, Bohuslav Martinu Philharmonic (Czech Republic), Boise Philharmonic, Brandenburger Symphoniker (Germany), Estonian National Youth Symphony (Estonia), Idaho Falls Symphony, Lexington Philharmonic, New Symphony Orchestra (Bulgaria), Orquesta Filarmónica de la UNAM (Mexico), Orquesta Sinfónica Juvenil Charlos Chávez (Mexico), Philharmonia Northwest, and the Seattle Symphony. Tai has increased the esteem of her orchestras by elevating its artistic output, commissioning new works by renown composers, and serving diverse communities. In 2017, in collaboration with Finlandia Foundation, she celebrated Finland’s centennial by presenting Finland 100 at Benaroya Hall, featuring three generations of Finnish composers. The concert was attended by Finland’s ambassador to the U.S. from Washington D.C. In 2018, she presented an all-Taiwanese composers’ concert again at Benaroya Hall, featuring musicians from all over the U.S., Canada, and Taiwan. Her orchestras have co-commissioned new works by PDQ Bach (Concerto for Simply Grand Piano and Orchestra), Mexican composer Osvaldo Mendoza (Three Mexican Portraits), Chinese-American composer Dorothy Chang (Gateways – Concerto for Erhu and Piano), Vivian Fung (Trumpet Concerto), Sheila Silver (Being in Life – Concerto for French horn and Alpenhorn, 5 Tibetan singing bowls, and string orchestra), and have premiered new works by Orlando Jacinto Garcia, Donald O. Johnston, Pascal Le Boeuf, Kate Soper, Andrew Waggoner, and Wang Lu. Recognized as a prominent innovator of the contemporary music world, Julia Tai is the conductor and Co-Artistic Director of the Seattle Modern Orchestra, which champions the music of today. The orchestra “operates at that exciting cusp between old and new, between tradition and innovation,” (Vanguard Seattle) and is where “the future is more likely to be found” (Alex Ross, The New Yorker). Tai has worked with legendary composers, performers, and ensembles such as Robert Aitken, Séverine Ballon, Claire Chase, Stephen Drury, Jonathan Harvey, Graeme Jennings, Darius Jones, Garth Knox, Tristan Murail, Carol Robinson, Steven Schick, Seattle Chamber Players, International Contemporary Ensemble and Ensemble Modern. Under her direction, Seattle Modern Orchestra is a grant recipient of NewMusicUSA, The Amphion Foundation, The Aaron Copland Fund for Music, Washington State Arts Commission, 4Culture, and Seattle Office of Arts and Culture. Born in Taipei, Taiwan, Julia Tai began her violin studies at age four and piano at eight. She received her Bachelor and Master of Music degrees from the University of Southern California Thornton School of Music, where she was awarded “Outstanding Graduate.” She holds a Doctor of Musical Arts degree in orchestral conducting from the University of Washington. She studied conducting with Peter Erös and Jorge Mester, and has participated in masterclasses with Marin Alsop, JoAnn Falletta, Neeme Järvi, Daniel Lewis, Gustav Meier, Otto-Werner Müller, Jorma Panula, and Larry Rachleff.