Sarasota’s La Musica International Chamber Music Festival Names Wu Han as Artistic Director
Internationally recognized performer and
visionary arts leader receives three-year appointment
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Sarasota, Florida (October 17, 2022) – La Musica, Sarasota’s preeminent chamber music festival is pleased to announce Wu Han – pianist, educator and cultural entrepreneur – as Artistic Director. She replaces Bruno Giuranna, artistic director and co-founder, who was recently named Artistic Director Emeritus.
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A recipient of Musical America’s Musician of the Year Award, one of the highest honors granted to artists by the music industry in the United States, Wu Han enjoys a multi-faceted musical life that encompasses performing, recording, and artistic direction at the highest levels.
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Currently artistic co-director of the Chamber Music Society of Lincoln Center and Music@Menlo, she also serves as artistic director for Wolf Trap’s Chamber Music in the Barn series and for Palm Beach’s Society of the Four Arts. |
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In addition to countless performances of virtually the entire chamber repertoire, she is the founder and artistic director of ArtistLed, classical music’s first artist-directed, internet-based recording label, which has released her performances of the staples of the cello-piano duo repertoire with cellist and husband, David Finckel. During this past season, Wu Han designed and produced more than 200 digital media projects, including concerts and innovative educational programs, which have sustained the art or chamber music in dozens of communities across the United States.
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Wu Han comments, "It is an honor to have received the torch of artistic excellence carried so successfully by my beloved friends Derek Han and Bruno Giuranna. The opportunity to build upon their work, in a community so devoted to the arts, is a dream come true. Knowing La Musica as well as I do – from the many times I have appeared at the festival – I can hardly wait to reconnect with this family of musicians and listeners, and to watch it evolve through a growing artist roster and expanded repertoire. I am delighted and humbled to assume the responsibility of taking La Musica into a bright new future, in which there is so much to look forward to."
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La Musica Executive Director Joan Sussman recalls, “I have worked with Wu Han for over six years at Saratoga Performing Arts Center, where the Chamber Music Society of Lincoln Center is in residence during the summer. I have watched her energy and talent transform a community and build an audience. Her intensity, energy and spirit are contagious. We are more than fortunate that she accepted this appointment.”
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Board of Directors’ President Bruce Lehman spoke about the search process and the leadership profile of their optimal candidate. “Our La Musica board specifically wanted a leader who would effect change in every dimension of our institution and increase our visibility,” he said recently. “We chose Wu Han because of the breadth of her reputation, her commitment to engaging younger musicians and audiences, and her sheer love of the chamber music canon. She has performed in our previous Festivals and we thought her a perfect fit.”
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La Musica’s 37th Festival program, now with two additional concerts in February and March, will be announced in November.
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La Musica International Chamber Music Festival, now in its 37th year, brings together outstanding chamber musicians from around the world for intense music-making, and is committed to sharing this intimate and communicative art form with ever-widening audiences. Throughout its existence, La Musica has collaborated with other cultural organizations, including the Chamber Music Society of Lincoln Center, Sarasota Film Society, Sarasota Ballet, Ringling College of Art and Design, and Guitar Sarasota. New works have been commissioned and/or premiered by composers including Turchi, Wallach, Bracali, Wyner, Hyman, Winn, Tower, Iyer, and most recently Bilik. Essential to its mission, La Musica is committed to bringing listeners inside the chamber music experience and process through free tickets for young people and audience engagement programs for all.
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For more information about Wu Han, click here
or contact:
Milina Barry PR
212.420.0200
MBPRNews@gmail.com
For local press inquiries:
Carol Phelan
781.475.0218
Carolphelan20@gmail.com
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