Orchestra | Tinsel Town News Now

Every orchestra develops its own personality. Some are celebrated for technical brilliance, others for adventurous programming or distinctive sound. The Phoenix Symphony Orchestra has cultivated a reputation for combining artistic excellence with an openness to fresh ideas, and for violinist Haekyung Ju, becoming part of that culture has marked one of the most rewarding chapters of her career.

Since joining the orchestra as a First Violin member in March 2026, Ju has embraced a role that demands far more than technical mastery. As one of the musicians responsible for presenting many of an orchestra’s principal melodic lines, she helps shape the character, color, and emotional impact of every performance. Her journey to Phoenix followed a successful season with the Baltimore Symphony Orchestra, but her arrival in Arizona represented more than simply changing orchestras—it signaled a new stage of artistic confidence, leadership, and creative expression.

Violinist Haekyung Ju

Winning a position with the Phoenix Symphony Orchestra was no small accomplishment. The audition attracted an exceptionally competitive field of professional violinists from across the United States. Candidates advanced through preliminary, semifinal, and final rounds, each requiring increasingly demanding orchestral excerpts and solo repertoire that tested technical command, stylistic versatility, consistency, and ensemble awareness. By the conclusion of the final round, only two candidates remained. Both received appointments, but Ju earned the coveted First Violin position and later learned that her audition had received the highest overall evaluation from the committee. For a musician who had spent years refining her craft through conservatory training and professional orchestral experience, the result represented both validation and a springboard toward the next phase of her career. That achievement also reflected the artistic maturity she had developed during her time with the Baltimore Symphony Orchestra. There she learned the discipline, preparation, and collaborative mindset required of professional orchestral musicians. In Phoenix, however, those qualities would be expanded in new ways.

Unlike her previous role in the Second Violin section, Ju now performs among the First Violins, a section often entrusted with carrying the orchestra’s most recognizable melodies. While she is careful to emphasize that neither violin section is more important than the other, she recognizes that First Violins frequently establish the orchestra’s musical character through phrasing, articulation, tone color, and expressive leadership. Her earlier experience in the Second Violin section proved invaluable. It taught her how harmony, rhythmic stability, and attentive listening form the foundation of orchestral performance. Moving into the First Violins added another dimension—projecting musical ideas with confidence while remaining deeply connected to the surrounding ensemble. Rather than viewing leadership as individual prominence, Ju approaches it as a form of collaboration, where expressive playing and careful listening exist in equal measure. That collaborative philosophy is one of the qualities she believes distinguishes the Phoenix Symphony Orchestra.

From her very first rehearsal, Ju noticed an atmosphere unlike any she had previously experienced. The orchestra maintained exceptional precision while simultaneously encouraging musicians to contribute their own artistic personalities. Instead of expecting every player to suppress individual interpretation, the ensemble embraced a diversity of musical ideas, allowing those perspectives to merge into a unified artistic voice. That openness has been transformative for Haekyung.

She describes rehearsals as environments where conductors and musicians freely explore different approaches to phrasing, articulation, color, and character. Curiosity is welcomed rather than discouraged, creating performances that feel fresh and alive rather than routine. As a First Violin player, she finds particular inspiration in performing alongside colleagues with distinct musical personalities who nevertheless blend into a remarkably cohesive section. The result is an orchestra that combines technical polish with genuine spontaneity. Audiences may hear a beautifully unified ensemble, but Ms. Ju knows that beneath that sound lies an ongoing artistic conversation among musicians who continually challenge and inspire one another. It is precisely this balance between individuality and unity that gives the Phoenix Symphony Orchestra much of its vitality and excitement. Her own contributions reflect that philosophy.

Almost immediately after joining the orchestra, Haekyung found herself assuming significant responsibilities, including serving as Associate Concertmaster for several demanding performances during her first season. The assignment required not only exceptional preparation but also the confidence to help guide the First Violin section through an extraordinary variety of repertoire. One particularly memorable stretch demonstrated the remarkable versatility required of today’s professional orchestral musicians. Within just nine days, Ju performed three entirely different concert programs while serving in a leadership capacity. The first featured symphonic arrangements of Elton John’s music, requiring her to shift from traditional classical performance into a Pops setting built around groove, amplification, and stylistic flexibility. Only days later she performed Dolly Parton’s Threads: My Songs in Symphony, a production that included nearly one hundred pages of First Violin music and demanded constant changes in articulation, tone production, and musical character across an expansive program.

Less than twenty-four hours later, she traveled to Prescott to perform Beethoven, Brahms, and Dvořák in a traditional classical concert. The rapid transitions between these dramatically different musical worlds tested every aspect of her musicianship. Yet they also demonstrated one of her greatest strengths: the ability to adapt instantly while maintaining artistic consistency. Whether performing beloved popular music or cornerstone works of the symphonic repertoire, Ju approached each performance with the same commitment to excellence, helping the orchestra deliver engaging experiences for audiences across Arizona.

Another memorable highlight came during the orchestra’s Opera Gala, where Haekyung encountered some of the most technically demanding First Violin writing of her career. Opera excerpts require constant shifts in style, color, phrasing, and expressive character, leaving little opportunity for musicians to settle comfortably into a single musical language. Rather than viewing the program simply as a technical challenge, Ms. Ju embraced it as an opportunity to deepen her artistry. The experience reinforced an important lesson she has carried throughout her career: virtuosity only matters when it serves musical expression.

Haekyung ‘s enthusiasm for the orchestra extends well beyond her own performances. She is especially excited about the arrival of Paolo Bortolameolli as the Phoenix Symphony Orchestra’s new Music Director, a transition that has generated widespread anticipation among musicians and audiences alike. She is eagerly anticipating the performance of monumental works such as Rachmaninoff’s Piano Concerto No. 3, Stravinsky’s The Rite of Spring, Mahler’s Symphony No. 5, and a celebration honoring the music of John Williams. These ambitious programs reflect an orchestra committed to presenting repertoire that is both artistically demanding and broadly engaging—a combination that perfectly matches Ju’s own musical interests.

For Ju, the excitement surrounding the Phoenix Symphony Orchestra is not created by any single performance or celebrated guest artist. It grows from something deeper: musicians who continually inspire one another, audiences eager to share meaningful musical experiences, and an artistic culture that welcomes creativity while pursuing the highest standards of orchestral excellence. As a First Violin member, she contributes to that excitement every time she steps onto the stage. Through expressive leadership, thoughtful collaboration, and an unwavering commitment to artistic growth, Haekyung Ju helps shape performances that are technically refined, emotionally compelling, and vibrantly alive. Her career has already taken her from South Korea to some of America’s finest concert halls, but in Phoenix she has found something especially meaningful—an orchestra that encourages musicians not only to perform beautifully, but to think creatively, listen deeply, and bring their full artistic voices to every note they play. That spirit of collaboration continues to define both Haekyung Ju’s own journey and the exciting future of the Phoenix Symphony Orchestra.

The moment Weijun Chen puts his pencil to a piece of staff paper, he allows inspiration to overtake him. From the outside, watching him sketch notes onto a piece of paper, it may not seem like the most glamorous job, but when an orchestra is performing his music that he spent so long crafting, he feels truly alive.

Chen is a classical composer, writing music for symphony orchestras, chamber ensembles, instrumentalists, and singers, which is then performed at grand concert halls and music festivals all over the world. He is a renowned composer, best known for Three Earlier Songs, Watercolors, and Canoe, to name a few.

“I write every single note on the page, from vague ideas, sketches, to complete scores. In terms of the writing process itself, I am quite old-fashioned. I always start with pencil and staff paper, and eventually move to the computer during the engraving and mock-up stages. Once the piece is finished, I work closely with the musicians to bring the music to life. Often times, some of my works were written for a specific soloist or group of musicians, so the collaboration process starts during the writing stage. I also enjoy collaborating with artists from other disciplines, as my music often draws influence from poetry and visual arts,” said Chen.

Chen has seen much success throughout his career, but he believes the highlight came when he wrote the orchestral version of his piece Dancer. Already a success as a chamber piece, Chen decided to rework Dancer for an orchestra after being awarded the Jacob Druckman Prize by the Aspen Music Festival in 2015 with an invitation to the 2016 festival to premiere new work.

“I believe that writing for orchestra is a composer’s highest calling, and there is no better feeling than hearing your music performed by a large orchestra at a premier classical music festival in the beautiful mountains of Colorado,” said Chen.

Despite the title’s implications of continual movement and activity, Danceropens with somber stillness, a single chord that then gradually collapses under slowly descending scalar lines. As the glacial motion rises again through chromatic dissonances, gentle clusters form periodically, producing alternating moments of tension and relaxation. Then, after building in intensity, scale fragments and rapid turn figures cascade through the orchestra, initiating the swirling, dancing central section. This culminates in a growling climax and a grand pause, leading into the concluding slow section.

“When I was drafting this final slow section in February 2016, I was shocked and saddened to hear the news of American composer Steven Stucky’s passing. Stucky was the director of composition at the Aspen Music Festival where this piece later received its premiere. The last section unmistakably became an elegy, in memory of my beloved mentor,” said Chen.

Chen decided to create an orchestral version of Dancer after the success of the original chamber piece for several reasons. Musically, when he was working on the chamber version, he realized that the intended soundscape, in particular the overlapping scale lines, would have great potential written for an orchestra. When the opportunity arrived from the Aspen Music Festival in 2016, he jumped on it immediately.

2016 Aspen Music Festival
Bowing after the premiere of Dancer
W/ Aspen Philharmonic Orchestra & conductor George Jackson

The orchestral version of Dancer is both an expansion and a reduction. By expansion, the ensemble got bigger by ten-fold, and Chen was able to fully take advantage of the color palate of an orchestra. Dovetailing techniques are used extensively in the piece, as Chen threads the scale materials across the entire orchestra. By reduction, he deleted a large portion of music from the chamber version, specifically the Spanish-dance-influenced melodic section, as he felt that the materials were out of focus and not as compelling.

“It was simply amazing to see how my music came alive in the hands of seventy incredibly talented young orchestral musicians, under the baton of Maestro Jackson. It was also immensely gratifying to hear the transformative improvements from one rehearsal to another, and the premiere performance was deeply moving,” said Chen.

After its premiere at the 2016 Aspen Music Festival, the performance received a brief mention in The Aspen Times. The reviewer, Harvey Steiman, stated that “Dancer explored resonant harmonies and sonorities and reflected fine command of orchestration and form.” The piece was also a finalist in the 2017-18 The American Prize in Composition, Orchestra Music.

“I felt extremely grateful. As composers, we completely rely on others (i.e., the musicians) to bring our wildest imaginations to life. It is even more true in an orchestral setting, simply due to the sheer number of players and moving parts. This piece would not exist without the support and dedication from the music festival, Maestro Jackson, and the amazing musicians of the Aspen Philharmonic Orchestra,” said Chen.

On top of its success, Dancer has deep meaning for Chen. The greatest reward, for the composer, was honoring his mentor and friend.

“It was impossible not to think of Steve when I was at the premiere in Aspen. I was honored to share this piece with many of his colleagues, friends, and students in the audience. I miss him dearly, and I hope that the success of the premiere would make him proud,” he concluded.

Cover photo by Ahron Cho

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