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Jae Cosmos Lee and Alyssa Wang
Jae Cosmos Lee and Alyssa Wang

Concertmaster's Corner with Jae Cosmos Lee: Meet Alyssa Wang

Before each Masterpiece performance in the Cape Symphony Orchestra’s 2024/25 concert season, I’ll introduce our guest conductor and Music Director candidate here in the Concertmaster’s Corner. Today we chatted with Alyssa Wang, who will conduct Fantastique on November 16 & 17, 2024.

As you know, the search for Cape Symphony’s next Music Director is well underway. Our Search Committee of musicians, Trustees, Symphony staff, and a community representative narrowed a field of over 200 applicants to a few outstanding finalists who will each conduct a concert in our 2024/25 season. Our Masterpiece repertoire features warhorses from the Western canon chosen to showcase the talent and skill of these fine conductors.

Alyssa Wang is a passionate and versatile conductor, violinist, and composer. A recipient of the 2023 Solti Foundation Career Assistance Award and the 2022 St. Botolph Emerging Artist Award, Alyssa has enjoyed exploring diverse creative paths across several areas, with a focus on audience inclusivity and engagement. She is Co-Founder, Artistic Director, and Principal Conductor of the Boston Festival Orchestra.

Jae Cosmos LeeWelcome, Alyssa, and thank you for the opportunity to help our audience get to know you. There’s nothing like starting at the beginning: What was your original instrument as a musician, and how did you start conducting?

Alyssa Wang: Violin! I started taking lessons when I was 6, and went to college and grad school for violin performance. I still perform as a violinist, but not as much as I used to because now I spent most of my time conducting! When I was still in university, I took an introductory conducting class because my violin teacher at the time suggested it as a helpful supplement to my violin studies. What started as a passing curiosity gradually developed into a serious pursuit. That class led to a more advanced course, which led to a few summer festivals and assistant conductor positions, which eventually brought me here to Boston where I live and work. I personally consider playing violin and conducting as intrinsically intertwined pursuits. I tap into my experience as a violinist every single time I pick up the baton, and vice versa!

JCL: What led you to apply to be our Music Director?

AW:  I've been following the Cape Symphony ever since I moved to Boston. As one of the core music institutions in Massachusetts doing important work, it was one of my goals when I was a grad student at New England Conservatory to eventually play in the violin section of at least one Cape Symphony concert. Amazingly, I met that goal and was lucky enough to play in a concert cycle with the Cape Symphony Orchestra in the first violin section! Years later, when I saw the Music Director position open, I immediately wanted to apply because Cape Symphony already felt familiar to me. Having had an "insider" experience with Cape Symphony made it easy to develop a strong vision for this already robust institution, particularly as it affects the musicians of the orchestra. At heart, I am a "musicians' conductor," so I'm always thinking about what's best for the players, what their perspectives bring, and how to inspire the best in all of them. This opportunity for Music Director is a chance for me to live these values and lift up the musicians of the Cape Symphony to their fullest potential.

JCL: How do you approach working with a new orchestra and getting to know a new community?

AW: Approaching a new orchestra and community is both an exciting and nuanced process. First and foremost, I prioritize building genuine relationships. It's important to understand the orchestra's strengths, experiences, and unique voices in order to foster a sense of trust and collaboration. In rehearsals, I like curating open environments where musicians feel comfortable expressing themselves and communicating with me. Out in the community, there are so many ways to get involved. I think it's important to engage in local events of all kinds, and to understand the cultural context and traditions of the area so that the repertoire and programming resonates with the community’s identity and interests. Ultimately, my goal is to cultivate a sense of unity and pride, making our music not just a performance, but a shared experience that reflects the spirit of the community .

JCL: What’s special to you about the pieces you’ll conduct on the Cape Symphony stage?

AW:  I'm most excited to conduct Berlioz' Symphonie Fantastique because this is a piece that has been a part of me through most of my life. The first time I played this piece in youth orchestra, I had my eyes opened to a new kind of composition that I had never encountered before. At every point where I thought Berlioz couldn't get more radical for his day and age, he did. And then he kept going, far beyond where other composers would have stopped. To this day, I still consider Symphonie Fantastique one of the greatest orchestral masterpieces of all time. To engage with this piece is to put yourself into an extreme mindset, to be carried away by your emotions, to push yourself right to the very precipice. To perform this piece you have to let yourself be consumed by an uncontrollable mania. It takes a lot of dedication and effort from every single person on stage. And hopefully, as an audience member you'll be delighted, shocked, entertained, horrified, and everything in between!

JCL: Conducting is hard work! What are your favorite foods to eat after a concert?

AW:  I love food so much, just as much as I love music. My favorite post-concert food is anything that I'd classify under the "Asian comfort food" umbrella: dumplings, noodle soup, fried rice, bubble tea, you name it!

JCL: What entertains and inspires you? Do you have favorite movies, books, sports?

AW: I'm a huge nerd for big sci-fi or fantasy fandoms. I love Dune and Harry Potter and Star Trek, things like that. It's the hero's journey that inspires me and the pure ingenuity that goes into world-building on behalf of these franchise's creators. I love obsessing over them with other fans, dressing up to go see the premieres, and watching hours of behind-the-scenes footage. It's literally my biggest dream to conduct the first Harry Potter movie soundtrack to a live showing of the movie. You don't even need to give me a click track--I swear, I already know exactly when every musical moment happens! 

JCL: What do you like to do outside work?

AW: I enjoy many different kinds of non-music related creative activities! I like taking portraits of people on my Nikon. Occasionally, you'll see me at a local social dancing event (I'm a fan of this one kind of social dance called West Coast Swing). If I had six months off, for whatever reason, I'd really like to finish writing this fiction novel that I started during the pandemic, but never finished. I'm also trying to get back into tennis, which is something that I did briefly as a teenager, so if anyone has access to some courts and wants to hang out, let me know! 

JCL: Thanks for helping the Cape Symphony community get to know you. We look forward to seeing you at the concert hall!

***

The public is invited to observe Alyssa Wang in rehearsal with the Cape Symphony Orchestra from 6:30 – 8:30 PM on Thursday, November September 14, 2024 at the Barnstable Performing Arts Center.

Fantastique ticketholders may also attend a preconcert Q&A session with Ms. Wang, led by Assistant Conductor Joe Marchio one hour before showtime.

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