Symphony Orchestra

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Program notes by Mark Bilyeu

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About the Artists

Kevin Charoensri

Kevin Charoensri (b. 2003) is a Thai-American San Diego native who now resides in Austin, where he received his B.M. at The University of Texas at Austin.  Charoensri began writing music at age 12, and he has written works for band, orchestra, choir, chamber music, EDM, big band, jazz combo, and film scores. Charoensri currently studies with Omar Thomas at UT Austin, and has studied with Donald Grantham, along with being heavily involved with other faculty on staff, Yevgeniy Sharlat, Russell Podgorsek, and Januibe Tejera. He is currently a Composition major, as well as a piano principal, taking lessons in both classical and jazz styles, studying with piano professors Gregory Allen, Patti Wolf, and Sean Giddings. He is also the pianist for The University of Texas’ Jazz Ensemble. In June 2018, Charoensri conducted a performance of his Return for Band with 80 musicians at the Sydney Opera House in front of an audience of 2500. The performance received recognition from the San Diego Union Tribune. 

Yida An

Yida An is a violinist currently pursuing the Artist Diploma at The University of Texas at Austin, where he studies with Brian Lewis. He previously earned his Master’s degree at the Bard College Conservatory of Music under Gil Shaham and Adele Anthony, and completed his Bachelor’s degree at the Central Conservatory of Music in Beijing under Haoming Xie. He is the winner of the Butler School of Music Concerto Competition (2025) and the UT Rising Stars Competition (2024). Yida has served as concertmaster or associate concertmaster with the Sarasota Music Festival Orchestra, the University of Texas Symphony Orchestra, and the Bard Conservatory Orchestra. As a soloist, he has appeared with the Austin Civic Orchestra, The Orchestra Now, and the Bard Conservatory Orchestra, with selected engagements including collaborations under Tan Dun at Lincoln Center and the Fisher Center, performances with Chai Liang at the Beijing Concert Hall, and a featured collaboration with Joan Tower at the Music Alive! concert. An active chamber musician, Yida has worked with distinguished artists including Robert Levin, Sandy Yamamoto, Wilhelm Magner, and members of the Miró and Amber Quartets.

Jinni Shen

Dr. Jinni Shen, a soprano from Nanjing, China, began her musical journey at the age of five. She earned her Bachelor’s degree from China Conservatory of Music in 2018 before moving to New York City to complete her Master’s degree in Voice at the Mannes School of Music. During her graduate studies, she participated in the International Vocal Arts Institute, the Savannah Voice Festival, and served as a studio artist with Pittsburgh Festival Opera. In 2024, Dr. Shen earned her Doctor of Musical Arts degree from The University of Texas at Austin and began the Artist Diploma program at the Butler Opera Center the same year. From 2022 to 2025, she performed a wide range of principal roles with the Butler Opera Center, including Rosina in The Ghosts of Versailles, Lisa in The Queen of Spades, Musetta in La Bohème, Giulietta in Les Contes d’Hoffmann, “Ma” Zegner in Proving Up, and Micaëla in Carmen. She also appeared as Rosalinde in Die Fledermaus with FAVA Opera and completed an apprenticeship with the OPERA San Antonio Young Artist Program. Dr. Shen is a co-founder of The Rêverie Project, a local artist initiative program based in Austin, Texas. She was a finalist and earned the honorable mention in the 2025 NATS Artist Award Texoma Region and is a member of the Opera for Peace 2025 US Academy. Upcoming engagements include Giorgetta and Suor Angelica in Il trittico with Butler Opera Center.

Aaron Kurz

Engaging audiences with his charismatic and moving performances, American pianist Aaron Kurz enjoys a burgeoning career. Aaron has soloed with numerous orchestras and across three continents, in venues such as Carnegie Hall, Salle Cortot, and the Palace of Peace and Harmony in Kazakhstan. His performances have been lauded by the press, called both “nuanced musical journeys” (Belgium’s Le Soir) and “a lesson in pianism” (England’s Cambridge Independent). Most recently, Aaron just completed a tour of Asia, where he performed and taught at various venues across Indonesia and China. He is poised to return to the region for another tour in Autumn 2026. Aaron’s playing has also garnered recognition in competitions, winning top prizes in the New York, Los Angeles, Virginia Waring, and World Piano Teachers Association International Piano Competitions, among others. He has performed extensively across North America, Europe, and Asia, soloing with numerous orchestras, including the Fort Worth Symphony, City of Cambridge Symphony Orchestra, Shanxi Shuozilun Symphony (China), and Central Texas Philharmonic. Aaron is currently pursuing his Doctorate of Musical Arts at UT with Anton Nel, and he holds recent degrees from SFCM (studying with Jon Nakamatsu and Jeremy Denk), Yale (Boris Berman), and RCM (Norma Fisher and Ian Jones).

Matthew Pavon

Matthew Pavon is a conductor and violist studying orchestral conducting under Farkhad Khudyev at The Butler School of Music. In his role as assistant instructor for university orchestras, Matthew is an active conductor and administrator for Symphony Orchestra. He also serves as Co-Director for University Orchestra. Matthew holds viola performance degrees from Evangel University (B.M. '19) and Missouri State University (M.M. '22). Guest conducting appearances have included concerts with the Austin Civic, Kansas City Civic, Missouri State University Symphony, Drury University, and Kansas City Youth Symphony, and Missouri Philharmonic Orchestras. As a violist, he was an active member of the Springfield Symphony Orchestra for seven years and a substitute violist for the Symphony of Northwest Arkansas. Matthew’s passion is connecting with people of all ages and backgrounds through music. He lives in Austin, TX, with his wife, Leianna, and their two mini-Australian Shepherds, Koda and Ellie.

Kevin Charoensri

Kevin Charoensri (b. 2003) is a Thai-American San Diego native who now resides in Austin, studying music composition (B.M.) at The University of Texas at Austin.  Charoensri began writing music at age 12, and he has written works for band, orchestra, choir, chamber music, EDM, big band, jazz combo, and film scores. Charoensri currently studies with Omar Thomas at UT Austin, and has studied with Donald Grantham, along with being heavily involved with other faculty on staff, Yevgeniy Sharlat, Russell Podgorsek, and Januibe Tejera. He is currently a Composition major, as well as a piano principal, taking lessons in both classical and jazz styles, studying with piano professors Gregory Allen, Patti Wolf, and Sean Giddings. He is also the pianist for The University of Texas’ Jazz Ensemble. In June 2018, Charoensri conducted a performance of his Return for Band with 80 musicians at the Sydney Opera House in front of an audience of 2500. The performance received recognition from the San Diego Union Tribune. 

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Symphony Orchestra

Principals

1. Charoensri
2. Wieniawski
3. Puccini
4. Prokofiev
    

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