A Night at the Symphony

Over fifty NAAAP-Seattle members and attended the Celebrate Asia! Seattle Symphony Concert on Jan. 14, 2011. For many NAAAP members, this was their first time going to Benaroya Hall, which is the home of the Seattle Symphony.

The Seattle Symphony and a committee made up of representatives from the Chinese, Vietnamese, Japanese, Korean, Filipino, Thai, and Indian communities organized the annual concert, which has drawn 2,400 people for the past three years.

NAAAP Seattle PR/ Marketing Chair Julie Pham represented the Vietnamese community. Because of her participation on the concert organizing committee, NAAAP Seattle was considered an organizational partner for the concert.

"This is a world-class concert and a joyous event," said Pham. "I love sharing this experience with people.

Many audience members wore their Asian ethnic costumes, such as Qipaos, Batiks, Kimonos, Ao dais.

The concert included highlights from the Grammy-winning opera singer Sumi Jo, sheng player Hu Jianbing, koto player, Masayo Ishigure, the winner of the first-ever Celebrate Asia! composer competition Huang Ruo introduced his piece, "The Yellow Earth," performed by the Seattle Symphony.

Special guests in the audience included Attorney General Rob McKenna and Bellevue Deputy Mayor Conrad Lee.

For Japanese exchange student Yugo Nawa, it was his first time at the Seattle Symphony. He said, "The concert was amazingly impressive. I was having tough time in terms of work. But the awesome music and ambiance made me feel great, and encouraged me to keep moving ahead."

Daniel Nguyen, the winner of the 2009 NAAAP-Seattle High School Scholarship, also learned about this event through NAAAP. The University of Washington freshman said it was his first time going to the Seattle Symphony.

"A lot of people my age, I feel don’t really appreciate classical music and I believe it’s because we do not go to venues such as these," said Nguyen. "What was fantastic especially for me was how my appreciation for Asian American music grew deeper."

Photos by Don Pham/Northwest Vietnamese News.

Top: Grammy winning opera singer Sumi Jo starring in Celebrate Asia! Middle: Chaopraya Ensemble (Thai) performing in the preconcert. Bottom: NAAAP-Seattle board members posing during intermission.

For more photos, visit NAAAP-Seattle on Facebook.