Mozart’s Majestic Jupiter Symphony^2024-2025

With his innate musicianship, gift for communication, and irresistibly joyous spirit, conductor Rafael Payare is Music and Artistic Director of both Canada’s Orchestre symphonique de Montréal (OSM) and California’s San Diego Symphony (SDSO), as well as Principal Conductor of Virginia’s Castleton Festival and Conductor Laureate of Northern Ireland’s Ulster Orchestra. Payare is celebrated for his expertise in late Romantic repertoire while also cultivating the next generation of composers with regular commissions and performances of new works. A veteran of Venezuela’s El Sistema program – in which he began playing horn at the age of 14 – and 2012 first prize winner at Denmark’s Malko Competition for Young Conductors, Payare remains dedicated to inspiring younger musicians, regularly working with youth orchestras and establishing mentorship programs like El Sistema OSM and the SDSO Conducting Fellowship. Payare resides in San Diego and Montreal with his wife, acclaimed cellist Alisa Weilerstein, and their two young children.

Pianist Kevin Chen began musical studies at five and gained early recognition by winning First Place at the Canadian Music Competition at eight. At age ten, he was acknowledged as one of the “Top 30 Hot Canadian Classical Musicians under 30” by the Canadian Broadcasting Corporation and featured among “100 Remarkable Canadians” in Maclean’s magazine. Kevin has earned first prizes at prestigious international competitions, including the Arthur Rubinstein Piano Master Competition, the Concours de Genève, the Franz Liszt International Piano Competition, the Hilton Head International Piano Competition, and the International Piano-e-Competition. Kevin has performed in top venues around the world such as Carnegie Hall, St. John’s Smith Square, and Taipei’s National Concert Hall. He has featured as a soloist with the Edmonton Symphony Orchestra and Israel Philharmonic Orchestra, among others, and his musical journey continues to unfold.