Musical luminary Robert Hasty to appear in Shanghai

Dr. Robert Hasty

Dr. Robert Hasty is a musical luminary. In addition to serving as Music Director of the Kenosha Symphony Orchestra and conductor of the Chamber Orchestra, Philharmonia and Summer Orchestra at Northwestern University, he performs as a freelance violinist and violist. Notably, Dr. Hasty was the violist on the world premiere of Kathy Henkel's Moorland Sketches, which was broadcast on KUSC-FM Los Angeles.

At the same time, Dr. Hasty is a recognized researcher in music cognition. Recently, a book about his research on conducting was published:Critical Listening While Conducting.

Shanghai is fortunate that it will host the Spirit of Peace Gala Concert as part of the ISCMS XII Festival on February 23. There, in the Shanghai Symphony Orchestra Hall, Dr. Hasty will conduct an orchestra consisting of ISCMS's virtuoso musicians. The musicians will perform a diverse selection of material. Highlights will include the China premiere of Michael Tippet’s "Five Spirituals" from "A Child of Our Time", Benjamin Britten’s "Young Persons Guide to the Orchestra", and a specially commissioned piece for choir and big band by composer Chris Artley.

Despite his impressive music credentials, Dr. Hasty did not always intend to follow a career in music. During a recent interview with The Chicago Tribune, he emphasized, "I just knew I didn’t want to do music. A lot of that was because my parents were. I think I just wanted to be independent and follow my own path."

Dr. Hasty's immediate family members are all singers. His father is a choral musician and professionally trained singer, his mother has two degrees in music as a singer and his brother is also involved with choral music.

Initially, Dr. Hasty studied math and engineering at the University of Southern California, as well as violin. Then he realized what he liked best about music: teaching it. Teachers of music have lives outside of their careers, he told The Chicago Tribune, implying that professional musicians often don't have time for anything but their work. "I believe the conductor inside of me was saying, 'Go into teaching because you’ll get to conduct,' he said. So I switched my major to music education and became a high school band and orchestra teacher."Dr. Hasty began his career teaching music in the public schools in Southern California, where he served as District Music Coordinator of the Capistrano Unified School District, supervising K-12 music education program and its staff of 39 teachers. He also served an elected term as Vice President in charge of String Education for the Southern California School Band and Orchestra Association.

Yet he has also found time outside of his busy teaching schedule to perform instrumental music. He particularly enjoys performing alongside his wife, singer-songwriter Christina Trullio. "It’s something we can do together. It was the first opportunity I had to play fiddle and improvise," he told The Chicago Tribune.

Event Details

Name: ISCMS XII Gala Concert - Spirit of PeaceDate: 23 February 2019Time: 7:00 pm

Venue: Shanghai Symphony OrchestraConcert Hall

Address: No. 1380, Middle Fuxing Road, Xuhui District, Shanghai

Ticket Price: ¥80/180/280/380

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Please keep a record of the email / text confirmation of successful purchase.Upon successful payment:

1) YK Pao families: Please pick up the official concert tickets from the reception desk on campus during Jan. 29 - Feb. 1 and Feb. 18 - 22.

2) Families from participating schools: If you are traveling with the participating school teams, please contact your schools for tickets.

3) All others: Please pick up your tickets after 6pm on Feb. 23 prior to the performance at Shanghai Symphony Orchestra Concert Hall.

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