Bremerton WestSound Symphony coming to the Kitsap County Fair

The Bremerton WestSound Symphony will perform for the first time at the Kitsap County Fair on Sunday, August 28 at 1:30 p.m., with internationally acclaimed soloist Yesong Sophie Lee. Lee will perform the great Tchaikovsky Violin Concerto, a work that has been a favorite of audiences and violinists from Jascha Heifetz to Joshua Bell. The concerto is by turns lyrical, passionate, heroic, and full of dazzling violin pyrotechnics and driving energy. This is probably Tchaikovsky’s most performed work, following The Nutcracker.

Also performing at the fair will be our Youth Jazz Ensemble, at 6 p.m. on Friday, Aug. 26 under the direction of Mr. Derick Polk, and Simply Brass, at noon on Saturday, Aug. 27.

Lee won first prize at the 2016 Menuhin Violin Competition in London and has been quickly building an international following. She has since performed numerous concerts and recitals throughout the United States and Europe, including performances in Warsaw, Geneva, and the Gstaad Music Festival. She has appeared on NPR’s “From the Top” and performed for Prince Charles at his Welsh home during her concert tour of the United Kingdom. Lee has performed with numerous orchestras, including the London Philharmonia, Berlin Konzerthaus Orchestra, Orchestre de la Suisse Romande, Seattle Symphony, Detroit Symphony and Richmond Symphony with violinist Joshua Bell.

Our performance begins the Bremerton WestSound Symphony’s 80th season, which will include a selection of great music for everyone. For our traditional classical fans we have symphonies by Mozart, Brahms, Dvorak, and Charles Ives. For those who enjoy virtuosic displays of technical mastery, we have Alec Rodriguez performing a Mozart concerto, Pamela Roberts performing a cello concerto, plus the winners of our annual young artists competition. For those who enjoy delightful, light classical works, we have orchestra excerpts from "Carmen," "The Barber of Seville" and Master Guitarist Mark Hilliard Wilson performing Rodrigo’s beloved "Concierto de Aranjuez." For opera fans, we have Seattle Opera star Tess Altiveros singing "Songs of the Auvergne" and some of the greatest music from Wagner’s operas.

Fall fundraiser coming up

Following the Kitsap County Fair performance an “Out of the Bachs” gala fundraiser will be held to support Bremerton WestSound Symphony, at 6 p.m. on Sept. 24 at the Kitsap Golf & Country Club in Bremerton. Come enjoy “A Night in Casablanca” to celebrate 80 years since the opening of the Bremerton Symphony, as well as the release of the iconic 1942 movie starring Humphrey Bogart and Ingrid Bergman. There will be live entertainment, a live auction, games and a dessert dash. Wear your pearls, fedoras, and glamorous attire and join us for food and music in a beautiful locale!

Contact the Symphony office at 360-373-1722 or info@bremertonsymphony.org for more information.

This article originally appeared on Kitsap Sun: Alan Futterman: Bremerton WestSound Symphony performing at Kitsap Fair