ASIA AMERICA SYMPHONY DEBUTS FIRST CLASSICAL SONATA
BY JAZZ VETERAN DAVID BENOIT

David Benoit is used to being at the keys, but he'll take to the conductor's podium for the world premiere of his first classical sonata.

BUENA PARK, CA (May 30, 2003)—David Benoit's status is already secure—as a jazz pianist, a musical educator, a five-time GRAMMY® nominee and a Yamaha artist. Now, he not only turns his muse in a classical direction, but plans to watch someone else play the result on stage.

The composition, "The Centaur and the Sphinx," is Benoit's first piano concerto. As the Asia America Symphony's conductor and music director, he will watch from the podium as fellow Yamaha artist Frederic Chiu performs it on a Yamaha grand piano in its world premiere at the Norris Theatre for the Performing Arts in Rolling Hills, CA on June 14.

"'The Centaur and the Sphinx' is a mythological fable that I composed while I was an artist in residence during the summer of 1997 at Villa Montalvo, California," Benoit explained in a recent message to his fans. "Set in the hills of Saratoga, the grounds contain many intriguing statues of griffins, sphinxes and other mythological characters, providing the inspiration for my story."

Yamaha artist Frederic Chiu will perform Benoit's "The Centaur and the Sphinx" this month in California.

Benoit is in his second season as music director of the Asia America Symphony. The organization, whose roots go back to 1961, is dedicated to promoting music and cultural exchange in southern California through a broad variety of activities. The affiliated Asia America Youth Orchestra, in which Benoit plays a central role, was founded in 2001.

"Frederic Chiu is one of the most exciting and dynamic young pianists on the concert circuit today," said Benoit. "He works a lot in the area of music education and is committed to premiering new works by young composers. I believe he is the perfect choice to perform the world debut of my first piano concerto."

The June 14 concert, which will wrap up the orchestra's current season, is scheduled to feature a variety of other works: the entire ensemble will play three dance variations from Leonard Bernstein's "Fancy Free" and all of Aaron Copland's "Appalachian Spring (Suite)," and after debuting Benoit's work, Chiu will lead the way on Edvard Grieg's "Concerto for Piano and Orchestra in A minor (Opus 16)."

A five-time Grammy nominee for his jazz works, Benoit has sent his recent hit Fuzzy Logic to the Top Ten on Billboard's Contemporary Jazz Chart. He has conducted classical and modern performances by the Los Angeles Philharmonic, The San Francisco Symphony, The Dresden Philharmonic and the Atlanta Symphony among many others, and he has also achieved success as a composer for television and motion pictures, including Robert Duvall's The Stars Fell on Henrietta and Sally Field's The Christmas Tree. In the footsteps of the late Vince Guaraldi, he scored animated Peanuts specials for ten years, and also wrote the theme to the long running soap opera All My Children. For all these achievements, "The Centaur and the Sphinx" represents his first foray into classical composition.

For more information about Yamaha pianos, write Yamaha Corporation of America, Piano Division, P.O. Box 6600, Buena Park, CA 90622-6600; email infostation@yamaha.com; visit www.yamaha.com or telephone (714) 522-9011.