Masterworks 5 Beethoven & Shostakovich

Jahja Ling Guest Conductor

Jahja Ling’s distinguished career as an internationally renowned conductor has earned him an exceptional reputation for musical integrity, intensity and expressivity. He has conducted all the major symphony orchestras in North America including Boston, Chicago, Cleveland, Los Angeles, New York, Philadelphia and San Francisco.

Mr. Ling is universally praised for his work in building the San Diego Symphony Orchestra from post-bankruptcy state into one of the top tier major orchestras during his 13-year tenure from 2003 to 2017. In October 2013, Mr. Ling led the Orchestra in their first historical sold-out appearance at Carnegie Hall, followed by their first international tour to China where they appeared in Yantai, Shanghai and Beijing. Together they have recorded works for both Telarc Records and Naxos and eight other CDs on the Orchestra’s own label. The Orchestra named him their first Conductor Laureate in its history.

Mr. Ling holds one of the longest continuous relationships with one of the world’s greatest orchestras, The Cleveland Orchestra. Since 1984, he has conducted about 600 concerts with Cleveland in front of millions of listeners. The U.S. House of Representatives presented a Congressional Record of his outstanding achievements with this ensemble at the U.S. Capitol in September 2006. Mr. Ling also served as Music Director of The Florida Orchestra (1988-2002), Artistic Director of the Taiwan Philharmonic/NSO (1998-2001) and Assistant and Associate Conductor of the San Francisco Symphony (1981-83). As Music Director of The Florida Orchestra, Mr. Ling was the first classical music conductor ever invited to conduct at a Super Bowl where he conducted Whitney Houston’s legendary National Anthem performance to open Super Bowl XXV. Deeply committed to education, Mr. Ling served as founding Music Director of the Cleveland Orchestra Youth Orchestra (1986-1993), the San Francisco Symphony Youth Orchestra (1981-84), and served as the Director of the Tanglewood/BU Young Artists Orchestra during the 1983 and 1984 seasons.

Mr. Ling made his European debut with the Leipzig Gewandhaus Orchestra in 1988 and has subsequently appeared with numerous European orchestras since.

Mr. Ling began playing piano at the age of four under the tutelage of Suzy Djoeandy and Rudy Laban. He studied piano with Mieczyslaw Munz and conducting with John Nelson at Juilliard where he earned Bachelor’s and Master’s degrees. Mr. Ling continued his conducting studies at the Yale School of Music where he earned a Doctor of Musical Arts under Otto Werner Mueller. He was awarded the Leonard Bernstein Conducting Fellowship at Tanglewood Music Center and the Los Angeles Philharmonic Institute studying under Mr. Bernstein. Mr. Ling recently received the Bravo Classical Music Icon Lifetime Achievement Award from San Diego County for his contribution to enriching the cultural life of San Diego.

This is Mr. Ling’s first appearance with the Des Moines Symphony.

Janice Carissa Piano

Pianist Janice Carissa, a rising star to watch (Philadelphia Inquirer), brings thrill to the stage as a virtuoso with a “fleet-fingered touch that is particularly impressive” (Chicago Classical Review). Her success has captivated audiences in venues such as Sydney Opera House, The Kennedy Center, Louis Vuitton Foundation, Penderecki Center, Carnegie Hall, Millennium Park’s Jay Pritzker Pavilion, The Mann Center, WQXR’s Greene Space, and Saratoga Performing Arts Center. She has appeared under the batons of Cristian Macelaru and Stephane Deneve with The Philadelphia Orchestra, and she has replaced Andre Watts as soloist with Orpheus Chamber Orchestra. Since coming to Philadelphia in 2013 she has performed with John Hopkins Symphony, Symphony in C, St. Peters by the Sea Orchestra, Eastern Wind Symphony, Midwest Young Artist Orchestra, and Bay Atlantic Symphony. Carissa recently made her Kansas City Symphony debut with Peter Oundjian leading on the podium. In 2022, she will debuting with Des Moines Symphony and Amarillo Symphony.

In 2021 she won first prize in the Gilmore Young Artists Competition. Her other honors include a 2019 Arkady Fomin Scholarship and 2018 Salon de Virtuosi Career Grant, and prizes at 2014 Aspen Music Festival Competition, 2012 American Protégé, 2011 Indonesia Pusaka Competition, and IBLA Foundation’s 2006 Piano Competition. She is an alumna of Lang Lang International Music Foundation. Her performances have been featured across platforms such as PBS, Philadelphia’s WHYY Public Radios, Robert Sherman’s WQXR, The Violin Channel, and NPR’s From The Top.

Deeply devoted to chamber music, Janice has appeared at Ravinia, the Evnin Rising Stars series at Caramoor, Kneisel Hall, Oxford, Chamber Music Society of Fort Worth, and performs regularly with the Jupiter Symphony Chamber Players, North Shore, and Ensemble 132. This summer, she will attend Marlboro. She has performed with artists such as Vadim Gluzman, Miriam Fried, Pamela Frank, Peter Wiley, David Shifrin, Lucy Shelton, Josef Spacek, and players of Berlin Philharmonic Scharoun Ensemble; and given world premieres of compositions by Timo Andres, Wang Jie, Katherine Balch, Alyssa Weinberg, Andrew Moses, and Thomas Oltazerewski.

Native to Indonesia, Janice began her musical journey at age five with her pianist mother and entered the Curtis Institute of Music at age fifteen. She is presently studying with Gary Graffman and Robert McDonald under a full scholarship given by Marguerite and Gerry H. F. Lenfest. In her spare time, Ms. Carissa enjoys scouting for culinary gems and doing portrait photography for musicians

This is Ms. Carissa’s first appearance with the Des Moines Symphony.