Love Notes

Taichi Fukumura is a rising Japanese-American conductor acclaimed for his dynamic stage presence and musical finesse. He is the Second Prize Winner of The Mahler Competition 2023 and a four-time recipient of the Solti Foundation U.S. Career Assistance Award 2021-2024.

Fukumura was recently named Music Director of the Illinois Symphony Orchestra, following two guest conducting appearances as part of an extensive international search. He begins his role in the 2024-2025 season as the fifth music director in the orchestra’s history.

Other highlights include his guest conducting debut with the Bamberg Symphony, and his return to the Fort Worth Symphony Orchestra as guest conductor after leading the orchestra in over 110 concerts as Assistant Conductor appointed by Music Director Robert Spano. Fukumura is also Music Director Finalist of the Eugene Symphony, Delaware Symphony Orchestra and Colorado Springs Philharmonic, and will guest conduct each during the 2024-2025 season. Additionally, he returned to the Aspen Music Festivaland School as guest assistant conductor for the opening week of summer 2024. Other guest assisting engagements include collaborations with Barbara Hannigan and the Musikkollegium Winterthur in Switzerland, as well as Dima Slobodeniouk and the Minnesota Orchestra.

Past engagements include guest conducting members of the Boston Symphony Orchestra in Stravinsky L’Histoire du Soldat. He was also invited by the Berlin Philharmonic as one of 10 assistant conductor candidates for Kirill Petrenko in 2021, and guest assisted the Houston Symphony and the Pittsburgh Symphony Orchestra. Fukumura served as the Assistant Conductor of the Chicago Sinfonietta where he previously received mentorship from Music Director Mei-Ann Chen as a Freeman Conducting Fellow. Additionally, he worked closely with the Chicago Philharmonic as cover conductor. 

Equally adept in opera conducting, Fukumura conducted full productions of Britten Turn of the Screw and Mozart Don Giovanni at the Northwestern University Opera Theatre and led rehearsals of Puccini La Boheme with the Boston Youth Symphony Orchestras, the only youth orchestra in the country to present annual opera productions.

Born in Tokyo, Taichi Fukumura grew up in Boston and began music studies at age three on the violin. Professionally trained on the instrument, he received a Bachelor of Music in violin performance from Boston University, studying with Peter Zazofsky. Fukumura received both his Master of Music and Doctor of Musical Arts degrees in orchestral conducting from Northwestern University, studying with Victor Yampolsky. Additional conducting studies include Aspen Music Festival and Pierre Monteux School and Festival.

Valentin Kovalev is a passionate and dedicated classical saxophonist who is seeking to
elevate the voice of saxophone in classical music. Named the winner of the most prestigious international saxophone competitions, Valentin is also the recipient of significant awards from foundations in France (Fondation pour la vocation), Russia (the Rostropovich Foundation), and the United States (Musical Fund Society of Philadelphia).
His international career spans performances as a soloist across the U.S., Russia, France,
Andorra, and Asia.

Valentin was recently named a winner of the 2024 CAG Louis and Susan Meisel Competition and, in addition, received the coveted Audience Award. As the recent winner of the esteemed Naumburg Foundation 2022 Saxophone Competition, during the 2023-2024 season Valentin gave a sold-out debut recital at Carnegie Hall premiering the newly commissioned piece by GRAMMY Award-winning composer Steven Mackey.

One of Valentin’s most significant achievements has been cultivating an engaged
community of music lovers across his social media platforms. Valentin’s Instagram
account (@valentinkmusic) has reached 65,000 followers, while his YouTube channel
(V&A TV) has 42,000 subscribers.

Aiwen Zhang is a forward-thinking artist dedicated to exploring eclectic musical repertoire and multi-media artforms that engage her global audience. A classically-trained saxophonist, she is in demand as both a performer and an educator, reaching audiences throughout the United States, China, France, Germany, Japan, and Thailand.

Aiwen was the first person of Chinese descent and the first female to secure a Top Prize at the 5th Jean-Marie Londeix International Saxophone Competition, one of the most prestigious saxophone competitions in the world. Winning concerto competitions at the University of Michigan, Bowling Green State University, and with the Lima Symphony, Aiwen was also awarded first place in prestigious solo competitions including the Musicians Club of Women Awards Competition, the Prix du Conservatoire National Supérieur de Musique et de Danse de Paris, and the Vandoren Emerging Artist Competition.

A highly sought-after performer and educator, Aiwen has received invitations to give recitals and lead master classes from musical institutions worldwide. Such performance venues include the Lincoln Center (NYC), Kennedy Center for the Performing Arts (Washington D.C.), Beijing National Center for the Performing Arts (China), Université Européenne de Saxophone (Gap, France), and Prince Mahidol Hall (Thailand). Aiwen has led master classes at a variety of educational institutions including The Shanghai Conservatory of Music, Central Conservatory of Music (China), and Yong Siew Toh Conservatory of Music (Singapore).

Aiwen holds degrees from the University of Michigan, Paris Conservatory, and the Eastman School of Music. Her past instructors include Timothy McAllister, Claude Delangle, Chien-Kwan Lin, Vincent David, and John Sampen.

Complementary to her passion for music, Aiwen has a love for and experience in the visual arts as a freelance videographer, photographer, and editor for V&A TV. She is experimenting new concert format with a multi-media/multi-sensory performance experience that showcases saxophone music by Chinese-born composers (who no longer reside in China) and incorporates traditional legend, costumes, choreography, and food.

Photo credit: Valentin Kovalev