“Last year’s piano quintet concert with James D’León received tremendous accolades. Audience members wrote in comments such as this being the best they’d even seen or that they were crying as they left.” said Henry Flurry, AZ Phil Executive Director. “It is a privilege to have James D’Léon living in Prescott and to work with him on a regular basis.”

This is also the first AZ Phil concert that presents concertmaster Katie McLin in a chamber music setting. “James and Katie have previously only played together in our inaugural concert. They have tremendous respect for each other and they have collaborated closely to craft this beautiful concert,” added Flurry.

About James D’León

Born in South Korea into a musical family, D’León began the piano at the age of four and performed his first recital at the age of five. After receiving early piano training from his mother (his parents retired to Prescott Valley, which is how he came to settle here), he was awarded a full scholarship to the San Francisco Conservatory of Music as a pre-college student. As the winner of both the San Francisco Symphony and the Palo Alto Chamber Orchestra competitions, he performed the Grieg Piano Concerto and Mozart’s Piano Concerto No. 23 at the age of 12. He then relocated to Pennsylvania where he honed his technique and performance skills. By the age of 14, he had won every regional competition culminating in his debut performance of the Rachmaninoff Piano Concerto No. 2 with the Philadelphia Orchestra. He continued his piano studies with the late George Sementovsky in Philadelphia, which resulted in top honors as a Summa Cum Laude graduate from Temple University in Philadelphia. He was subsequently awarded a fellowship to the Eastman School of Music in New York where he received the Doctor of Musical Arts degree in piano performance and literature. D’León has won praise in many international piano competitions such as the Bachauer, Kapell, Leeds, and the Van Cliburn Competition. He was also a top-five finalist in the Naumburg International Competition, where he was selected out of 250 extraordinary pianists. In 2009, he was selected as an official Steinway Artist on both the prestigious New York and Hamburg, Germany rosters. D’León has performed in England, Ireland, Italy, Germany, Canada, and 40 states throughout the continental United States.

 About Katie McLin

Katherine McLin enjoys an extremely varied and prolific violin career as a concerto soloist, recitalist, and chamber and orchestral musician. Since her debut with the Oregon Symphony at the age of 15, she has made well over 100 appearances as soloist with orchestras across the country on repertoire spanning three centuries. As a member of the McLin/Campbell Duo with pianist Andrew Campbell and frequent chamber music collaborator with colleagues around the world, McLin performs extensively throughout the United States and abroad. She has been a featured artist at summer music festivals and conferences across the world. McLin appears on 19 compact disc recordings under the Summit, Centaur, and Opus One labels. McLin is in her 25th year as Professor of Violin at Arizona State University.

Get Involved with AZ Phil

We welcome you to join AZ Phil as we share the joy of professional music with our community. Sponsorship, donations, advertising and volunteer and board member opportunities for the upcoming season can be found at AZPhil.org. There are multiple levels of advertising and sponsorship offering many benefits, and volunteer openings for all areas of expertise.

About Arizona Philharmonic

Arizona Philharmonic (AZ Phil) is celebrating its fifth season in Prescott in 2022-2023 as Prescott’s regional professional orchestra, presenting large and small concerts that engage and inspire listeners. Based in Prescott, AZ Phil draws musicians from across Arizona and is committed to offering transformative music, while nurturing community participation and supporting the needs and growth of the Prescott area performing arts scene. Recognized in 2021 by the Prescott Chamber of Commerce for Excellence in Arts and Culture, Arizona Philharmonic is a 501(c)3 nonprofit organization. Ticket information, sponsorship and volunteer opportunities can be found at AZPhil.org or on Facebook.

Photo courtesy James D’León