Welcome to the Puget Sound Symphony Orchestra! It's hard to believe this is already our 9th season of bringing classical music to the community. Joined by a pure love for music and performance, the dedicated and exceptionally talented members of the PSSO have propelled this organization into a fixture of the Seattle community.

Our repertoire is driven by our desire to play interesting music that is fun to play. This year, we're featuring ballet compilations of Beethoven and Spanish composer Manuel de Falla, epic symphonies of Prokofiev and Hungary's Zoltán Kodály, and classic showpieces by Sibelius and Brahms. I'm especially excited this year about our soloists Kai Chen and the PSSO's own Valerie Coon. Kai will be performing the Saint-Saëns Cello Concerto in our November concert and Valerie will be performing the Barber Violin Concerto in March.

My goal as a conductor is to lead fun and enriching rehearsals and performances. Be prepared to laugh! I'm notorious for my odd mannerisms and corny jokes. Humor aside, be prepared for some incredible music.

Waving the baton is certainly a great joy in my life, but it does little to pay the bills. During the day, you'll find me working over at Microsoft as a program manager; at night or on weekends, you'll find me pouring over scores and recordings, or working on the day-to-day administration of the organization. The PSSO is an all-volunteer orchestra, but it would be wrong to say we are making any sacrifices with our time--this is what we love to do, and we hope our enthusiasm shines through in our performances. That said, we could not continue to be successful without your continued support.

I look forward to seeing you at our next performance.

Regards,
Alan Shen
alanshen@psso.org