One of the world’s grand flautists will carry out as a soloist with the Vancouver Metropolitan Orchestra. Jasmine Choi is the former principal flute player with the Vienna Symphony Orchestra. In addition she's performed as a soloist with orchestras in Salzburg, St. Petersburg, Tokyo, New York, Seoul, Hong Kong, London, Paris, Munich, and others. The Korea Times has referred to Choi as the “Goddess of the Flute”. And she was described as one of the “Top ten Greatest Flutists in History” by the U.K.-based Sinfini Music website. She's recorded several solo CDs.

“Since the outbreak of the COVID-nineteen pandemic, Ms. Choi has started sharing educational videos on YouTube for the advanced flutists,” her bio states, “as well as collaborating with youthful pianists and introducing them in order to kickstart their careers, and interviewing leading classical musicians via live streamings and recorded videos.” Choi will be the soloist at the Vancouver Metropolitan Orchestra final concert of the season on Friday (May 19) at the Chan Centre for the Performing Arts. The pre-concert speak begins at seventh p.m. followed by a performance at 7:30. Tickets are available on the The orchestra is conducted by Ken Hsieh and the program includes Armenian composer Aram Khachaturian’s Flute Concerto in D minor.

The concert will also feature Russian composer Vasily Kalinnikov’s Symphony No. one in G minor. Following the creation of this work, Kalinnikov’s admirers included fellow Russian composers Pyotr Ilyich Tchaikovsky and Sergie Rachmaninoff. Sadly, Kalinnikov died at the age of thirty-five. It left many classical music lovers to ponder what else he might've accomplished had he lived a full life. Hsieh has conducted this symphony before with the Hiroshima Symphony Orchestra and the Sichuan Philharmonic Orchestra.