Taipei, June 23, 2026.           This September, the Evergreen Symphony Orchestra presents 'Jerry Hou, Jon Kimura Parker & ESO.” Conducted by the ESO’s Associate Conductor Jerry Hou, the concert features celebrated pianist Jon Kimura Parker, a Leeds International Piano Competition gold medalist. The program focuses on 20th-century orchestral works from American, French, and Russian masters, bringing a brilliant musical feast that blends jazz rhythms with Romantic passion to the audience in Southern Taiwan.

The concert opens with George Gershwin’s Concerto in F for piano and orchestra, a work that successfully mixes blues and jazz elements with classical music and had its milestone premiere in 1925 at Carnegie Hall with the composer as soloist. The soloist for this occasion, Jon Kimura Parker, regularly performs at Carnegie Hall, the Berlin Philharmonic, and other top international concert stages. Along with his deep classical roots, Parker loves crossover art, once sharing the stage with Stewart Copeland, the famed drummer of the rock band The Police. With his passion for classical and crossover, Parker will bring to life the bright, modern energy of New York's golden era. Following the concerto, the orchestra will perform Maurice Ravel’s Mother Goose Suite, sharing classic fairy tales with a delicate, poetic orchestral touch.

The second half features Sergei Rachmaninoff’s final composition, Symphonic Dances, Op. 45, finished in 1940 during his exile in the United States. Serving as his ultimate musical testament, the work weaves together deep nostalgia for his homeland and a poignant look back at life. The piece shifts from dark, low murmurs to sudden bursts of brilliance, before marching toward the light in a grand, firm finale. From Gershwin's jazz modernism and Ravel's fairy-tale poetry to Rachmaninoff's epic farewell, this concert brings together three distinct musical landscapes.

The ESO will perform with Jerry Hou & Jon Kimura Parker on Saturday, September 19, 2026, at the Weiwuying National Kaohsiung Center for the Arts (Concert Hall). For ticket information, please visit the official ESO website or OPENTIX.