Welcome Speech at 2013 GBAAYSO Summer Concert in Lexington

By Oldat Lai, Asian Cultura Center Greater Boston Asian American Youth Symphony Orchestra (GBAAYSO)

Welcome to our summer concert 2013. This is Oldat Lai, executive director of the orchestra.

Community outreach performance is a crucial part of our orchestra. During the past two and half years, our orchestra members have performed more than 65 repertories, in many greater Boston areas.

Oldat Lai (left) hands out award to George Li and Claire Huang.

This year, two of our music for food Benefit concerts raised substantial amount of donations to City of Malden and Lexington Food Pantry. All these community outreach performance serves two purposes: it provides an opportunity for members to share their music with others, and a chance to give back to the community. Before we start tonight’s concert. I would like to recognize two outstanding High School Graduates this year, who devoted significant amount of time and passion in helping our orchestra.

The First high school graduate this year, is a young, talented concert pianist, George Li. Many of our parents and audience may recall, in the inaugural concert of 2011, at the Lexington Heritage Museum, George performed two Chinese repertories, Lilies Blossomed over the mountain and Happy Spring. We were so stunned to find such a beautiful match could be discovered between the western instrument ,piano and the music tune of Chinese folk songs born in a remote area in China. [gallery] Again, 2012, Music For Food program, George Li and his chamber group joined our orchestra. Together, we raised over $2500 for Lexington Food Pantry.

Another Outstanding High school graduate of this year, Claire Huang, she has been coordinating , transporting and playing the timpani for our orchestra since first concert. We depend on her to schedule a pick up and return the timpani to Lexington High School. Claire, here on stage with us, she stands at the very last end of the orchestra, but, her instrument makes the loudest sound, without her support, our orchestra will not be a complete symphonic orchestra.

These two young high school students, have demonstrated extraordinary musicality and maturity, but even more than the art itself, is their enthusiastic spirit of giving back to our society through music performance. I am very confident that these two outstanding students will continue to inspire many of their peers and make a difference to our community in their future career. On behalf of our board of directors, and Asian Cultura Center, Boston, Massachusetts, I present a certificate of achievement and a gift to George Li and Claire Huang, Please join me to congratulate George Li and Claire Huang.