KUSC’s Gail Eichenthal in China Covering String Competition

CONTACT: Allison Engel 213/740-1927 allison.engel@usc.edu

Classical KUSC’s Gail Eichenthal is in Harbin, China, and will be covering the newly launched Alice & Eleonore Schoenfeld International String Competition for the station.

Eichenthal, the executive producer of KUSC and its sister station in San Francisco, Classical KDFC, will be reporting about the competition on the KUSC blog and will produce a radio feature for the Aug. 30 edition of KUSC’s Arts Alive program.

The competition, held Aug. 18-25 in Harbin, has been designed to enhance global musical culture by recognizing and promoting highly gifted young musicians. Held for the first time in 2013 in Hong Kong, the annual competition was established to continue the legacy of the Schoenfeld sisters’ unparalleled string performances, attract top talent from around the world and honor the musical careers of the Alice and Eleonore Schoenfeld.

As the Schoenfeld Duo, Alice and Eleonore Schoenfeld, playing violin and cello, respectively, were internationally renowned performers and for decades toured the world’s great music halls. Their performing careers continued during their long teaching careers at the USC Thornton School of Music. Eleonore died in 2007, and Alice continues to be a professor of violin instruction and performance at USC Thornton.

Suli Xue, a professor of violin at USC Thornton and member of the Los Angeles Philharmonic, is the artistic director and president of the Schoenfeld International String Society, organizer of the competition. “This is the first international string competition held in Mainland China that has been approved by the country’s National Culture Ministry,” he said. “We are very honored that the competition will be hosted by the Harbin Municipal Government.”

Harbin, China, located in the northeast part of the country, is the capital and largest city of Heilongjiang province. It is China’s eighth most populous city.

In 2010, Harbin was named a “Music City” by the United Nations, the first city in Asia to garner this award. Although Harbin is a relatively young city, it was the first in China to come into contact with European classical music. Harbin was home to the first symphony orchestra and the first school of music education established in China in the early 20th century.

A thoroughly international event, the competition features a jury comprising renowned musicians from the United States, China, the United Kingdom, France, Russia, Norway and Canada.

Distinguished guests in attendence include Hellmut Stern, former concertmaster of the Berlin Philharmonic and current artistic adviser to the Schoenfeld competition; Brenda Brenner, a pioneering American music educator and leader in the American Sring Teachers Association; and Robert Cutietta, dean of the USC Thornton School of Music.

“Due to the overwhelming number of young string players in China, we do expect major participation in the competition — especially since it is hosted by the government,” Xue said. Cash prizes for the top violin and cello players are $30,000, and the total prize amount for competition winners exceeds $200,000 in cash awards and instruments.

More information about the competition is at schoenfeldcompetition.com

About Gail Eichenthal 

As executive producer for Classical KUSC in Los Angeles and Classical KDFC in San Francisco, Eichenthal oversees arts coverage, concert broadcasts and live productions for both stations.

Eichenthal began her association with KUSC as Abram Chasins Intern in 1976, joining the staff the following year as an editor, on-air host and documentary producer. She began her association with the LA Philharmonic in 1978, becoming the first woman to host the radio broadcasts of a major American orchestra.

From 1994-2005, Eichenthal was a staff news reporter and news anchor at KNX-AM, the CBS News station in Los Angeles. At KNX, she picked up 13 Golden Mikes, the Bill Stout Enterprise Award, Associated Press awards, and other regional and national honors.

Eichenthal also has published articles in the Los Angeles Times Calendar section and magazine, and Symphony magazine. Follow her on Twitter at @KUSCGail.

About KUSC 

Classical KUSC, located in downtown Los Angeles, broadcasts hand-picked commercial-free classical performances, expert music commentary and coverage of the arts in Southern California. The listener-supported station has been broadcasting for more than 60 years as a broadcast service of the University of Southern California at 91.5(FM) in Los Angeles and Santa Clarita; 88.5 KPSC in Palm Springs; 91.1 KDSC in Thousand Oaks, 88.7 KQSC in Santa Barbara and 99.7 KESC in Morro Bay/San Luis Obispo. It is live-streamed on the Web at kusc.org.