Harvard Club of Southern California

Recital/Film Screening: LA Phil Cellist Ben Hong and Emmy Winner Ty Kim MBA ’00

Listen to the staggering beauty of Associate Principal Cellist of the LA Phil, Ben Hong, and inspiring short films by Los Angeles Emmy Award winner Ty Kim MBA ’00.  Honoring Cellist Lev Aronson who survived the Holocaust and transformed so many lives through music.  Seating limited. No charge, RSVP required.

January 5, 2020, 5:30 - 7:30 PM
The Colburn School, Thayer Hall, 200 S. Grand Ave., Los Angeles, CA 90012

Join us for an inspiring evening of music and film.  The Aronson Cello Festival (ACF) presents Cellist Ben Hong of The Los Angeles Philharmonic and short films by Los Angeles Emmy Award Winning Storyteller Ty Kim (HBS Class of 2000).  Lev Aronson embodies the true story of how a gifted teacher changed the lives of his students by connecting with their humanity.  It is about the enduring power of music.  And how one person who turned darkness into light can make a difference. The music, the films and the conversation will touch your heart.

Cost: No charge (RSVP required).  First come, first serve.  Seating limited.
Register: Please RSVP below.

Contact: Ty Kim, tkim@mba2000.hbs.edu

The Aronson Cello Festival (ACF) honors the memory of a cellist and teacher named Lev Aronson, a student of the legendary Gregor Piatigorsky.  Maestro Aronson survived the Holocaust and emigrated to Dallas where he became principal cellist of the Dallas Symphony Orchestra.  Lev Aronson launched the careers of a generation of gifted artists.  Seven years ago, this non-profit was created by one of Maestro Aronson's last students, Brian Thornton of The Cleveland Orchestra.  Today the festival thrives.  The next Aronson Cello Festival (ACF) in June of 2020 will be hosted at The Cleveland Institute of Music (CIM).

About Ben Hong:  

Ben Hong joined the Los Angeles Philharmonic in 1993 at the age of 24.  Appointed by Music Director Gustavo Dudamel in 2015, Ben serves as the Philharmonic's Associate Principal Cello.  Ben has traveled the world performing and has collaborated with major artists including Lang Lang, Esa-Pekka Salonen, Sir Simon Rattle and many others.  In 2009, Ben trained Oscar-winner Jamie Foxx to play the cello for the DreamWorks Feature Film "The Soloist" also starring Robert Downey Jr.  Born in Taiwan, Ben won his native country's National Cello Competition three consecutive years before departing for New York at the age of 13 to train at The Juilliard School.  Ben later studied with the acclaimed recording artist and soloist Lynn Harrell (a student of Lev Aronson) at USC's Thornton School of Music--making Ben a third generation artist influenced by Lev Aronson's legacy.  In 2012, Ben joined the faculty of USC's Thornton School as an Adjunct Professor.  In 2019, Ben joined the faculty at The Colburn School.  Ben serves as a board member of The Aronson Cello Festival (ACF) which honors Lev Aronson who survived the Holocaust and later emigrated to the United States and became principal cellist of the Dallas Symphony Orchestra (DSO) for many years.

About Ty Kim (HBS, Class of 2000):

For his work in television, Ty earned six Los Angeles Emmys, the National Edward R. Murrow Award, nine Golden Mikes, the Associated Press Award for California and other honors.  Ty honed his storytelling craft working closely with Mike Wallace and Ed Bradley at CBS News/60 Minutes.  Now, a Los Angeles-based documentary filmmaker, Ty's latest work is a series of short films about the renowned cellist Lev Aronson who survived the Holocaust--and went on to mentor a generation of renowned artists including Ralph Kirshbaum, Lynn Harrell, John Sharp, Christopher Adkins, Mitchell Maxwell, Brian Thornton and so many others.  Among his recent work, Ty directed a documentary feature "A Cellist's Life" about the 60-year journey through music of Lynn Harrell which includes the supporting cast of Yo-Yo Ma, Itzhak Perlman, John Williams, André Previn, Anne-Sophie Mutter and others.  A cellist himself, Ty serves as Board Chair of The Aronson Cello Festival (ACF) and an advisory member of The Boston University Tanglewood Institute.  He graduated with second year honors from Harvard Business School (Class of 2000) and earned his undergraduate degree at Stanford where he was invited as commencement speaker at The Communications Department's 2003 diploma ceremony and a featured panelist at his 30th class reunion.  Ty's son, Ryan, is a freshman at Harvard College (Class of 2023) and plays the double bass.  Ty's daughter, Sabrina, a 10th grader at The Archer School for Girls, plays the cello and studies with Ben Hong.