"A breathtaking account of Tchaikovsky's monumental Fifth Symphony, this Double Disc live CD recording and companion DVD demonstrate why the Idyllwild Arts Academy Orchestra is widely regarded as one of the best youth orchestra in existence. These young virtuosi, under their Music Director and Composer-in-Residence Peter Askim, bring a youthful passion and fresh perspective to this masterpiece, while infusing it with an interpretive depth often lacking in professional performances and recordings. Just when you think you've heard Tchaikovsky's Fifth, along comes this eye-opening account. A Tchaikovsky for the ages!" About the Idyllwild Arts Academy Orchestra: The Idyllwild Arts Academy Orchestra (IAAO) is widely regarded as one of the best youth ensembles in existence. IAAO students frequently win major competitions and are sought by the most prestigious colleges, universities and conservatoires in the nation. They regularly appear on such national broadcast venues as Public Radio International’s “From the Top” and the Music Center Spotlight Awards. Renowned musicians who have recently performed with the IAAO include violinists Hilary Hahn and Eugene Drucker (Emerson String Quartet), violist Paul Neubauer, flutist Emily Beynon of the Royal Concertgebouw Orchestra of Amsterdam, cellist Matt Haimovitz, pianist Melvin Chen, soprano Tony Arnold, jazz pianist/composer Vijay Iyer and the Miró and Kronos String Quartets. Notable conductors who have worked with the IAAO include former Music Director Ransom Wilson, Leonard Slatkin, former Music Director of the National Symphony Orchestra and Jorge Mester, conductor of the Pasadena Symphony. The IAAO has also been at the forefront of Contemporary Music, having commissioned and given the World Premieres of works by Richard Danielpour, Ezra Laderman, Christopher Theofanidis, Lawrence Dillon and Bruce Adolphe. About Peter Askim: Active as a composer, conductor and bassist, Peter Askim is the Music Director and Composer-in-Residence of the Idyllwild Arts Academy. He has been a member of the Honolulu Symphony Orchestra and served on the faculty of the University of Hawaii-Manoa, where he directed the Contemporary Music Ensemble and taught theory and composition. As a composer, he has been called a “Modern Master” by The Strad and has had commissions and performances from such groups as the Tokyo Symphony Orchestra, the Honolulu Symphony, the International Society of Bassists, the Yale Symphony Orchestra, the Idyllwild Arts Orchestra, the Portland Chamber Music Festival, and Serenata Santa Fe, as well as by performers such as flutist/conductor Ransom Wilson, Metropolitan Opera soprano Lauren Flanigan, Grammy-nominated soprano Judith Kellock and violinist Timothy Fain. His compositions are published by Liben Music Publishers and the International Society of Bassists, and his music is recorded on the Gasparo and Albany labels. His compositions have been performed at the Aspen, Bowdoin, Music At the Anthology, June in Buffalo and Bang On A Can festivals, among others, and have frequently been broadcast on WNYC and Hawaii Public Radio. Mr. Askim won the 2002 International Society of Bassists Composition Competition for Eight Solitudes and is a frequent recitalist for the International Society of Bassists, the Hawaii Contrabass Festival and the World Bass Festival in Wroclaw, Poland. He performed and recorded his bass concerto Islands at the International Society of Bassists convention under the direction of Ransom Wilson. As a conductor, Mr. Askim has served as Music Director of the Branford Chamber Orchestra and makes frequent guest conducting appearances, including the Sewanee Philharmonia, the Oregon Festival of American Music, the Wroclaw (Poland) Chamber Orchestra Sotto Voce and the Honolulu Symphony Orchestra. He has premiered numerous works, including compositions by composers Richard Danielpour, Christopher Theofanidis, Lawrence Dillon and Bruce Adolphe and has collaborated with such artists as the Miró String Quartet, Matt Haimovitz, Vijay Iyer, Melvin Chen, Eugene Drucker, Ian Swensen, Todor Pelev, Tony Arnold, Judith Kellock and John Walz. He conducted the World Premiere of eminent guitarist/singer/songwriter Richard Thompson’s rock oratorio “Cabaret of Souls”, and will conduct the European Premiere at Royal Festival Hall, London, in June 2010. He has also received critical praise as a jazz artist in such publications as Jazztimes, the New York Post and New York Newsday. He studied at the Hochschule für Musik und darstellende Kunst in Vienna and holds bachelors, masters and doctoral degrees from Yale University, where he graduated with Distinction in Music. He also holds a Doctor of Musical Arts degree in Composition from the University of Texas at Austin. He studied composition with Dan Welcher, Donald Grantham, Anthony Davis, Jan Radzynski, Syd Hodkinson and David Finko, and double bass with George Rubino, Diana Gannett, Donald Palma, Wolfgang Harrer and Ludwig Streicher.