KENYON HALL PRESENTS
Damouni, Lessley, & Hsu
Saturday, June 6th 2026
Doors: 7:00pm / Showtime 7:30pm
All Ages
Seated
$15 General / Half-priced Senior/Student
Program:
Banalités - Francis Poulenc
1. Chanson d’Orkenise
2. Hôtel
3. Fagnes de Wallonie
4. Voyage à Paris
5. Sanglots
No Word from Tom from The Rake's Progress - Igor Stravinsky
Ballade No. 4 in F Minor, Op. 52 - Fredric Chopin
Der Hirt auf dem Felsen, D. 965 - Franz Schubert
- Intermission -
Première rhapsodie - Claude Debussy
Clarinet Sonata No. 2 in E-flat Major - Johannes Brahms
Emerald Lessley began studying music and performing at a young age in northern California. Dr. Lessley has enjoyed roles such as Fiordiligi in Mozart’s Così fan tutte, Eurydice in Glück’s Orphée et Eurydice, Donna Anna in Mozart's Don Giovanni, Suor Angelica in Puccini’s Suor Angelica, Calisto in Cavalli’s La Calisto, Semele in Handel’s Semele, Dido in Purcell’s Dido and Aeneas, Second Lady in Mozart’s Die Zauberflöte, Gasparina in Haydn’s La Canterina, Geraldine in Barber’s A Hand of Bridge, La Ciesca in Puccini’s Gianni Schicchi, Pauline in Barab’s A Toy Shop, Estrella in Offenbach’s La Perichole, and Belisa in the U.S. premiere of Maderna’s opera Don Perlimplìn. In addition to traditional operatic repertoire, Emerald is an active performer of new music. She loves premiering new works and has enjoyed recent collaborations with composers on concerts in both the U.S. and Europe.
Hsing-Hui Hsu is a clarinetist and conductor based in the Seattle area. Last season, she served as acting principal clarinet with the Yakima Symphony Orchestra, where she is tenured as bass clarinet, and has also played with the Seattle Symphony, North Corner Chamber Orchestra, Pacific Northwest Opera, Sustain Music Project, Tacoma Opera, and Seattle Metropolitan Chamber Orchestra. She is dedicated to performing music of our time, and has commissioned new chamber works for clarinet and viola from Angelique Poteat, Erika Oba, and Ryan Hare. Hsing-Hui received her Bachelors of Music in clarinet performance from Rice University, and her principal teachers include Sidney Forrest, David Peck, Michael Webster, Thomas LeGrand, and Laurie de Luca.
In addition to freelancing as a clarinetist, Hsing-Hui is also pursuing conducting. She is the co-founder and music director of the Emerald City Chamber Orchestra, and has been a guest assistant conductor with the Seattle Symphony and guest conductor with the Seattle Collaborative Orchestra, Saratoga Orchestra, Seattle Festival Orchestra, and Puget Sound Symphony Orchestra. Hsing-Hui is currently in her second season as assistant conductor of Harmonia Orchestra and Chorus.
Dr. Steven Damouni is an active performer of both contemporary and traditional repertoire. He holds a Bachelors of Music in Piano Performance, a Masters of Art in Music from Washington State University and a Doctorate of Musical Arts from the University of Washington. Steven is a co-founder of Morsel Trio and The Forbidden Valley Ensemble and has performed with both ensembles across the country. As a soloist he has won numerous regional and state competitions but is equally at ease as a chamber musician. Steven is a local West Seattle resident and enjoys hiking, paddleboarding, soccer, yoga and cooking in his spare time.