Sunday, February 1, 2015

Young Artists Shine on Feb. 19

Poster design by Rollan Fell
Article by Kirsten Beauchamp Butt  

The Orchestra of Southern Utah is excited to present the Roy L. Halversen Young Artists Concert “Harmonious Ambassadors” on Thursday, February 19th,, 7:30 p.m., at the Heritage Center in Cedar, 105 N. 100 East.  Featuring Tanisa Crosby, Madison Davis, Jacob Lee, Madison Marshall, and Janna Ostler, the concert will be an impressive showcase of performance and a world premiere of a new composition. 

June Thorley and the George S. and Dolores Doré Eccles Foundation are the major sponsors for this celebration of young talent. 

Crosby, a Southern Utah University student, is currently pursuing a double major in English and Music.  She has played the flute for 12 years, and she enjoys sharing her passion for the instrument by tutoring others.  A current student of Dr. Virginia Stitt, Crosby continues to improve by taking private lessons and has participated in various ensembles, pit orchestras, and the SUU Band.  She will be performing the first movement of Mozart’s Flute Concerto No. 1 in G. 

Davis, a sophomore Music major, is a member of Concert Choir and Opus.  In addition to choir, Davis also enjoys taking the stage in opera.  In the past, she has sung the parts of the Sorceress in Dido and Aeneas, Stepsister in Cinderella, and a St Bernard in The Stoned Guest.  She competed at the National Association of Teachers of Singing (NATS) Las Vegas Chapter and earned a third place finish, as well as an honorable mention at NATS Cal-Western Regionals.  She continues her education through lessons with Carol Ann Modesitt.  She aspires to attend graduate school and later open a studio of her own, where she can teach. She will be singing Che Faro Senza Euridice by Gluck. 

Lee, a senior Music major at Southern Utah University, has participated in a variety of groups and venues.  He has performed with collegiate ensembles, the Orchestra of Southern Utah, the Playmakers Association, and the Utah Shakespeare Festival.  Additionally, he has been featured at the Bumbleberry Theatre in Springdale, Utah and the Broadway Performance Hall in Seattle, Washington.  Also, while serving a two-year LDS mission, he performed on the piano throughout Croatia and Slovenia.  He is currently a member of the award-winning band, Apollo’s Army, and is studying piano under Dr. Christian Bohnenstengel and composition under Keith Bradshaw. The orchestra will be performing his original composition, Casey Jones Overture, as a world premiere.

Marshall, age 15, began studying music at the age of five.  A few years later, she became captivated by the viola and focused her efforts accordingly.  She has been a member of the Vivaldi Quartet, a multi-year Best of State award winner, since the age of eight. Twice, she has served as the principal violist for the Suzuki Youth Orchestra of the Americas in Minneapolis. She was a Utah Symphony Salute to Youth finalist in 2011, 2012, 2013, and 2014, and was awarded an Honorable Mention in three of those four years.  Currently, she performs with the Gifted Music School in Salt Lake City and is pursuing a college degree.  She will be performing Theme and Variations by Alan Shulman (which is particularly fitting, as 2015 is the 100th anniversary of the composer’s birth). 

Ostler, age 15, is a freshman at Tuacahn High School.  She has enjoyed performance from the young age of three, when she participated as an angel in Tuacahn’s Live Nativity. Later, at age seven, she was introduced to music and began taking lessons.  Now, a talented violinist, Ostler also enjoys playing viola and piano.  She is currently a member of student council, the National Honor Society, and the Titan Chamber Orchestra.  She has studied with Victoria Andrus, Jason Bonham, Tara Krysa, and currently Linda Ghidossi-DeLuca. She will be performing the first movement of the Concerto in G by Haydn.

The orchestra will also play two pieces by Aram Khachaturian: the famous waltz from his Masquerade Suite and the Sabre Dance, a thrilling movement from his ballet Gayane.  The concert will begin at 7:30 pm at the Heritage Theater.  Tickets are available at the Cedar City Heritage Theater Box Office by calling 435-865-2882 or online at http://www.heritagectr.org/.   Admission is $10 for adults, $5 for students, and $30 for groups up to 6.  Because evening concerts are recorded, it is requested that babies and children under the age of six not attend.  Children over the age of six are welcome at all OSU concerts with adult supervision.

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