ISSUED: 14 April 2017
MEDIA CONTACT: Valerie Owens
SHEPHERDSTOWN, WV — The Shepherd University Department of Music Preparatory Division will present the Shepherd Preparatory Orchestra, Junior Strings Ensemble, and Preparatory Chorus in concert at the Frank Center Theater on Wednesday, April 26, at 7:30 p.m. General admission is $5 and free for Shepherd students with a valid Rambler ID.
The Shepherd Preparatory Chorus, under the direction of Dr. David Gonzol, professor of music, will perform “Columbia, the Gem of the Ocean;” some bicinia by Zoltán Kodály; “The Cuckoo Is a Clever Bird” for singers and Orff instrumentarium by Carl Orff and Guild Keetman; the Russian folk song “In the fields a little birch tree stood”; “So Green Grows the Laurel,” which Laura Ingalls Wilder’s father usually sang as a farewell in her “Little House on the Prairie” books; and Emily Crocker’s scramble of American folk tunes “Charlotte-Town.”
The Junior Strings Ensemble, under the direction of Shepherd alumna Renee Shaw, includes both students and adult musicians from the community. It will perform “Long, Long Ago” by T.H. Bayly; “Minuet” and “Brandenburg Concerto No. 3” by J.S. Bach, arranged by Merle J. Issac; and an arrangement for strings of Holst’s “The Bringer of Joy.”
The Shepherd Preparatory Orchestra, under the direction of Dr. Scott Hippensteel, associate professor of music, will perform the “Jubilee” from Symphonic Sketches by George W. Chadwick; “March Militaire” by Franz Schubert; “Symphony No. 1” by William Boyce; and “Concerto for Piano, Hob. XVIII/11 in D Major” by Franz Joseph Haydn.
The piano soloist will be Trung Nguyen, Leesburg, Virginia, the 2017 WVMTA Siegel-Hoffmann Concerto Competition winner and student of Dr. Scott Beard, associate provost and professor of music. The finale of the evening will be George Gershwin’s “An American in Paris.” Nguyen has been playing the piano for seven years and recently was a prizewinner in the Young Musicians Inspiring Change competition, a nonprofit organization that guides and supports young musicians, encouraging them to use their talents to benefit the community and various charitable organizations all over the world. Last year, he represented West Virginia in the Music Teachers National Association Eastern Division competition in Boston, Massachusetts. A versatile musician, Trung also plays violin with the Loudoun Symphony Youth Orchestra in Virginia.
The Shepherd Preparatory Chorus includes male and female vocalists in grades 3 through 8 and meets Wednesday evenings throughout the school year at the Frank Center. Membership is by audition with Gonzol and assistant conductor Angela Weaver. The next audition date will be September 6.
The Shepherd Preparatory Orchestra and Junior Strings Ensemble include middle and high school string and wind students from Jefferson and Berkeley counties and Washington County, Maryland. The ensembles meet Wednesday evenings for rehearsals and sectionals and present two concerts during the school year. Enrollment is by audition at the beginning of the fall and spring semesters. Shepherd University music faculty string coaches are Heather Austin-Stone, violin; Justin Newberger, violin; Kathy Shrader, viola; and Camilo Pérez-Mejía, cello. String, wind, and percussion students from Shepherd also participate in the orchestra. Preparatory Orchestra auditions for the fall semester will be August 30 at 6 p.m.
For more information, contact Sherry Sykes, Preparatory Program coordinator, at ssykes@shepherd.edu or 304-876-5248.
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