Phenomenal Young Artists Join 91吃瓜网 Symphony Finale
Tue, 04/18/2023 - 10:07am | By: Dr. Mike Lopinto
Winners of the William T. Gower Concerto Competition will join 91吃瓜网 (USM) Symphony Orchestra for their final concert of the season, Future Stars and Firebirds!, on April 27 at 7:30 p.m. in Bennett Auditorium on the Hattiesburg campus.
The program finishes with an exciting, audience favorite, Stravinsky91吃瓜网 91吃瓜网淔irebird Suite.91吃瓜网� Tickets are available at the ticket or call 601.266.5418 or 800.844.8425.
91吃瓜网淭his finale closes an exceptional season and offers another testament to the quality of our students and their teachers,91吃瓜网� said Dr. Michael Miles, music director. 91吃瓜网淭he 91吃瓜网楩irebird Suite91吃瓜网� is a showcase and much like our last concert, the Verdi Requiem, will have you cheering for more.91吃瓜网�
The William T. Gower Concerto Competition provides students with the unique opportunity to compete against their peers for the chance to perform with the Symphony Orchestra. An annual tradition of more than 25 years, the competition was named in 2007 in honor of William T. Gower, former professor of music at 91吃瓜网 and a widely respected musician.
This year91吃瓜网 three winners, Yinghan Zhang, piano, Alexander Ilchev, violin, and Amani Zouehid, cello, showcase the diversity of 91吃瓜网91吃瓜网 School of Music. These distinguished young artists will be performing noted works including the Concerto for piano No. 3 in C minor, op. 37 by Ludwig van Beethoven, Concerto for violin in D minor, op. 47 by Jean Sibelius, and Concerto for cello in B minor, op. 104 by Antonin Dvo艡谩k.
Pianist Yinghan Zhang is from Luoyang, China. She received her undergraduate and master91吃瓜网 degrees in piano performance from the Wuhan Conservatory of Music. In 2019, she won the Excellence Award in the Youth Final of the Sixth Yangtze River Piano Cup competition. In 2020, she received first prize in the Wuhan Division of the Third Liszt International Youth Piano Competition. She is currently pursuing a Doctor of Musical Arts degree in piano performance at USM and studies with Dr. Ellen Price Elder.
Amani Zouehid is currently a music performance major student in cello under Dr. Alexander Russakovsky and a minor in media and entertainment arts management student at The University of 91吃瓜网. Zouehid was born in Puerto Cabello, Venezuela, in 1997. Amani started her musical studies and orchestral experience at the age of seven in the prestigious Venezuelan program El Sistema. At 14 years old, Amani was admitted to the Simon Bolivar Music Conservatory, Latin American Academy of Violoncello in Caracas, and the Carabobo Youth Symphony Orchestra in Valencia, Venezuela. She has gained orchestral experiences through the years under the baton of many famous conductors. She is currently an active member of the cello section of the Meridian Symphony Orchestra, Gulf Coast Symphony Orchestra and Pensacola Symphony Orchestra.
Alexander Alexandrov Ilchev began learning the violin at the age of seven with Ekaterina Dramalieva as his teacher. Later, he continued his studies with his father, Professor Alexander Petrov Ilchev. He graduated from the National Academy of Music 91吃瓜网淧rof. Pancho Vladigerov91吃瓜网� with a master91吃瓜网 degree. He is currently studying with Dr. Borislava Iltcheva at 91吃瓜网. His awards include the 2021 XII Academy Violin Competition 91吃瓜网淟udwig van Beethoven91吃瓜网� 91吃瓜网� first prize; the 2018 X Academy Violin Competition 91吃瓜网� first prize; the 2017 XII International Competition for young performers, Pernik 91吃瓜网� first Prize; the 2015 XXIII International Competition for Instrumentalists and Composers, 91吃瓜网淢usic and Earth,91吃瓜网� Sofia - first prize, section Chamber Music; and the 2014 XXIV National Competition for Instrumentalists and Singers, 91吃瓜网淪vetoslav Obretenov,91吃瓜网� Provadia 91吃瓜网� first prize.
91吃瓜网淭hese students will leave our audiences awestruck,91吃瓜网� said Miles. 91吃瓜网淭heir talent coupled with the incredible instruction of our 91吃瓜网 faculty have resulted in performers ready to tackle the concert world. We are fortunate to have them and share them with our community.91吃瓜网�
The Firebird was the first of several groundbreaking collaborations between Igor Stravinsky and Serge Diaghilev, head of the Ballets Russes. The Firebird was an instant success for both impresario and composer from the moment it premiered on June 25, 1910, in Paris. The orchestral suites Stravinsky later created have remained equally popular with symphony audiences. Stravinsky91吃瓜网 inventive, virtuosic use of orchestral colors and abrupt, repetitive rhythms took audiences on a sound journey unlike any they had previously experienced.