Utah State University Students Featured In Concerto Evening

Six Utah State University students have been selected to perform with the Utah State University Symphony Orchestra in the department of music’s “Concerto Evening.” This annual event features the top performers who study in the department.

 

The Concerto Evening is Friday, April 1, and begins at 7:30 p.m. in Kent Concert Hall of the Chase Fine Arts Center. Admission is $5 at the door and Utah State students with ID are admitted free.

 

This year’s soloists include Erin Bagley (violin), Linnea Barnett (violin), Ann Marshall (soprano), Aram Arakelyan (piano), Mary Anne Huntsman (piano) and Benjamin Salisbury (piano).

 

A concerto competition was held last December, and a jury of music department faculty members, with representation from the various performance areas, selected the soloists.

 

“The quality of the students was very high and the decision was not an easy one,” said Sergio Bernal, music department faculty member and director and conductor of the Utah State Symphony Orchestra.

 

Mary Anne Huntsman is the sole freshman slated to perform. The other winners are upperclassmen, Bernal said. Three of the performers, Bagley, Arakelyan and Salisbury, have previously performed as concerto winners. Previous competition winners must wait a minimum of one year before auditioning again.

 

Bernal said the evening includes three exciting 20th century works — Shostakovich’s First Violin Concerto, performed by Barnett; Prokofiev’s First Piano Concerto, performed by Huntsman; and Barber’s Knoxville: Summer of 1915, sung by Marshall.

 

Three favorite Romantic compositions will be also featured, Bernal continued. Included are Bruch’s Scottish Fantasy, performed by Bagley, Saint-Saens Fifth Piano Concerto, performed by Salisbury; and Chopin’s Second Piano Concerto, performed by Arakelyan.

 

The Berlioz Roman Carnival Overture introduces the program and highlights the virtuosic playing of the Utah State Symphony Orchestra, Bernal concluded.

 

The music department has several exciting events approaching, including a tango evening presented by Música Viva, and Mozart’s Requiem that features the orchestra, soloists and choral ensembles.