Friends of The Orchestra at Westminster Village

Westminster Village      5801 West Bethel Avenue     Muncie, IN 47304

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The premier season of the Friends of MSO Westminster Concert Series was a big success!
Many enjoyed the weekday respite with a wonderful variety of performers and programs.

You don't want to miss the second season! 

Season ScheduleFriends of MSO at Westminster Village

Monday, November 26, 2012Mavis Hiesh, soprano
Tom Schwartz, tenor
Armida Avanesova, pianist

Wednesday, January 9, 2013Serenade String Quartet
David Blakley, violin
Adele Maxfield, violin
Beverly Scott, viola
Anna Thompson-Danilova, cello

February 2013     Date and Time to be announcedOutreach Brass Quintet

 Wednesday, March 20, 2013Piano students of Liz Seidel, Piano Forte

The opening concert is Monday, November 26, 2012.
A BLAST FROM THE PAST
~Movie, Musical and Classical Tunes Kaleidoscope~

It is a perfect opportunity to recover from the Thanksgiving festivities and early Holiday shopping.

Come as you are. No ticket or reservation required.

                         

Concert Program 

Burton Lane                                Old Devil Moon from Musical “Finian’s Rainbow”
                                                               Tom Schwartz, tenor 

James Horner                             Somewhere Out There from Movie “An American Tail”
                                                             Mavis Hsieh, soprano   

                                                             Tom Schwartz, baritone 

Hugo  Peretti/Luigi Creatore    Can’t Help Falling Love from Movie “Blue Hawaii”
George D. Weiss                                 Mavis Hsieh, soprano   

                                                                Tom Schwartz, tenor 

Anonymous                                 Shenandoah
                                                              Tom Schwartz, baritone 

Aaron Copland/Lowry             Shall We Gather at the River?
                                                               Tom Schwartz, tenor 

Milan Dvorak                               Etude No. 6
                                                               Armida Avanesova, piano

Fibich                                            Poem
                                                              Armida Avanesova, piano

Sasko                                            Blues
                                                             Armida Avanesova, piano

Warren                                         Chattanooga Choo Choo
                                                            Armida Avanesova, piano

Roger Quilter                               Now Sleeps the Crimson Petal
                                                              Mavis Hsieh, sporano 

F. P. Tosti                                     A Vucchella
F. P. Tosti                                     Malia
                                                             Mavis Hsieh, soprano 

Carl Nielson                                I Bear With A Smile My Burden (Danish Folk Song)

Alan J. Prater                            God of the Sparrow
                                                           Mavis Hsieh, soprano


                                                          Tom Schwartz, tenor 

Mavis Hsieh, soprano

      

        Mavis Hsieh, soprano    Winner of several vocal competitions, Miss Hsieh also has many performing experiences in Taiwan, U.S.A. and Italy. She was heard as Rosalinde in Strauss’s Die Fledermaus. Other roles include Susanna in Mozart’s Le Nozze di Figaro and the first witch in Dido and Aneas. Her vocal education includes bachelor degree from National Taiwan Normal University and master degree from Ball State University.

       

    

   

       

Tom Schwartz, tenor

 Tom Schwartz, tenor     Tom holds a Bachelor Degree from Indiana University and a Master of Arts from University of Pittsburgh. His professional career spanned 40 years teaching German in the Unites States and in Germany.  Tom's musical experience includes opera, musicals and choral work.  Currently he sings with the First Presbyterian Church choir.  Tom delights in spending time with his two married children, a son and daughter who are each married to Australians!  His other pursuits are gardening, photography, reading and of course, singing. Tom recently joined the Muncie Symphony Orchestra Board of Directors and has been actively involved with MSO events and programs.

Armida
Avanesova
piano

     

        Armida Avanesova, pianist      Armida holds bachelor of Engineering degree from petrochemichal college and bachelor’s in Music Education from Music College in Baku, Azerbaijan. She started her career as an engineer and worked for a construction design company for 7 years but switched fields to follow her passion -music, which has become her career. Armida has been teaching music (piano) for 34 years in a public music school in Moscow region, Russia. Her favorite music style is classic jazz. She enjoys traveling and loves spending time with her two grandchildren.

The Westminster Concert Series

The response to the first Westminster Concert was very positive. 

The venue was packed, and the music wonderful. 

You don't want to miss the next Westminster concert on Tuesday next week.

Come as you are. No ticket or reservation required.

The Muncie Symphony Orchestra proudly presents

The Westminster Concert Series

Athena Gretchen Seojeong Nagel, piano

February 28 at 2pm. 

at   

Westminster Village

5801 W. Bethel Avenue. 

Listen to Athena play: 

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=YfUCBUKPx2Q

Questions? Call Cindee at 765-702-8596

MSO presents the Westminster Concert Series

Westminster Village      5801 West Bethel Avenue     Muncie, IN 47304

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January 25 at 2 pm.  

Dr. Liz Seidel 

Liz Seidel will be the first pianist to play in a series of four concerts located at Westminster Village.  The free concert will highlight favorites from Baroque to Contemporary.

Liz Seidel Biography: Liz Seidel enjoys a successful career as pianist, teacher and chamber musician. A native of Reading, PA, Dr. Seidel manages The Seidel Studio, a highly successful private piano studio in Muncie, IN. She has held adjunct faculty positions at the Miami University (Ohio), University of Wisconsin (Superior), University of Minnesota (Duluth) and Ball State University. She has served on the board of the Indiana Music Teachers Association and was a member of the summer piano faculty at Blue Lake Fine Arts Camp (Michigan) for thirteen years.

In 1999 Dr. Seidel was the recipient of a Teacher Enrichment Grant, awarded by the MTNA Foundation. She has served thrice as an adjudicator for Musicfest Northwest, a week-long festival for young artists in Spokane (WA). Dr. Seidel has performed as a guest pianist for the Pacific Rim Summer Chamber Music Festival, Ucluelet (British Columbia) and the St. Petersburg College (Florida) Piano Concert Series. As a collaborative artist she has performed with Carsten Svanberg, Gail Williams and Sherry Kloss – and is currently Collaborative Pianist in Residence for the Jascha Heifetz Symposium at Connecticut College.

Dr. Seidel’s students have won regional/state honors, and have been accepted as performance majors to notable schools and summer workshops within the United States.

Dr. Seidel is founder/artistic director of Pianoforte, Inc., a non-profit organization dedicated to providing young musicians in East Central Indiana with opportunities in chamber music, festivals and guest master classes. For more information, please visit www.pianoforteinc.org.

February 28 at 2 pm. 

Athena Gretchen Seojeong Nagel

Athena Nagel (14) was born in Muncie, Indiana.  She is homeschooled and is now in 9th grade.  Athena loves to play classical piano and also to participate in Muncie Ballet, Inc.  During summer of 2011, she attended the "Young Artist World Piano Festival" in St. Paul for her second year in a row, and she spent three weeks at the piano camp at Interlochen in Michigan.  While at Interlochen, Athena was chosen to play the harpsichord with the intermediate Interlochen Symphony Orchestra, and the ensemble performed a concerto grosso by Handel.  In May of the same year, she won the local "Junior Festival" playoffs, and then in June she won first place in her age category at the state level of the "Junior Festival" competition.  She also won first place in the local "Hoosier Auditions"  competition, and went on to win an honorable mention at the "Hoosier Auditions" state level.  Athena's playing has been heard on WBST radio several times over the last few years, as part of the "Young Artist Showcase" series presented by PianoForte, Inc.  She regularly plays on MTNA pre-college recitals hosted by Ball State, and on spring recitals coordinated by her principal piano teacher, Liz Seidel.  She has also been the piano/harpsichord player with the Youth Symphony Orchestra of East Central Indiana for the last three years.  Athena takes supplemental piano lessons with Jean-Louise Hagenauer at Indiana University.

March 28 at 2 pm.

Dr. Liz Seidel

April 23 at 2 pm.

Mrs. Gloria Griner

Mrs. Gloria Griner, retired professor of piano, music education and piano for conductors at Ball State University, will be performing for the Muncie Symphony Orchestra as part of the Westminster Concert Series.

Mrs. Griner, a local pianist, is known for her long time dedication to the arts within the Ball State Community.  A founding board member of the Muncie Symphony Orchestra, Gloria has dedicated both her time and talents to the symphony.  Mrs. Griner is also an active member at the Ball State University Museum of Art as a sustaining member and past president of the Ball State University Art Alliance.  Both Gloria and her husband Ned have been long time supporters of the museum.   Mrs. Griner has also developed a significant part of the community engagement on behalf of the Museum of Art, as a former member of the Art Museum’s Benefactors Society.  Mrs. Griner will perform works by Debussy, as well as a host of the worlds most beautiful classical pieces.  The concert will be a unique and beautiful experience, as Mrs. Griner shares a portion of her vast background from a spectrum of visual and musical artistry.

Star Press article

Young Artist Competition Winner, Arthur Shou, keeps on winning!

The Muncie Symphony Orchestra plays an important role in offering young musicians competition and performance opportunities.  Arthur Shou is one of many talented pianist who competed in the 2010 Young Artist Competition. He won the Senior Division. Arthur has been recognized in Indiana and beyond as an aspiring, up and coming musician.  You may remember Arthur Shou's wonderful performance at this season's Fisher Shaffer Concert. Arthur won the piano division of the Paducah Symphony Orchestra Young Artist Competition this January.  

Arthur Shou

Saturday, the 16th of April, Arthur is performing Schumann’s  Piano Concerto with the Paducah Symphony Orchestra.  For TICKETS call 800.738.3727:   $40 Level 1, $34 Level 2, $20 Level 3, $15 Students


We are very fortunate to have a part in his early career and blessed to know Arthur and his family. Arthur is the older brother of Oliver Shou who won this MSO's Junior Division Young Artist Competition in January. You will find Oliver's bio in a previous post. Oliver is performing on the program for the MSO Young Peoples Concert April 19th. More on the YPC here.

Arthur Shou is 17 and a junior at Carmel High School in Indiana.  He started piano at the age of six with Dr. Keli Xu.  In 2007, he joined the Indiana University Young Pianists Program as a student of Dr. Karen Taylor of the Indiana University Jacobs School of Music. In addition to his passion for the piano, he also studies cello with Mr. Ron Noles and is the principal cellist in the Carmel High School Symphony Orchestra


His gifts have earned him numerous awards and performances, including the recent performance with the Muncie Symphony Orchestra.  In recent years, he has won the 3^rd place in 2009 Indianapolis Symphony Orchestra Maurer Young Artists Concerto Competition and 1^st place in 2010 Carmel Symphony Orchestra Concerto Competition and 2010 Muncie Symphony Orchestra Concerto Competition.  In the past, he participated and won numerous competitions, including 1^st prizes in the Young Hoosier Pianist Competition (junior division) in 2005 and the 2^nd in 2006 (senior division), 1^st place in Music Teacher National Association State Round (junior division) in 2005, and Indiana Music Teacher Association in 2001 (Early Elementary, District), 2003 (Elementary, District, and State), 2005 (Middle School, District and State), and 2006 (High School Junior, District and State), and was a finalist in Indianapolis Symphony Orchestra Maurer Young Artists Competition in 2004. He has attended the IU Summer Piano Academy four times, where he was selected to perform in master classes for Prof. Karen Shaw, Jonathan Bliss, and Andre Watts. Other highlights include performances at Ball State University, Goshen College, Anderson University, and the Indiana Historical Society.  


Break a leg Arthur!

Talent of the Ages

Season Ticket holders discovered tickets to two additional performances in their packet this year for the first time: Young Peoples Concert (Rescheduled for April 19) and the MSO Young Artist Competition. Those who took advantage of Young Artist Competition had the pleasure of hearing very talented and dedicated young people compete on January 15, 2011.

Young musicians competed in two divisions: junior (middle school students) and senior (high school students).  They came from all over the State of Indiana and performed on piano, cello, violin, flute, marimba, or clarinet. All the students received  a Certificate of Participation.

Junior Division Winner ~ Oliver Shou

Oliver Shou, 14, is in the 8th grade in Carmel Middle School. He was born in Huston, Texas and has three brothers, Arthur (who won the senior division 2010), Edward and Phillip.  Oliver loved listening to classical music as a baby and began studying piano at the age of five with Dr. Keli Xu.  Over the hears, he has worked hard to prepare himself for a future music career.  His passion for music and piano has grown fast in the last two years.  Beginning 2007 he attends Piano Academy, Jacobs School of Music, Indiana University as a student of Dr. Karen Taylor.  He was the winner of the Hoosier Auditions at district and state levels (IMTA Piano Competition, Middle School level) in 2010.  Recently, he won honorable mention in Murray State University/Paducah Symphony Orchestra piano concerto competition.  In the past, Oliver competed in the Early Elementary and Elementary levels in the IMTA Piano Competition, Indiana State Fair Piano Competition, and the Wold Piano competition in Cincinnati, and won various awards.  Throughout the years he has performed various recitals, including at Wabash College, Indiana Historical Society, Indiana State Fair, and Conner Prairie.  In addition to playing piano, Oliver also studies viola with Mrs. Kathy Hershberger and is a principal violist in the Carmel Middle School Symphony Orchestra.  In his free time, Oliver is passionate about Lego blocks.  He enjoys building castles, ships, cars, robots, and helicopters.  He likes to hang out with his brothers and play basketball, football, and swim.  He wishes to become a musician and an engineer.

Oliver Shou will be performing on the program of the Young People's Concert on April 19th, 2011. The concert is in Emens Auditorium at 9:30 a.m.  Please call the MSO office (765-285-5531) to reserve a seat.

Senior Division Winner ~ Louisa Steup

Louisa Steup, 15,  lives in West Lafayette, Indiana.  At the age of three, she began playing piano and currently studies with Luke Norell at Indiana University in Bloomington.  She is won the St. Clout Symphony Concerto Competition (MN) in 2008 and the Young Artist Piano Camp Chamber Music Competition in 2009.  She also was a performer at the YAPC Honors recital in 2009 and 2010.  Also in 2010 Louisa was a finalist in the YAPC Concerto Competition.  She was a finalist at the Schubert Club Competition (MN) in 2008 and 2010.  Louisa was the winner of the Indiana tate MTNA competition in November 2009.  She was runner-up at the Division Competition, held in Wisconsin, in 2010.  Louisa enjoys fencing and drawing in her spare time.   Louisa will perform at a future date. The MSO facebook Events  page will be updated as soon as the performance is scheduled.

The Young Artist Competition is an annual January event. If you are interested in competing, please call the MSO office at 765-285-5531 for more information.