January 24, 2012

MSO presents the Westminster Concert Series

Westminster Village      5801 West Bethel Avenue     Muncie, IN 47304


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

January 23, 2012

Congratulations to Young Artists!


The Young Artist Competition last Saturday was very successful.  Audience members, staff, and judges alike were privileged listen to the music made by seventeen young artists. There were seven competitors in the Junior Division and ten competitors in the Senior Division.


Junior Division

Rob Lorch, French Horn
     Accompanist: Liz Seidel
     Horn Concerto No. 3 in E Flat Major K. 447, Wolfgang Mozart
            1st  movement

Edward Shou, piano
     Accompanist: Sophia Kim Tetel
 Concerto in G minor, Op. 25, F. Mendelssohn
          Molto allegro con fuoco

Rowan Squire-Willey, Piano
     Accompanist: Olga Lukantsov
     Concerto in D Major,  Haydn - Hob XVIII #11
            1st  movement

Zhixi (Jessy) Tang, Flute
     Accompanist:
     Andante in C Major, Mozart

Christina Yang, Piano
     Accompanist: Jami Scott
     Concerto in F minor, S. 1056, J. S. Bach

Phillip  Shou, piano
     Accompanist: Sophia Kim Tetel
     Concerto No. 23, A major, K488, Mozart
           Presto

Lydia Rhea, cello
     Accompanist: Matthew Rhea
 Concerto No. 1 in A minor Op. 33, C. Saint-Saens
          Allegro

The Ladonna Dingledine Junior Divison was won by Rowan Squire-Willey, piano. She performed the 1st movement of Concerto in D Major,  by Haydn - Hob XVIII #11.  The level of musicianship was very high this year.  Three Junior Division competitors’ outstanding performances were acknowledged during the awards ceremony.  


Senior Divison

Adrian Kothman, flute
     Accompanist: Philip Blane
       Poem for Flute and Orchestra, Charles Griffes

Cameron Keenan, bassoon
     Accompanist: Adrea Hughes
     Concerto in F Major Op. 75, Carl Maria von Weber
           1st movement  

Ari Brown, Piano
     Accompanist: Haruka Ostojic
     Piano Concerto No. 1 in C maj. Op. 15, Beethoven
          1st  movement

Clara Abel, Cello
     Accompanist: Kathleen Strutz
     Concerto in D Minor, Edouard Lalo
          Lento Allegro maestoso

Isabella Hu, Piano
     Accompanist:  Haruka Ostojic
      Concerto no. 1 in E minor op. 11, Frederic Chopin
           1st movement

Carolyn Ronning, Cello
     Accompanist: Anna Briscoe
     Concerto in D minor, op. 33, Lalo
          1st  movement

Jiayi (Joey) Wu, piano
     Accompanist: Haruka Ostojic
     Concerto No. III in C minor Op. 37, Beethoven
           1st movement

Oliver Shou, piano
     Accompanist: Sophia Kim Tetel
     Rhapsody in Blue, George Gershwin

Austin Huntington, cello
     Accompanist: Daniel Schlosberg
     Sinfonia Concertante in E minor, op. 125, Sergei Prokofiev
           Andante con moto

Benjamin Abel, violin
     Accompanist: Kathleen Strutz
     Concerto in e minor, op. 64, Mendelssohn
          3rd  movement


Austin Huntington, cello, won The Steve Dingledine Senior Division with his extrordinary performance of the Andante con moto of Sinfonia Concertante in E minor, op. 125 by Sergei Prokofiev.  Austin's bio is below. 



Prism Video recorded all the performances and soon will deliver DVDs of each competitor’s performance for the Muncie Symphony to send to each individual.  The public performance of each winner is not yet scheduled. I will make every effort to post  the dates and times.  I have no doubt you will be pleased to hear both talented young musicians!

AUSTIN HUNTINGTON, student of Richard Hirschl, made his solo orchestral debut at age 10 and has performed as guest soloist with the Indianapolis Symphony, South Bend Symphony, Fort Wayne Philharmonic, and LaPorte Symphony to name a few. Austin recently made his Orchestra Hall debut with the Chicago Youth Symphony Orchestra performing the Sinfonia Concertante by Prokofiev. He will make his solo debut with the Kalamazoo Symphony, the Northwest Symphony (Chicago), and the Muncie Symphony Orchestra this season. He has performed in Italy, France, Germany, throughout the United States, and celebrated his New York debut at Carnegie Hall in 2009. He has been awarded numerous Grand and First Prize awards on the National and International level. Austin has been selected to compete in the 2012 Johansen International String Competition, to be held this March in Washington, D.C.

Austin was awarded the 2011 Stulberg International String Competition Burdick-Thorne Gold Medal, and Bach Award for the best performance of a Bach solo work. He was declared the 2009 National First Place Winner of the Music Teachers National Association Solo String Performance Competition held in Atlanta, Georgia. Austin was selected as one of six cellists representing the United States invited to compete in the 2009 Rostropovich International Cello Competition held in Paris, France. Austin has performed in Masterclass for numerous master clinicians, and has collaborated with such highly esteemed concert artists as Misha Amory, James Dunham, and Itzhak Perlman.

Austin has appeared on NPR's From the Top on their 2011-2012 National Tour taped live at the Music Pier in Ocean City, New Jersey, on stage for a large audience, and was broadcast nationally November 2011. He is the Principal Cellist of the award-winning Chicago Youth Symphony Orchestra and Encore, CYSO's premiere performing ensemble. During the summer Austin studies cello at the prestigious Perlman Music Program on Shelter Island, New York, and during the winter at the Perlman Music Program winter residency in Sarasota, Florida. He plays a cello made by Francesco Ruggeri of Cremona, ca. 1690, and a fine cello bow made by Eugene Sartory, ca. 1930. Austin is seventeen years old and a senior with High Honors at Saint Joseph's High School in South Bend, Indiana. 


The event was made possible by the generous contributions of 

    Prism Video
   701 W. McGalliard Rd. 
 Muncie, IN



December 7, 2011

Muncie Symphony Orchestra Hires New Executive Director


MUNCIE -- Muncie Symphony Orchestra's search for a new executive director is over.
The MSO board approved hiring Muncie resident Alena McKenzie at the Oct. 28 board meeting, board President Bob Darroca said.
Currently working part time at MSO, McKenzie will begin her new position full time on Jan. 1. McKenzie replaces Elissa McDonald, who left MSO in September. Her first order of business will be to make sure plans for the current season happen without a hitch.
Alena McKenzie
After that, however, McKenzie won't change things until she gets the pulse of the community. Through surveys of the Ball State University community, season ticket holders and community members at-large, McKenzie wants to know what people want from MSO. She's not just talking about MSO performances either, but educational programs, venues and outreach programs. McKenzie is still working on the logistics of how to get the surveys done.
"Once I see where the gaps are, I will see where we can fill the gaps in," McKenzie said. "My challenge right now is trying to figure out the best way to reach the most people."
Her forethought is indicative of why McKenzie bumped past the competition. In addition, she had experience working for nonprofits and has strengths in organization and funding, Darroca said.
"She already had a plan in her head as far as how she was going to proceed ahead," Darroca said. "Even before she even knew she had the job she had already researched the Muncie Symphony Orchestra and what we needed. She was extremely organized even from the get-go. She had put in a lot of work prior to our even hiring her."
McKenzie is insight research office coordinator at the Center for Media Design at Ball State and has a master's degree in executive development from Ba ll State. She studied music as a child and her mother was a piano teacher. She is MSO's 11th executive director since it was founded in 1949.
"I felt like music was always a big part of my life," McKenzie said. "I thought that my administrative skills could help organize a little bit better, the functioning of the organization and have a different perspective. I thought I would give it a shot and see what happens."
Contact features writer Oseye T. Boyd at 213-5830
The Star Press

November 28, 2011

The Muncie Symphony Orchestra Holiday Concert, Dec 3 4 pm, Emens


The Muncie Symphony Orchestra will present the annual Fisher-Shafer Holiday Concert in Emens Auditorium on December 3 at 4 pm.
The concert, a long-time Muncie tradition will include music by the Muncie Symphony Orchestra, special vocal performances from students in area schools and a thrilling surprise production that will delight concertgoers.  
The Holiday Concert is a sampling of everything the Muncie Symphony Orchestra has to offer, including classical repertoire and traditional holiday favorites.  
Dmitri Shostakovich’s “Festive Overture” op. 96 will be showcased as a fanfare of instruments spotlighted by distinct melodic representations from brass, wind and strings to a lyrical presentation of horn and cello.  
Other classical pieces will include Haydn’s “Symphony no. 26” and Liszt’s “Hungarian Fantasy,” performed by the 2011 Muncie Symphony Orchestra Young Artist Competition senior division winner Louisa Steup.
A sparkling presentation of the “Finnegan Sing-Along” will be sung by local Muncie Community School children.
Holiday favorites such as “Lightsongs: A Chanukah Melody,” “It’s the Most Wonderful Time of the Year” and “Jingle Bells Forever” will ring in the holiday season as concertgoers will be invited to sing along as part of the 63-year-old Holiday Concert tradition.
As concert patrons enter the lobby of Emens, a pre-concert benefit will be the opportunity to take advantage of free family portraits, courtesy of Murray’s Jewelers.  Portraits will be made before the concert, and then offered online as a free image download.
An additional concert feature will be the continued support of the Second Harvest Food Bank Holiday Concert Food Drive.  Concertgoers are asked to bring any non-perishable food items or make monetary donations in the lobby of Emens Auditorium before the concert.  
Old National Bank has partnered with the Muncie Symphony Orchestra for the food collection and a special “donate-a-dollar” fundraiser.  From now until December 3,  all Old National Bank branches are accepting food and monetary donations.  Each dollar donated to Second Harvest Food Bank can feed six people a meal this holiday season.
Ticket Information
Tickets may be purchased at the Emens box office, on the campus of Ball State University from 9 am to 6 pm Monday through Friday or online at www.ticketmaster.com.
Funding
The Fisher-Shafer Holiday concert is made possible in part with funds provided by the Indiana Arts Commission, The Fisher and Shafer families, Old National Bank, Ivy Tech Community College, Westminster Village, Ball State University and Murray’s Jewelers.
About Muncie Symphony Orchestra
The mission of the Muncie Symphony Orchestra is to stimulate, educate and entertain audiences in East Central Indiana and to provide a meaningful musical experience for professional, community and student musicians, through the performance of fine music and other activities.  Learn more at www.munciesymphony.org.

This photograph was taken last year at the Muncie Symphony Orchestra Holiday Concert.  One of the many wonderful holiday traditions at the concert is the opportunity for concertgoers to receive a free holiday portrait.  Portraits will be offered before the concert begins.  Images will be offed online as a free download.  Purchase your Holiday Concert Ticket today and get a free family photograph!

November 21, 2011

Symphony Art Walk


4th Annual Symphony ArtWalk
          
                        
                        for Food and Music


Thursday December 1st
5:00 to 9:00 pm

25% off purchases 

10% of proceeds donated to 
Muncie Symphony League







The Holidays Begin December 3rd ~ Celebrate with the MSO


November 15, 2011

Rattanovy Preview


You can preview pieces on the program of the November 19th Rattanovy concert by clicking the links in each movement of a piece or clicking on the link above the piece to listen to the album. The audio is on Spotify. You will need to register to hear the music.




Rattanovy Concert Series
Bohuslav Rattay, Conductor
Baby You Can Drive My Car
Benjamin Britten – Britten: String Quartets No. 3 / Simple Symphony


"Simple Symphony"                     Benjamin Britten        

"Beatles Concerto Grosso No.4"       Peter Breiner
 II. Michelle
III. Goodnight     

There is no audio for this piece


"A Little ‘Beatles’ Suite"                 arr. Jody Nagel  
1. When I'm 64                                   (2005)
2. Eleanor Rigby
3. Let it Be