GCSU orchestra spotlights stellar strings players

The GCSU orchestra’s spring concert featured not only the regular members, but some special guests as well.

GCSU’s Performance Competition for Strings winners played solos during two of the songs at the concert.

Fourteen-year-old Jeewon Chon was the winner last year in the middle school division. She was the first cellist to ever win. Her solo was during a more modern song called “After a Dream” by Gabriel Fauré.

The winner from last year’s high school division was Jonathan Urizar, currently a freshman at Kennesaw State University. His violin solo was during Bach’s Concerto No. 1.

Director of the orchestra, Daniel Kaplunas, said that students come from all over the state and sometimes from neighboring states to compete.

“Competitors play a solo piece in front of a panel of judges and they then award three prizes for each division. Most of the winners are violinists and we’ve had a few viola players, but it was interesting this year because we had a cellist win,” Kaplunas said.

Regular orchestra member Scott Zhang, a sophomore computer science major who has been playing the violin for five years, said his favorite piece was Albinoni’s “Adagio.”

In between pieces Kaplunas told a little about each one. Zhang’s favorite was written by a more modern composer named Giazotto who took the bass line from Albinoni.

“It touched my heart and the violin melody sounds very romantic and yet a little bit sorrowful, especially with the accompaniment of the organ. This was the first time our orchestra had played with an organ,” Zhang said.

Other pieces performed were “Conzona,” by Gioseffo Guami, which is a Renaissance piece that according to Kaplunas is a piece that doesn’t get played often. The song fit in with the different assortment of musical periods that were featured in the concert.

Jessica Miller, a sophomore biology major, has experience with spring concerts. She was in the concert band last year and played the flute. She also played with the orchestra in a combined winter concert last winter.

“I had never been to a concert and sat in the audience before. It was good. I liked it,” Miller said.

Her favorite piece was Vivaldi’s “Concerto Madrigalesco” and her least favorite was the Bach piece because, “I just don’t like Bach,” she said.

Posted by Danielle Paluga on Apr 23 2010. Filed under Features. You can follow any responses to this entry through the RSS 2.0. You can leave a response or trackback to this entry