Four outstanding musicians who represent musical excellence at West Virginia University will take the stage with the WVU Symphony Orchestra, conducted by Mitchell Arnold, as the Orchestra presents its annual Young Artists Concert, on Thursday, March 20.

The program begins at 7:30 p.m. in the Lyell B. Clay Concert Theatre at the Creative Arts Center.

The Young Artists Competition is open to all full-time junior, senior and graduate student music majors, and the winners are selected after a rigorous competitive audition process.

“The competition winners represent the finest among our large number of talented musicians at the WVU School of Music. The process is very demanding, so it is a pleasure to collaborate with students who have worked so hard,” Arnold said.

The Young Artists Competition winners performing are: Diego Gabete-Rodriguez, violinist; Hyejeong Seong, pianist; Carl Wiggins, saxophonist; and Jocelyn Lee Jia Yin, pianist.

The program will include: “Concertino da Camera” by Jacques Ibert, featuring Carl Wiggins, alto saxophonist; the first movement of Sergei Prokofiev’s “Concerto No. 2 in G minor for violin and orchestra,” featuring Diego Gabete-Rodriguez, violinist; the first movement of Ludwig van Beethoven’s “Concerto No. 3 in C Minor for piano and orchestra,” featuring Joceyln Lee Jia Yin, pianist; and the first movement of Edvard Grieg’s “Concerto in A Minor for piano and orchestra,” featuring Hyejeong Seong, pianist.



Jacques Ibert Concertino da Camera
Carl Wiggins, alto saxophone

Sergei Prokofiev Concerto No. 2 in G minor for violin and orchestra, I
Diego Gabete-Rodriguez, violin

Ludwig van Beethoven Concerto No. 3 in C Minor for piano and orchestra, I
Jocelyn Lee Jia Yin, piano

Edvard Grieg Concerto in A Minor for piano and orchestra, I
Hyejeong Seong, piano

Gabete-Rodriguez is from Zaragoza, Spain. He holds a bachelor’s degree in music performance from the Basque Country Conservatory, and also a bachelor’s degree and a master’s degree in violin performance and orchestral training from the Guildhall School of Music and Drama in London. He also holds an artist diploma from Columbus State University’s Schwob School of Music. He has been a member of the Spanish Youth Orchestra and the European Union Youth Orchestra, and has performed at the Barbican Hall in London with the Guildhall Symphony Orchestra and the Royal Academy of Music. He is currently pursuing his Doctor of Musical Arts in violin performance at WVU, studying with Mikylah McTeer. He will represent WVU and the State of West Virginia in the MTNA National Competition finals to be held March 21 in Chicago.

Hyejeong received a Bachelor of Music degree in piano performance from the Kyoung-won University at South Korea and a Master of Music degree from the Cleveland Institute of Music. In Korea, she won 1st prize at the 1990 National Instrumental Music Competition and also 1st prize at the Kyoung-hyang National News Piano Competition in 1992. She was the 1st prize winner at the Dae-Jeon Art High School Competition in 1997 and in May of that same year, she won the Choong-Nam Philharmonic Orchestra competition and performed Beethoven’s Piano Concerto No. 3 with the Choong-Nam Philharmonic Orchestra. Hyejeong has performed as a soloist in numerous locations such as Cleveland, Columbus, Germany, and Seoul. She is currently attending WVU for her Doctor of Musical Arts degree on a scholarship.

Wiggins is in his first year of the Doctor of Musical Arts program at WVU studying saxophone with Michael Ibrahim. He received his bachelor’s and master’s degrees from Bowling Green State University, and his previous teachers include Timothy Roberts, David Bixler and John Sampen. He is a winner of the BGSU Chamber Music Competition, the BGSU Competitions in Music Performance and of the West Virginia and Ohio State Music Teacher National Association Chamber Music Competitions. He has performed in master classes for saxophonists Marco Albonetti, George Wolff and Jean-Michel Goury and as soloist with the Bowling Green Philharmonia and West Virginia Symphony Orchestras. Carl has premiered works by Erin Rogers, Burton Beerman, Marilyn Shrude and Frederic Rzewski.

Lee, born in Singapore, is a junior double-majoring in piano performance and violin performance at WVU. Her principal piano teachers include Peter Amstutz and P’ng Tean Hwa. She is also currently studying violin with Mikylah McTeer and is a member of the WVU Symphony Orchestra. She has performed in many countries and participated in various competitions. Recently, she won a Gold Prize in the Asia International Piano Competition and Festival held in South Korea. She also attained her Licentiate Diploma in Piano Performance (LRSM), (LTCL) and (LLCM) from the Royal School of Music, the Trinity College of Music as well as the London College of Music by age 15. She is a recipient of the WVU Fine Arts Tuition Waiver and the Blue and Gold Academic Scholarship.

For tickets and information, contact the WVU Box Office at (304) 293-SHOW.

For more information, visit the WVU Symphony Orchestra’s Facebook Page or http://wvuso.weebly.com.

-WVU-

CONTACT: Charlene Lattea, College of Creative Arts
304-293-4359, Charlene.Lattea@mail.wvu.edu

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