Goshen College orchestra, contest winners perform annual Concerto-Aria concert, Feb. 13

Concert: 2008-09 Goshen College Concerto-Aria Competition
Date and time: Friday, Feb. 13 at 7:30 p.m.
Location: Sauder Concert Hall, Goshen College Music Center
Cost: $7 adults, $5 seniors/students, available at the door only one hour before the recital.  GC students are free with ID.

GOSHEN, Ind. – The nine student winners of the annual Goshen College Concerto-Aria Competition will perform in concert with the college's orchestra on Feb. 13 at 7:30 p.m. in Sauder Concert Hall at the Goshen College Music Center.

Peter Miller (cello), a senior English and music double major from Evanston, Ill.; Anna Showalter (piano), a senior music and history double major from Waynesboro, Pa.; and Leslee Smucker (violin), a senior music major from Goshen, will perform Beethoven's "Triple Concerto."

Greta Breckbill, a sophomore music major from Stoughton, Wis., will perform the first movement of Mendelssohn's "Violin Concerto in E minor, Op. 56."

Drew Stoltzfus, a junior communication and music double major from Souderton, Pa., will conduct his original composition "Hibiscus Sytiacus."

Nathan Grieser (saxophone), a senior music major from Goshen, will perform Jacques Ibert's "Concerto de Camera."

Carrie Rivera (soprano), a junior music major from Nappanee, Ind., will perform "Poor Wand'ring One" from Gilbert & Sullivan's "Pirates of Penzance."

Allison Yoder (soprano), a junior music major from Middlebury, Ind., will perform "Mein Herr Marquis" from Strauss' "Die Fledermaus."

Emily Swora (soprano), a senior theater and music double major from Shoreview, Minn., will perform "In uomini" from Mozart's "Cos“ fan tutte."

The orchestra will also perform "A Night on Bald Mountain" by Modest Mussorgsky.

Conducting the orchestra will be Associate Professor of Music Gregg Thaller. He has been a full-time teacher of music for 23 years in public and private high schools as well as state and private colleges. His degrees are in music education and are from Boston University, the University of Hartford's Hartt School of Music and the University of Cincinnati's College-Conservatory of Music. He has undergone additional orchestral-conducting study at Bard College, University of Iowa, University of South Carolina, Eastman School of Music and the Naples Philharmonic in Florida. As a percussionist, Thaller performed with groups such as the Springfield (Mo.) Symphony, the Wichita Grand Opera, the Eastern Connecticut Symphony, the Massachusetts Wind Orchestra, the U.S. Coast Guard Band, the Interlochen Faculty Brass Ensemble and a faculty jazz trio.

Tickets for the concert are $7 for adults, $5 for seniors and students. They are available at the door only one hour before the concert.  GC students are free with ID.

Editors: For more information about this release, to arrange an interview or request a photo, contact Goshen College News Bureau Director Jodi H. Beyeler at (574) 535-7572 or jodihb@goshen.edu.

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Goshen College, established in 1894, is a residential Christian liberal arts college rooted in the Anabaptist-Mennonite tradition. The college's Christ-centered core values – passionate learning, global citizenship, compassionate peacemaking and servant-leadership – prepare students as leaders for the church and world. Recognized for its unique Study-Service Term program, Goshen has earned citations of excellence in Barron's Best Buys in Education, "Colleges of Distinction," "Making a Difference College Guide" and U.S. News & World Report's "America's Best Colleges" edition, which named Goshen a "least debt college." Visit www.goshen.edu.