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Physics and Piano

The Symphony Guild of Charlotte and the CSO will celebrate our symphonic future at the 26th annual Youth Festival on Thursday, February 21 at 7:30 p.m. at the Belk Theater. This annual concert highlights the talents of the Charlotte Symphony Youth Orchestra (CSYO), the Junior Youth Orchestra (JYO) and the grand-prize winner of the senior division of the Guild's annual Young Artists Competition.

The grand-prize winner of this year is Chambers Loomis, a high school senior who lives in Asheville, NC. He's a pianist, who's been playing since age six and gave his first solo recital at nine. He regularly appears in a variety of venues as a soloist performing a growing range of repertoire. Get to know this talented young man just as we did in the following interview. image_mini

Who is a performer you respect, and why?  
The Russian pianist Evgeny Kissin. In his playing, he adheres to the composer's intentions while still executing sublime, refreshing interpretations. He always places the music first and himself second.

What is a piece of music you've either performed or would love to perform?
Rachmaninoff's Piano Concerto No. 3. This pianistic warhorse probes nearly every human emotion and is captivating throughout. When the work's technical and interpretive challenges have been mastered, it drips of an unrivaled sense of nationalism.

What's your vision for how young adults should engage with the artistic community and/or how arts organizations can engage young adults? 
Exposure is the key to engagement. I've had many friends who dismissed classical music as outdated until they heard their first great performance. Following the lead of El Sistema in Venezuela, we must also place instruments into the hands of young people from a very young age. Arts organizations must gain a presence in schools and partner with youth organizations to find volunteers. Young people should be made aware of discounted student tickets. Arts are the lifeblood of culture, and thriving arts communities sow seeds well beyond the concert hall walls.

What other contests/award have you won? 
I have received nine first prizes in state-level solo competitions sponsored by the NCFMC and was named the Federation's 2011 "King" of Music. In 2011, I had the pleasure of performing the first movement of the Schumann Piano Concerto with the Hendersonville (NC) Symphony and on NPR station WCQS. In 2012, I was also the top pianist in the North Carolina Symphony's Kathleen Price and Joseph M. Bryan Youth Concerto Competition. I will be performing with the Winston-Salem Symphony on March 16 as winner of the 2013 Peter Perret Youth Talent Search.

Where are you heading to college and what do you plan to study?
In April, when I hear back from a number of colleges, I will know where I will matriculate this fall. I am a presently a finalist for UNC-Chapel Hill's Morehead-Cain Scholarship. I plan to study physics and music in college.

What are your artistic dreams and aspirations? 
In college, I plan to remain an active performer, explore musicology, engage in music outreach, and expose myself to as many new musical influences as possible. I hope to play piano for the rest of my life and remain an enthusiastic ambassador for the art
 

Posted in Education & Community, Youth Orchestras. Tagged as Charlotte Symphony Youth Orchestras, CSYO, Education, interview.

82nd Classics Season Trivia

Leading up to the 2013-2014 Classics Season Announcement, we gave clues on Facebook and Twitter about details of the new season. Did you follow us? Check out the questions we asked below and test your classical music (and Charlotte Symphony) knowledge!

Questions

  1. What composer would be 100 this year? We'll perform works by this composer several times in our next Classics season.
  2. What piano concerto will make its Charlotte Symphony Premiere at our first Classics concert next season? (Hint this work is more than double our 'age')
  3. What 'out of this world' movement will we perform next Classics season that will have our Oratorio Singers of Charlotte Women's chorus singing offstage?
  4. In our second Classics program of next season we'll perform this violin concerto that the composer dedicated to a fellow composer who played the solo part at the premiere.
  5. Next fall we'll welcome this Irish Musician who's on a three-year plan to perform all of the Mozart piano concertos.  Who is this gentleman?
  6. What oratorio is widely regarded as one of the masterpieces of classical sacred music? This is part of next season's Classics Series!
  7. When we feature our Principal harpist next classics season, you might just leave the concert 'dancing'... What piece will be on the program?
  8. Name a composer from Charlotte. Name a conductor who lives (full-time!) in North Charlotte. They're both part of next year's Classics season!
  9. What pianist who shares the same homeland with our music director Christopher Warren-Green, will return to the Belk Theatre stage next season?

Answers

  1. Benjamin Britten. Featured in Classics 1 (Listen), Classics 6 (Listen), and Classics 8 (arrangement) (Listen)
  2. Lizst Piano Concerto No. 2 (Listen)
  3. Holst's The Planets (Listen)
  4. Saint-Saëns's Violin Concerto No. 3 which he dedicated to Pablo de Sarasate (Listen)
  5. Finghin Collins
  6. Bach's St. Matthew Passion (Listen)
  7. Debussy's Dances Sacree et Profane (Listen)
  8. (Composer) Dan Locklair is from Charlotte and is Composer-in-Residence and Professor of Music at Wake Forest University in Winston-Salem. (Conductor) Robert Moody is Music Director for the Winston-Salem Symphony (NC) and has lived in Lake Norman.
  9. Stephen Hough last performed with us in May 2011.

Posted in Classics. Tagged as Classical.

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