Symphony will feature compositions by Wallkill High School senior
SPARTA — The New Sussex Symphony, under the baton of Karen Pinoci, Music Director/Conductor, will dazzle music lovers of all ages with its annual showcase of young-area artists performing classical compositions and the premier of a piece written by a young composer, Gabriel Ivanov.
The March 16 event starts at 3 p.m. and takes place at Sparta High School’s Performing Arts Center on 70 West Mountain Road in Sparta.
Joining the orchestra will be over 180 student musicians from Sparta Township Schools, as well as other music studios. The concert will feature music such as Rimsky-Korsakov’s Russian Easter Overture, Suppe’s Light Cavalry Overture, and Grieg’s In the Hall of the Mountain King (from Peer Gynt, Suite No. 1).
The concert will highlight youth from the Sparta High School string program under the direction of Loni Bach, playing with the orchestra.
Gabriel Ivanov is an 18-year-old senior at Wallkill Valley Regional High School who has been studying classical piano under the direction of Edward Korczynski since 2001.
Ivanov competed for several years with the Sussex County Music Foundation where he earned first, second, and honorable mention awards. He has also performed over the past seven years in the Walter Engle Festival of Young Performers, a concert featuring outstanding young, classically trained musicians from Northern New Jersey. He has also played alto saxophone with the Wallkill Valley High School band for four years.
Ivanov has also played piano in the pit orchestra at his high school performances of Beauty and the Beast and A Funny Thing Happened on the Way to the Forum. In addition to all these accomplishments, Ivanov has been studying guitar as well as music composition and theory under the direction of Vern Miller. The Dream, the composition for full orchestra with Ivanov as the piano soloist, is one of four pieces Ivanov has composed.
After a vigorous audition and interview process, Ivanov has been accepted to Berklee College of Music in Boston. He will be majoring in film scoring and composition beginning in the fall of 2013.
Ivanov looks forward to the challenges and possibilities that Berklee will bring and believes that the pursuit of his life’s passion has been enriched by his mentors, Ed Korczynski, Vern Miller, and Maestra Karen Pinoci.
For the finale, the orchestra and the Sparta Alpine 4th Grade Strings under the direction of Cindy Kimon and the Reverend Brown students under the direction of Szu-Han Chuang-Tsay will be joined by some of the very youngest area musicians — students from the Crescendo Suzuki Violin Studio, the Olive Tree Music Academy, directed by Tricia Gruswitz, and the Szu-Han Chuang-Tsay Cello studio in “Farandole” by Bizet.
Funding for this concert has been made available in part by the NJ State Council on the Arts/Department of State, a Partner Agency of the National Endowment for the Arts, through the State/County Partnership Block Grant Program, as administered by the Sussex County Arts and Heritage Council and supported by the Freeholders of Sussex County.
The New Sussex Symphony was founded in 1959. Concert repertoire extends over four centuries, from the early 1700s to contemporary music. In addition to the formal concert series, the symphony acts as a resource to the county’s musical community. The Family Concert is the second in a series of three concerts for the 2012/2013 season; the final concert takes place Saturday, May 18 at Sparta High School at 3 p.m.
Tickets may be purchased at the door, however advance purchase is strongly recommended due to anticipated high turnout.
Tickets are available at Lou’s Music Center in Newton or by calling the orchestra’s business manager at 973.
-579-6465. Ticket prices are $15 for adults, $10 for seniors and students. Children 5 and under are free. In the event of inclement weather, the concert will take place on Sunday, March 17 at 3 p.m.