Axe ’Em, Jacks!
Sun-A Park, winner of the 2010 Schmidbauer International Competition, will be the featured pianist soloist during the SFA Orchestra of the Pines' concert at 7:30 p.m. Saturday, April 16.NACOGDOCHES, TEXAS - Pianist Sun-A Park, winner of the 2010 George and Peggy Schmidbauer International Competition, will be the featured soloist during the Stephen F. Austin State University Orchestra of the Pines' "Fantastic Showstoppers" concert at 7:30 p.m. Saturday, April 16, in Cole Concert Hall.
Park's performance of Sergei Rachmaninoff's "Rhapsody on a Theme of Paganini" with the orchestra is a part of the grand prize for the Schmidbauer competition, which the SFA School of Music hosts each year.
"Sun-A Park won the competition with critical acclaim," said Gene H. Moon, director of orchestral studies at SFA. "We are certain she will impress us again with Rachmaninoff's piece, a supernova of sound and technique."
Joining the Orchestra of the Pines for Cèsar Franck's "Symphony in D minor" will be select string students from Pasadena Memorial High School. The students' orchestral director, Stanley Oakes, serves on the faculty of the SFA strings camp each summer. He and Moon have collaborated on numerous projects in the past.
"Working with students from Mr. Oakes' program is an ongoing effort to continue bridging the gap between the college and high school orchestra programs to help enable and prepare students who may wish to follow a career in music," Moon said.
Each high school student will be paired with an orchestral college student who will serve as a mentor during rehearsals and the concert.
The concert is a joint presentation of the SFA College of Fine Arts, School of Music and Orchestra Series. It is sponsored in part by Nacogdoches Memorial Hospital and the Wedgeworth-Wright Endowment for the Arts.
Tickets are $15 for adults, $12 for seniors and $5 for students. For tickets or more information, please go to www.finearts.sfasu.edu or call (936) 468-6407 or (888) 240-ARTS.