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Future Stars Award Winners Showcase Talents With Symphony Thursday

Three winners of the William T. Gower Awards Competition will be featured as part of the University of Southern Mississippi

The University of Southern Mississippi Symphony Future Stars winners include, from left to right: Romina Monsanto, Pablo Sotomayor and Kathleen Westfall (Submitted photo).

Symphony Orchestra’s concert set for 7:30 p.m. Thursday, Feb. 17 in Bennett Auditorium.

Showcasing exceptional student talent of the School of Music, this annual concert has become an audience favorite. The 2010-11 winners and “Future Stars” include Romina Monsanto of Venezuela; Pablo Sotomayor of Peru and Kathleen Westfall of New Orleans.

The three competition winners will perform the music that earned them distinction among their peers including Rachmaninoff’s Piano Concerto No. 2 in C Minor featuring pianist Sotomayor; Antonin Dvorak’s Cello Concerto in B minor Opt. 4 featuring cellist Monsanto and “I Want Magic” from A Streetcar Named Desire by André Previn and “Manon’s Gavotte”from Manon by Jules Massenet featuring soprano Westfall.

Guest conductors include Southern Miss students Nathan Lambert and Ivan del Prado.

Ongoing for more than 23 years, the competition was renamed four years ago in honor of William T. Gower, former professor of music at Southern Miss and a widely respected woodwind musician.

Gower, who passed away in July 2003, was an inspiration to many budding musicians through his multitude of career performances at music conventions, high schools, colleges, and universities — often performing on a variety of instruments.

The competition itself is highly competitive within the ranks of the Southern Miss School of Music and quite rigorous. “These very talented students will be our stars of tomorrow,” said Dr. Jay Dean, music director of the Symphony. “Later in life, we will be able to say that we knew them when they were students here at Southern Miss.”

The Symphony’s 2010-11 season is sponsored by BancorpSouth.Tickets for the concert are $16/$18/$20 and may be purchased at the Southern Miss Ticket Office by calling 601.266.5418 or 800.844.8425.

Filed under: Arts, Featured, Hattiesburg, USM, Entertainment/Culture, Jay Dean, Symphony Orchestra, University of Southern Mississippi

Alumni Return for Symphony Orchestra Opening Night Sept. 23 at USM

Adonis Gonzales Performs Thursday Night at USM

HATTIESBURG, Miss. – The opening night of The University of Southern Mississippi Symphony Orchestra’s 91st season will be an evening of celebrations.

Two Southern Miss alumni and renowned musicians are returning to perform with the Symphony Orchestra on Thursday, Sept. 23 to kick off the opening of its latest season titled, “Timeless.”

Internationally acclaimed Cuban pianist Adonis Gonzales and award-winning composer James Sclater will present another spectacular classical program with the orchestra. Sclater will present the world premiere of “Celebrations” at 7:30 p.m. in Bennett Auditorium.

“The orchestra has hosted musical icons from all over the world, but it’s always exciting to have artists with a history in our community return to share their talents,” said Dr. Jay Dean, music director of the Symphony Orchestra.

Gonzales has collaborated with legendary artists such as mezzo-soprano Denyce Graves, violinist Arnold Steinhardt and clarinetist/saxophonist Paquito D’Rivera. Presently, he is a professor at Passaic County Community College in New Jersey and is also studying Orchestral Conducting at The Juilliard School in New York City.

A review from the Cuban Music Recital in El Sol de Mexico, Mexico City attests to Gonzales’s signature style by concluding that “Gonzales’s rendition of the Cuban classics was characterized by an incredible virtuosic approach, and a very contagious rhythmic precision.”

“We continue to bring the world to Mississippi not only through our artists but through our students. To have these two alumni who have achieved such international acclaim is a double treat and a great way to open our season during the Centennial,” said Dean.

For the last 40 years, Sclater taught theory and composition at Mississippi College as a professor of music and coordinator of music theory. As a talented composer and professor, Sclater has won various award including Composer of the Year in 2002 by the Mississippi Music Teachers Association and an Emmy nomination for musical score for Mississippi ETV production “The Mad Potter of Biloxi: George E. Ohr” in 1994. He was commissioned to compose “Celebrations” by Dean in 2009.

“It’s a full orchestra and I hope it expresses Jay’s intent, which was to create something for the orchestra to celebrate the University’s Centennial and something the orchestra would have fun doing,” said Sclater, who played in the orchestra while a student at Southern Miss.

“’Celebrations’ is what I came up with; there’s something in it for all the sections, so I think they will have fun playing it.”

Tickets are $16, $18, $20 for the public and $10 for youths. For more information on “Celebrations,” contact the Southern Miss Symphony Orchestra at 601.266.4001.

Filed under: Featured, Hattiesburg, Lifestyle, USM, Arts, Bennett Auditorium, Jazz, Southern Miss Symphony Orchestra, Symphony Orchestra, University of Southern Mississippi