The South Kansas Symphony will perform “Prairie Potential,” its final concert of the season, on Sunday, April 26, at 3 p.m., in the Richardson Performing Arts Center on the campus of Southwestern College.
According to South Kansas Symphony conductor Amber Peterson, the symphony will be playing works by Aaron Copland, including his popular "Hoe-Down” from “Rodeo." The concert will also feature the winners of the 2015 South Kansas Symphony Concerto Competition, Allison Tung and Deborah Martin. The symphony will accompany both of the concerto winners.
Tung is a senior at Wichita East High School and has played piano and violin since the age of four under the instruction of Timothy Shook and Laura Black respectively. She was recently awarded the position of co-concertmaster with the Wichita Youth Symphony Orchestra and concertmaster for the Kansas All-State Symphony Orchestra in 2015. Tung started piano competitions in middle school, and in 2012 and 2013 she placed first in Kansas State Honors Auditions for both piano solo and piano duets, allowing her the honor of performing for the Kansas Music Educators’ Association annual workshop. She also received the Senseney Schneider piano scholarship in 2011 and 2013 for her outstanding performances. She was named the winner of the junior division of the 2015 South Kansas Symphony Concerto Competition. This May, Tung will graduate from Wichita High School East International Baccalaureate program. She has been admitted to the University of California, San Diego, where she plans to pursue a major in biotechnology and a minor in music.
Malaysian-born pianist Deborah Martin is in her third year at Southwestern College, pursuing a bachelor of arts degree in music with a minor in business administration. She studies piano under the instruction of Timothy Shook and studies voice with Brian Winnie. In 2013 and 2014, she participated in the piano solo Honors Auditions hosted by the Kansas Music Teachers’ Association and returned with outstanding achievements consecutively. She earned third place in the Freshman/Sophomore category of the 2013 auditions and returned as the winner in the 2014 auditions for the Junior/Senior category earning her the opportunity to perform at the honors recital in the 2015 Kansas Music Educators’ Association annual workshop. Choral and contemporary commercial music are her other areas of interest in the field. She currently serves as a private piano instructor in the Community Music School at Southwestern College.
Garrett VanArsdale, senior at Lebo High School, and Kaela Massey, junior at Winfield High School, will also be recognized during the program as Junior Division finalists at the 2015 South Kansas Symphony Concerto Competition.
Tickets for the program range from $6 to $10. For more information or to purchase advanced tickets, call (620) 221-7720.
