Ten Students Featured In 35th Annual Concerto-Aria Concert

Ten students will have the rare opportunity to perform with a full orchestra during Oklahoma Baptist University's 35^th annual Concerto-Aria Concert Monday, Feb. 16. The annual concert will begin at 8:30 p.m. in Raley Chapel's Potter Auditorium. The public is invited to attend the free event.

Student performers are selected by audition. This year's concert will feature three vocalists: Aaron James Foshee, a senior vocal performance major from Jones, Okla.; Kathryne Overturf, a senior musical arts major from Fort Smith, Ark.; and Morgan Gordon, a junior music education major from Lexington, Okla.

Seven instrumentalists also will be featured: David Giaco, a junior trombonist and musical arts major from Saint Charles, Mo.; Patrick Womack a junior percussionist and musical arts major from Oklahoma City, Okla.; Valerie Hunt, a sophomore flute player and music education major from Peoria, Arizona; Tyler Scott Neighbors, a sophomore trombonist and musical arts major from Skiatook, Okla.; Jee Choi, a sophomore cellist and musical arts major from Gwang Ju, South Korea; Emily Rowland, a sophomore pianist and piano performance with pedagogy major from Bartlett, Tenn.; and Kade Goforth, a sophomore trumpeter and music education major from Tulsa, Okla.

Conductors of the concert are Dr. Jim Hansford, OBU's Burton Patterson professor of music and director of bands, and Dr. David DeSeguirant, OBU associate professor of music and director of choral activities.

"Our Concerto-Aria event is quite unique among undergraduate schools since most similar concert venues at other universities focus primarily on their graduate students," Hansford said. "It is truly a distinctive honor to be afforded an opportunity to perform as an undergraduate with a full orchestra. The rigorous audition process is a virtual laboratory for our performers who plan to compete on the larger world stage of opera, Broadway musicals, or orchestral performance.

"During the 35-year history of these concerts, more than 200 OBU students have performed some of the most significant literature ever composed for solo piano, orchestral instrument or voice," Hansford said.

A pre-concert lecture will begin at 7:30 p.m. Feb. 16 in Raley Chapel room 203E. Three OBU music students will introduce the pieces to be performed during the concert, providing background information to assist the audience with listening to the event. The students include Spring Butler, a junior music/piano performance major from Grapevine, Texas; Lindsay Inman, a junior music education major from Peyton, Colo.; and Ian Hockett, a junior music major from Dallas, Texas.

The concert will conclude OBU's Fine Arts Main Event. The annual event welcomes 50 prospective music students (and their parents) to visit the OBU campus, attend classes and discussion panels, and audition for music scholarships on Bison Hill.

For more information about the Concerto-Aria Concert, contact OBU's Division of Music at (405) 878-2305 or music@okbu.edu.