FSU Community Orchestra Concert Kicks Off Inauguration Events
Appalachian dulcimer virtuoso Stephen Seifert will appear in concert with the Fairmont State University Community Orchestra at 3 p.m. Sunday, April 11, in the Turley Center Ballroom on the FSU campus. Admission to the concert is free and open to the public.
Stephen Seifert will be playing perhaps the only concerto written for the mountain folk instrument, "Blackberry Winter" by Conni Ellisor, a work commissioned by the Nashville Chamber Orchestra and recorded by them with Seifert as soloist. The work has received extensive play on National Public Radio stations across the country, and Seifert has appeared some 25 times in live performances of the work, although this will be his first appearance in West Virginia.
Two student soloists, winners of the orchestra's annual concerto competition, will also appear on Sunday's program. Christopher Dickey, guitarist, will perform Vivaldi's Concerto in C major, and mezzo soprano Hillary Barlow will sing operatic arias by Rossini and Ponchielli. In addition, the orchestra will play the Rumanian dances of Bela Bartok and Franz Joseph Haydn's Symphony No. 88 in G major.
Christopher Dickey is a senior at Fairmont State University majoring in music education with an emphasis in classical guitar; he plans to graduate in December 2010. Upon graduation, he plans to pursue master's degrees in guitar performance and music theory at The University of Akron in Ohio. Dickey began his guitar studies at the age of 9. He says he fell in love with the guitar at this young age, but didn't realize that it would lead to his life career. At the age of 15, he became more serious about the study of guitar as he realized that music was what he had been called to do. Dickey serves as a freelance classical guitarist for weddings and special events and as freelance worship leader and director of "Living Waters Praise and Worship Band" for ministry events.
Hillary Barlow is a senior at Fairmont State University, who plans to graduate in May 2010 with a B.A.E. degree in Music Education with an emphasis in voice. Upon graduation, she plans to obtain a teaching job in West Virginia. Barlow first began singing in church by her mother's side. She then joined the Madrigal Choir in high school and realized she had a love for singing. During her senior year, she auditioned for the All-State Chamber Choir and was the first chosen from Preston High School. Without formal training, she was nervous about pursuing a musical career, but she said she has enjoyed every minute of it at Fairmont State. She would like to extend special thanks to Dr. Jeff Poland and the Fairmont State music faculty for making her time at Fairmont State a wonderful learning experience.
The FSUCO concert is one of many events offered during the week of the Inauguration of FSU's 14th president, Thomas L. Krepel, Ph.D. For a complete list of Inauguration week events, visit www.fairmontstate.edu/inauguration.
Fairmont State University Community OrchestraInaugurationStephen Seifert
