Competition winners play works of classic composers
USC Symphony Orchestra will showcase the talents of the winners of the USC Concerto-Aria Competition, as well as four student conductors, during a performance tonight at the Koger Center.
The performance will feature three solos from the winners of this year’s competition — Blair Francis on flute, Oswaldo Zapata on trumpet and Ying-Li Pan on violin.
The annual event is open to USC-Columbia music school students and it will also feature student conductors leading student musicians in performing the works of classic composers like Ludwig van Beethoven, Jonathan Brahms and Jacques Ibert.
“The first half of the concert features student conductors and soloists, beginning with the Beethoven’s ‘Egmont’ Overture followed by the concertos,” said Paula Anne Uliscni, one of the student conductors in the event. “The concert will close with Dr. Portnoy conducting Bizet’s Symphony in C.”
The concert’s opening piece, was originally composed by Beethoven for Johaan Wolfgang van Goethe’s tragedy “Egmont.” Nove Deypalan, a doctoral student in conducting at the USC School of Music, will be conducting the piece. Deypalan said he felt privileged to be conducting a piece of Beethoven’s music.
“I feel responsible to bring the music of Beethoven to life once again,” Deypalan said. “It is only through this process, in live performance, that the music of great composers can take center stage.”
Deypalan is a graduate of the University of the Philippines College of Music and holds a master’s degree from the University of Southern California. He also served as a composer at the Cultural Center of the Philippines. He recently conducted the world premiere of “Dream of a Hundred Flowers” by Fang Man at Carnegie Hall in New York.
Following the opening piece will be the concert’s first solo performance. Francis, a senior performance major and principal flutist of the orchestra, will perform the third movement of the concerto for flute and orchestra written by Ibert.
“The feeling is indescribable — a mixture of adrenaline, energy, happiness, passion and enthusiasm,” Francis said. “It’s a great feeling — nothing but my flute, the music and connecting with the audience in front of me and the musicians behind me.”
Paula Anne Ulicsni, a graduate of the University of Minnesota who’s currently pursuing a master’s degree in instrumental conducting, will conduct the movement.
“A lot of preparation is needed to lead efficient rehearsals with any orchestra,” Ulicsni said. “It is a huge responsibility.”
The next concerto will be Haydn’s Trumpet Concerto in E-flat Major, performed by Zapata, who is currently pursuing a master’s degree in trumpet performance. In addition to winning the Concerto-Aria competition, Zapata said that he won a similar competition five years ago at the Universidad Nacional de Colombia, where he received his bachelor’s degree.
“That concert was a very good experience,” Zapata said. “Now, I feel very lucky to be studying at USC under the tutelage of amazing professors like professor James Ackley and Allen Vizzutti.”
Conducting the trumpet concerto will be Robert Brown, a master’s degree student in orchestral conducting.
The final solo performance before an intermission will be Pan performing the first movement of the Violin Concerto in D major by Johannes Brahms to end the first half of the event. Pan is a graduate of National Taiwan Normal University and is pursuing her master’s degree in performance. Yi Yang, a graduate of the Central Conservatory of Music in China, will conduct the movement.
As with all performances from the USC Symphony Orchestra, the concert will not only showcase the talents of the soloists and the conductors, but those of every School of Music student participating in the event.
“This performance is a display of talents,” Deypalan said. “The students who will be performing are par excellence in their chosen instruments and so are the conductors.”
The Symphony Orchestra event also acts as a display of the inner workings of the less-recognized performing group.
“It is a rare occasion to see that many conductors on a program and you will see how each one of us is very different in how we lead the group,” Uliscni said.
The USC Symphony Orchestra will perform tonight at 7:30 at the Koger Center for the Arts. General admission is $26. Tickets will be $21 for seniors and USC faculty and staff, and $9 for students at the door and $6 in advance. For more information, call (803) 251-2222 or go to capitoltickets.com.