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All City Strings Concert Scheduled at NSU
Released April 22, 2008
(ABERDEEN, SD) The Aberdeen University/Civic Symphony Orchestra, in conjunction with the Aberdeen Public Schools, will present the annual All-City Strings Concert on Mon, Apr. 28 at 7:30 p.m. in the NSU Johnson Fine Arts Center. Over 200 orchestra students from Simmons and Holgate Middle schools and all five Aberdeen elementary schools will participate, along with 45 Aberdeen Central High School students and the Aberdeen University/Civic Symphony. The elementary and middle school orchestras are under the direction of Jessica Perkins and James Weaver. The High School Orchestra is under the direction of Dan Witte. The Aberdeen University/Civic Symphony is under the direction of Dr. Robert Vodnoy.
The program will include performances by the elementary and middle school orchestras under the direction of their conductors Jessica Perkins and James Weaver. The combined middle school orchestras will perform “Slavonic Dance,” by Dvorak/Richard Meyer, “Bushwhacker Stomp,” by Keith Sharp, “For the Star of County Down,” by Monday, and “Fanfare and Frippery,” by Stephan. These middle school orchestra students just attended the Northeast South Dakota Festival in Brookings, which included students from Aberdeen, Brookings, Watertown and Huron. The students rehearsed all day and presented an evening concert. The music they are playing for this program is taken from selections they played at the festival, which is an annual event. The elementary orchestra will play “Frere Jacques,” “Pop Goes the Weasel,” “Sailor’s Song,” “Swingin’ Pizzicato,” and “Mystery Song” (aka Yankee Doodle).
Jessica Perkins and James Weaver are both regular members of the Aberdeen University/Civic Symphony, where Mrs. Perkins plays violin and Mr. Weaver plays cello and bass in the orchestra. “They are welcome additions to the orchestra,” according to Dr. Vodnoy. “Their participation reflects the growing partnership between NSU and the Aberdeen Public Schools to strengthen Aberdeen’s string program. Another reflection of this effort is the Suzuki Program which was started this year at the AARC by Nancy Ohnstad, the concertmaster of the AUCS.”
The combined high school/college orchestra, under the direction of Robert Vodnoy, will perform three movements from Handel’s “Water Music,” arranged by Hamilton Harty. Also featured on the concert will be a performance of the first movement of Dvorak’s “Violin Concerto” with soloist Taryn Arbeiter, accompanied by the Aberdeen University/Civic Symphony under the direction of Robert Vodnoy.
Arbiter was the winner of the 2008 Concerto Competition sponsored by the NSU chapter of MENC. She began her musical education through the Rapid City Suzuki program at age four, when she began studying violin under her current instructor, Charlene Savot. Taryn has continued to expand her musical horizons with a variety of activities and honors. In 2007, she was selected to attend the Kennedy Center Summer Music Institute in Washington D.C. and performed with the Black Hills Symphony Orchestra as winner of its annual concerto competition. She was concertmistress in the South Dakota 2008 All-State Orchestra and won the 2008 South Dakota Symphony Orchestra Young Musician Competition. During the next year, she will attend the Kennedy Center Summer Music Institute once again and perform with the South Dakota Symphony Orchestra. When not involved with music, Taryn also enjoys academics, outdoor sports and dancing. She would like to sincerely thank her teachers, accompanist Brandon Sterling, and parents for all of their tireless support and patience.
Jessica Perkins has been the Orchestra Director at Simmons Middle School in Aberdeen since 2005. Prior to her appointment to this position, she served as adjunct music education faculty at Northern State University, where she supervised student teachers. She holds a B.M. in Music Education and Euphonium Performance and a Master’s degree in Music Education, both from the University of Iowa. Prior to moving to Aberdeen, she was the Director of Bands at Xavier High School, a large high school in Cedar Rapids, Iowa. During her time there, she led the band to the first Division “I” ratings in both marching band and concert band in the history of the school. Perkins maintains an active schedule as a euphonium soloist, having been featured with high school, community, and university bands and orchestras throughout Iowa, Minnesota, and South Dakota. Along with her husband, she serves as the editor of the South Dakota Music Educators quarterly magazine, the “South Dakota Musician.”
James Weaver is the orchestra director for the north middle school system in Aberdeen, SD. He is a graduate of Concordia College in Moorhead, Minn. with a Bachelor of Music degree in instrumental education. He was the principal bassist and a member of the Concordia College Orchestra, and has toured Europe with the Orchestra in Germany, Czech Republic, Italy, Austria, and Switzerland. Originally from Aberdeen, he is a 2001 graduate of Central High School. James has studied Double Bass under Eugenia Slezak, Nathan Davis, Nixon Bustos, and Alexander Fokkens. He has studied Orchestral Conducting under Mr. Bruce Houglum, and Mr. Jon Larson. Mr. Weaver was the director of the Perham-Dent Orchestra program, in Perham, Minn. from 2005-2007. This is Mr. Weaver’s first year with the Aberdeen Public School System.
Dan Witte has been the orchestra director at Aberdeen Central High School since 1987. Prior to coming to Aberdeen, Mr. Witte was the orchestra director at Huron High School from 1986-87. He has a Bachelor’s degree from Wayne State in Nebraska.
The April 28 program is free and open to the public. For information about this concert, please contact the Fine Arts Office at 626-2497.
About Northern State University
Northern State University is a premier residential institution characterized by outstanding instruction, extraordinary community relations, and unparalleled extracurricular opportunities. In August of 2007 NSU was named by US News and World Report as one of the best undergraduate public institutions in the Midwest. For more information about NSU, visit our Web site at www.northern.edu.
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