Heartland Symphony Orchestra will present its 2019 Spring Concert Series, “The Joy of Youth”, on Saturday, April 6 in Little Falls at 7:30 p.m. at the Charles D. Martin Auditorium and on Sunday, April 7 at 2:30 p.m. at Tornstrum Auditorium in Brainerd. A highlight of the concert will be the winners of this year’s Echo Kowalzek Youth Concerto Competition.
Yash Hindka will perform Ludwig von Beethoven’s Piano Concerto No. 5 in E-flat Major. Yash is a student at Sartell High School. Now 18 years old, he has been studying piano for ten years with Dr. Paul Wirth. His favorite subjects in school are math and science. Outside of school he enjoys going to the gym and lifting weights, listening to music and volunteering at the local Foodshelf. He is planning on attending an engineering college in order to study computer science and artificial intelligence.
Joseph Thomas Loss will perform the Concertino for Trombone and Orchestra by Ferdinand David. Joseph attends Brainerd High School. He is also 18 years old. He credits his band director, Chris Fogderud, with encouraging his interest in music. His main interests in school are in humanities and culture and anything that involves music. Out of school he spends time playing, composing and transcribing music. He plays with the Rusty Crayfish Brass Band and the Great Lakes Theatre Pit Orchestra. He is planning to continue his education at Concordia Collection in Moorhead studying Instrumental Music Education and Trombone Performance.
Thanks to a grant received from Crow Wing Power Community Trust, each of these talented young musicians will be awarded a $500 scholarship toward continuing their musical studies. They will also receive a recording of their concert performance.
The concert will also feature Maurice Ravel’s “Pavane for a Dead Princess” and Peter Ilyich Tchaikovsky’s “Symphony No. 2 in C minor, Op. 17.” Conductor, Alexander Corbett, will host ‘Conductor Chats’ 45 minutes prior to each concert.
Tickets for the concerts are available at the door or online at www.HeartlandSymphony.com or by calling 1-800-826-1997 or email [email protected].
The concerts in Little Falls and Brainerd are made possible by the voters of Minnesota through a grant from the Five Wings Arts Council, thanks to a legislative appropriation from the Arts and Cultural Heritage Fund. In Little Falls, the Laura Jane Musser Fund provides additional support.
The Echo Kowalzek Youth Concerto Competition is held every other year, alternating with a Composer’s Competition. Last year, the Heartland Symphony Orchestra board of directors honored Little Falls resident, Echo Kowalzek, by naming the competition after her. Echo was one of the founding members of the orchestra and an active board member for 40 years. The Echo Kowalzek Youth Concerto Competition is funded in part by a grant from Crow Wing Community Trust.