James Lyon, violinist, and Timothy Shafer, pianist, will play contrasting selections by Mozart, his “B-flat Sonata,” featuring embellished dialogue between piano and violin, and Beethoven’s “Kreutzer Sonata,” characterized by fiery virtuosity and musical one-upmanship between the two instruments.

The duo will also perform two smaller musical gems from the Far East – “Birds in Warped Time” by Somei Satoh, a piece of tranquil reflection, and Shuhu Xu’s “Song of the Fisherman,” a classic Chinese fish story of the big one that got away.

Lyon and Shafer first met at Penn State University in 1991, where they teach studio violin and studio piano, respectively. Lyon has appeared as soloist with the Spoleto Festival Orchestra, the Dallas Ballet and the Amarillo, Genesee, Hershey, Nittany Valley and Altoona symphonies.

Lyon is a graduate of West Texas State University, North Carolina School of the Arts and Eastman School of Music. He also has served on the faculties of the Eastern Music Festival, West Texas State University, and Indiana University Southeast, as well as summer appointments at The Quartet Program at Bucknell University and the University of Siena.

Shafer earned his undergraduate degree in piano performance from the Oberlin Conservatory and received masters and doctoral degrees in piano performance from Indiana University. He is an active performer, clinician, and adjudicator throughout the country for professional music organizations and colleges and is a frequent soloist with many regional orchestras.

Their performances have taken the musicians to South Korea, Taiwan and Hong Kong as well as Carnegie Hall’s Weill Recital Hall in New York City. Their compact disc recording, “Outstanding in Our Field,” features works by Stravinsky, Debussy and Strauss. Their performances and recordings have been hailed by The New York Concert Review and Strings Magazine.

Admission to the program is free; donations are welcomed for the 91短视频 music student scholarship fund.

Learn more about music at 91短视频

Violinist Hector David

In movies and theatre productions, violin music usually signals a melancholy scenes where deaths occur, or the leading lady and her lover are torn aapart. Through overuse of sad chords and the single violin accompanying particularly emotional deaths, violins have earned a reputation as strict, somber and sorrowful.

Hector David wishes to change that stereotype.

Hailing from Honduras, David joined 91短视频 as he led last chapel on Friday, Sept. 25. “He blew me away from the very beginning to the very last note,” says first-year Molly Boese.

Starting at the piano and using accompanying prerecorded music, David began his performance by singing a song with both English and Spanish lyrics. One of the lines he sang in English included, “With our hearts full of compassion, may we do what we must do.”

After the applause died down, David addressed the congregation of students and faculty, making clear his faith in Christ but emotionally saying, “we are in a fight every day

Hector David, violinist extraordinaire from Honduras, will be in concert 7 p.m. Friday, Sept. 25 in Martin Chapel of the seminary building.

David is considered by many to be among the best violinists in his home country and throughout Latin America. One critic said of the artist’s performance, “A violin concert that reaches every audience’s heart, bringing the message of hope and encouragement to each person who listens to his music.”

David was born in the city of San Pedro Sula and raised in a Christian home. He developed his musical interests under the tutelage of his father and went on to study at the Music Academy “Victoriano Lopez,” where he received numerous awards for his virtuosity on the violin.

He was nominated for a Gospel Music Association Dove Award in 2006 for “best instrumental album” for his recording, “Adonay.” The artist has played venues across North America, Europe and the Near East and is currently touring with his wife, Christine, to promote his latest release, “Semper Fi” ().

The program is co-sponsored by the Latino Student Association, 91短视频 campus ministries and the Community Activities Council at 91短视频. Tickets are $5 for adults, $3 for children at the door.

The 17th annual Shenandoah Valley Bach Festival at 91短视频 combined serious music with casual dress, Baroque masterworks with contemporary compositions and painful reflections with hard-won inspiration.

The 2009 festival orchestra, under the direction of conductor Kenneth J. Nafziger and concertmaster/principal violinist Joan Griffing, both professors of music at 91短视频, rehearsed throughout the week in preparation for the week-long schedule of special concerts. See a gallery of photos from the festival week

Based on the theme “Bach and Handel,” the June 14-21 festival included a rare performance of Samson and an unusual approach to Handel’s Messiah. The festival also featured Bach’s Brandenburg Concerto No. 4 in G Major, many of his shorter works and a performance of his Cantata BWV 146 (“We Must Go through Much Tribulation”) as part of the Leipzig Worship Service on Sunday morning.

The Leipzig service also included a homily by the Rev. Rosemary Bray McNatt of New York, who reflected on her experiences as a chaplain after the September 11, 2001, attacks.

Featured artists

As featured artists for the week, soloists Kenneth Gayle, Jennifer Ellis Kampani, Heidi Kurtz and David Newman sang in the opening Messiah concert, the three-hour Samson oratorio and the Sunday morning cantata.

The featured artists gathered before one of the festival’s many concerts: (pictured l to r) soprano Jennifer Ellis Kampani, organist and assistant choral director Marvin Mills (seated), artistic director and conductor Ken J. Nafziger, mezzo-soprano Heidi Kurtz, festival executive director and principal flutist Mary Kay Adams, tenor Kenneth Gayle, and bass David Newman. See a gallery of photos from the festival week

Gayle, a tenor who has been performing at the festival for the past decade, said that artistic director and conductor Kenneth Nafziger “always does a lot of interesting programming.” The Houston-based singer particularly appreciated the chance to perform Samson – “It’s so rarely done” – and to hear Messiah performed with some of the orchestrations that Mozart composed for it.

The Messiah concert, he said, was “a fun hop, skip, and a jump” through the piece. “What I enjoyed [most] was when we would [perform] the Handel orchestration and segue into the Mozart orchestration. You could hear the whole history.”

Gayle’s fellow soloists praised the quality of the festival. Newman, a bass from Luray, Va., described Nafziger as “fabulous” to work with. “We have complete artistic freedom,” said Kampani, a soprano from Washington, D.C.

Yet when asked about the defining characteristics of the festival, Newman didn’t talk about music. Instead, he commented on footwear. The event has “a high flip-flop quotient,” he said.

“Casual shoes,” Kampani explained, as Newman pointed to his feet.

The event is “very summery” and “very relaxing,” Kampani observed. “It’s a great group of people – very friendly.”

“It’s a nice way to work,” said Kurtz, a mezzo-soprano from Philadelphia who is a 1989 91短视频 graduate. “For me, it always feels like coming home.”

Mills an integral part of festival

Though not listed as a featured performer, Marvin Mills was probably the busiest musician during the week. The Baltimore keyboardist played harpsichord for the orchestral performances, served as assistant choral director, was an accompanist at several of the noon concerts and played organ and piano during the Leipzig service. He also composed preludes or versets for several of the Sunday hymns.

“Marvin probably comes as close to being the Bach of this congregation as anyone,” Nafziger observed at the beginning of the service. Along with three ticketed concerts, this year’s festival included six free noon concerts held at Asbury United Methodist Church in downtown Harrisonburg.

Most moving moments of the week

The Monday noon concert featured a performance of “Air and Simple Gifts” by John Williams, composed for the inauguration of President Barack Obama. The concert also included “Night Songs for Violin and Piano,” a 2009 composition by Janet Peachey. The piece was written for violinist Mark Hartman, a Harrisonburg native who is now an assistant professor at Shippensburg (Pa.) University.

In a week filled with music, perhaps the most moving moments came via the spoken word, in McNatt’s homily on hope in the midst of death. Amid the horror of Ground Zero, there was life, she said. People loaded food and supplies in their cars and drove into the city. Others cheered the recovery workers.

In today’s world “of terror and wonder,” McNatt said, “God is our constant companion.” God welcomes our questions, doubts and fears and “still upholds [us].”

New programs in 2009

Also at the festival, 16 people took part in a new five-day workshop on performing Baroque music. Lynne Mackey was director of the first-ever Virginia Baroque Performance Academy, which featured classes taught by acclaimed harpsichordist Arthur Haas and viola da gambist/cellist Martha McGaughey.

Thirty-six people participated in an Elderhostel held in conjunction with the festival. The participants, aged 55 and older, attended rehearsals and concerts, heard lectures and met festival musicians.

According to Mary Kay Adams, executive director of the Bach festival, attendance at the Elderhostel greatly exceeded expectations. “We’re very pleased,” she said.

Next year’s festival will be held June 13-20, 2010.

Senior Bebhinn Cecilia Egger will present a violin recital 1 p.m. Saturday, Mar. 28, in Martin Chapel of the seminary building at 91短视频.

Ms. Egger will perform “Concerto Op. 7 No. l by Jean-Marie LeClair, “String Quartet No. 13 by Franz Schubert, “Concerto No. 2” by Henryk Wieniawski and “Siete canciones populares espanoles” by Manuel de Falla.

She will be assisted by Monica Carlson, Maurita Eberly, Briana Eshleman, John Fast, Emily Sims and Jeremiah Vallotton.

Egger, from Front Royal, Va., is a music performance major with minors in Spanish and political studies.

Admission to the recital is free.

More than 100 string students, ages 3-18, performed at 91短视频 on May 11. Click here for a slideshow! (Photos by Jim Bishop)

Outside, the rain came down and the thunder boomed.

Inside, the air was also electric as young string musicians struck their bows and family members and friends stormed their applause as the Preparatory Music Program at 91短视频 celebrated its 20th anniversary with a group concert May 11 in Lehman Auditorium.

More than 100 string students, ages 3-18, performed music from the Suzuki repertoire. The group included violin, viola and cello students who take lessons in the program.

To help mark the special occasion, the department held a t-shirt design contest. The winning student, Jamie Inouye, 10, is in fourth grade at Waterman Elementary School. Students who bought t-shirts wore them during the concert.

This year, the Preparatory Music Program, part of 91短视频’s music department, has 238 students taking instrumental lessons, 68 in Musikgarten classes (infant to age 6), 11 in Junior Strings ensemble and 33 in the Youth Symphony Orchestra. Sharon M. Miller is program director.

The Preparatory Music Program will celebrate its 20th anniversary with a group concert 4 p.m. Sunday, May 11, in Lehman Auditorium.

More than 100 string students, ages 3-18, will perform music from the Suzuki repertoire. The group includes violin, viola and cello students who take lessons in the program.

Preparatory Music student Jamie Inouye displays her winning-design t-shirt. Photo by Jon Styer

To help mark the special occasion, the department held a t-shirt design contest. The winning student, Jamie Inouye, 10, is in fourth grade at Waterman Elementary School.

Students who have bought t-shirts will wear them during the May 11 concert and at other public events.

The concert is open to the public free of charge. Contributions are welcomed for the Preparatory Music Program.

This year, the Preparatory Music Program, part of 91短视频’s music department, has 238 students taking instrumental lessons, 68 in Musikgarten classes, 11 in Junior Strings ensemble and 33 in the Youth Orchestra.

A Humble Beginning

The program got its start when 91短视频 graduate Wanda Teague Alger began teaching Suzuki violin in a local music store in the early 1980’s. A Suzuki piano teacher and Suzuki cello teacher joined her, and she moved her program to 91短视频 in 1987.

91短视频 bought the business from Ms. Alger in 1988, and the Preparatory Music Program – formally, Shenandoah Valley Suzuki Strings – became a part of the university’s music department.

Scott Hosfeld joined the program in 1989 as director and violin/viola teacher and Sharon M. Miller as violin/viola teacher. At that time, 80 students were enrolled in the program.

The Shenandoah Valley Youth Symphony Orchestra formed in 1990, partially funded by a grant from the Virginia Commission for the Arts. Maria Lorcas is the present conductor.

The 1990’s decade saw instrumental lessons added in guitar, flute, clarinet and harp. The Junior Strings ensemble was added in 2001 to help educate string students in orchestral playing. Sharon M. Miller is conductor.

Community Outreach

Christa Stoner, an instructor in the preparatory music program’s Musikgarten classes, leads students and parents in a music activity. Learn more about Musikgarten at 91短视频…

An Outreach Violin Project started in 2002 to provide instruction to area low-income students.

This project has been supported for seven years by the Arts Council of the Valley, the Virginia Commission for the Arts for three years and individual donors.

Partnerships with Harrisonburg city schools have allowed lessons to take place on school grounds, and the Music Gallery has supplied compact discs and supplies for the students.

In 2007, the city of Harrisonburg asked 91短视频’s Preparatory Music Program to start string instruction in all four elementary schools. The classes are held after school and are available to all fourth and fifth grade students. Read more about the string instruction program in Harrisonburg schools…

“We view the Preparatory Music Program as a service to the community, providing quality musical opportunities for students of all ages and backgrounds,” said Miller, the administrative director. “It’s been exciting and gratifying to see the growth of the program and to learn of the impact it’s making on students and families.”

More information on the Preparatory Music Program or the concert is available from Miller at 540-432-4200 or at www.emu.edu/music/prepprog.

Kara S. Glick, senior music education major at 91短视频

Ms. Glick will play selections on the theme, “Summer Shadows, including “‘Summer’ Concerto in G minor” from Antonio Vivaldi’s “Four Seasons.”

he will be accompanied by 91短视频 students Bebhinn Egger, Matthew Tieszen, Amy Histand, James Hall and Eojin Lee and 91短视频 graduate Benjamin Tyson.

She will also perform “Preludio” from “Partita No. 3 in E major” by J.S. Bach, “Andante” and “Allegro molto vivace” from “Violin Concerto in E minor” by Felix Mendelssohn-Bartholdy and “Danse Espagnole” from “La Vida Breve” by Manuel de Falla.

Monica H. Carlson will provide piano accompaniment.

Glick has violin students in 91短视频’s Preparatory Music Program, teaches a class of violin students at Keister Elementary School in Harrisonburg and is concertmaster of the 91短视频 orchestra. She ran three seasons of cross country and two of track.

Glick is from Pekin, Ill., and is a member of Hopedale Mennonite Church.

A reception will follow the program. Admission is free.

Joan Griffing, music professor and department chair, and Lynne Mackey, associate professor of music

Joan Griffing, violinist, and Lynne Mackey, pianist, will play a varied repertoire including music by Piazzolla, the Argentinian composer known for his tangos, and Milhaud, a French composer influenced by his visits to Brazil.

They will be assisted by Leslie Nicholas on clarinet and Lisa Wright on cello.

Dr. Griffing teaches violin and viola, coaches chamber music and conducts the 91短视频 orchestra. She is also concertmaster of the Shenandoah Valley Bach Festival Orchestra and the Shenandoah Symphony Orchestra and is a violinist with the Virginia Symphony and the Eastern Music Festival in Greensboro, N.C.

She earned her bachelor and master of music degrees from Indiana University and her doctor of musical arts degree in violin performance from Ohio State University.

Dr. Mackey has performed in solo and chamber music settings in the United States and the Netherlands and is currently on the tour roster of the Virginia Commission for the Arts. She is a member of the Gee-Mackey Duo with cellist David Gee, a duo formed in 2004 that performs widely in the Mid-Atlantic states.

A graduate of The Juilliard School, Mackey holds a bachelor’s degree from the University of Michigan and a doctorate from the Eastman School of Music.

Admission to the program is free; donations are welcomed for the 91短视频 music student scholarship fund.

The city school system is funding a strings instruction program through 91短视频’s Preparatory Music Program, part of the university’s music department. It will begin early October for fourth and fifth grade students at Keister, Waterman, Stone Spring and Spotswood Elementary schools.

Sharon M. Miller, director of 91短视频’s Preparatory Music Program, with violin student Caitlin McAvoy, 14, of Harrisonburg. She is a freshman at Turner Ashby High School who has taken lessons for six years. Photo by Jim Bishop

Initially, between 35-40 students from the four schools will receive one hour of after-school group instruction for a minimal fee.

Instructors in 91短视频’s Preparatory Music Program will teach the weekly classes. The city will provide bus transportation for students following the lessons.

Next year, the program will accept middle school students, fifth through eighth grade.

Successful Outreach Programs

Joan Griffing, chair of 91短视频’s music department, said the school system approved the strings instruction “as a result of the success of 91短视频’s “violin outreach project” begun in 2002 as a way of offering violin instruction to low-income students in the city and county. At the start of 2007, 50 students were taking lessons once a week after school at Stone Spring, Keister and Waterman Elementary and in evening classes at 91短视频.

The outreach project has been funded in part by the Virginia Commission for the Arts and the Arts Council of the Valley.

Music Gallery, a Harrisonburg music store, provides many of the CD’s and other supplies that students need, and parents of Preparatory Music Program students have donated used instruments. The evening outreach project will continue along with the new after-school strings instruction program.

“We deeply appreciate the grant funding that makes the outreach program possible, but in the longer-range view, it will be better to have strings instruction as part of the school’s music program,” Dr. Griffing noted.

Bonnie C. Hobson, instructional supervisor for Harrisonburg City Schools, said she is “excited to see this project move ahead” and expressed hope that it will eventually lead to a string instruction program from kindergarten through 12th grade.”

Program Long Time in Coming

Sharon M. Miller, director of 91短视频’s Preparatory Music Program, will administer the new strings instruction program. “This is something that parents and teachers have been requesting for years, and we’re elated to be able to help make it happen,” Miller said.

“91短视频 has provided string instruction to the community through the Shenandoah Valley Preparatory Music Program for many years, because the 91短视频 music faculty believe that music can enrich everyone’s life and should be accessible to all,” Griffing said. “The new strings program in the local schools is a wonderful opportunity to continue achieving this mission.”

According to Griffing and Miller, the availability of strings instruction on the elementary school level will offer numerous benefits to students – “The satisfaction of learning a new skill, the enjoyment of making music with fellow students while developing a stronger work ethic and problem-solving skills.”

Griffing believes student participants will gain more appreciation for Virginia’s musical heritage – including bluegrass music – and “will be more likely to appreciate classical music and support the fine arts as adults.

“Studies have shown that students who play an instrument are most likely to appreciate classical music and support the fine arts as adults,” she said. “Strings are an integral part of today’s musical world, from symphony orchestras to movie sound tracks to rock bands.

“Not all families can afford private lessons or an instrument,” she said. “Public school programs like this provide an alternate way to learn to play a string instrument,” Griffing added.

“We’re excited about the potential this strings program has and the opportunity it affords to give back to the local community,” Miller said.

Students may register by seeing their school music teacher or by calling 91短视频’s preparatory music department at 432-4277. An orientation meeting will be held 6:30 p.m. Sept. 24 at Stone Spring Elementary School.

Ms. Lorcas will be joined by Lori Piitz, piano; Ed Gant, cello; and Pedro Aponte, cuatro, in performing Sonata No. 5 “Spring” for piano and violin by Ludwig von Beethoven, Havanaise by Camille Saint-Saens, three short pieces by Fritz Kreisler and two pieces from Lorcas’ native country, Venezuela.

Maria Lorcas instructs student

Maria Lorcas is in her fourth year as violin instructor in 91短视频’s Preparatory Music Program. She began her undergraduate studies in Venezuela, later receiving her bachelors and masters degrees in violin performance from Duquesne and Carnegie Mellon universities, respectively.

Ms. Lorcas has performed extensively in both Venezuela and the United States. She has been concertmaster of Gran Mariscal de Ayacucho Symphony, Venezuela, first violinist in the Simon Bolivar Symphony, Venezuela, and with the Wheeling, Westmoreland and Altoona (PA) Symphonies. More recently she has performed with the Shenandoah Bach Festival and in orchestras in Charlottesville and Lexington.

Lorcas is a trained Suzuki violin teacher and has been teaching privately and coaching orchestra strings since 1993.

Admission to the recital is free. Donations are welcome for the Shenandoah Valley Preparatory Music program.

The 22-member Junior Strings ensemble, directed by Sharon M.D. Miller, will open the program with the third movement of the Brandenburg Concerto No. 4 by Bach and the "Finale" from Symphony No. 2 in C by Tchaikovsky.

These intermediate string players come from Shenandoah, Rockingham and Augusta Counties, as well as Harrisonburg, New Market, Staunton and Waynesboro. Miller is the administrative director of the 91短视频 where she also teaches Suzuki violin and viola, music education and Suzuki pedagogy courses. She has taught at 91短视频 since 1989.

The string members of the youth symphony will perform three movements of Corelli’s "Concerto VIII" featuring violinists Jessica Peck and Benjamin Roth as well as cellist Nathan Bontrager and Bergen White on harpsichord.

The full orchestra, conducted by Maria Lorcas, will perform Mozart’s "Overture to Don Giovanni," the "Romanian Folk Dances" by Bartok and two movements from Beethoven’s "Symphony No. 7." Seven graduating seniors will be recognized at the concert, followed by a reception for the students and audience.

The Shenandoah Valley Youth Symphony consists of 37 members from a three-county area representing 11 public and private middle and high schools. Students are selected by audition.

Ms. Lorcas is in her third season as the youth symphony conductor. She began her undergraduate studies in her native country of Venezuela and later received bachelor’s and master’s degrees in music (violin performance) from Duquesne and Carnegie Mellon Universities, respectively.

Lorcas has been teaching privately and coaching orchestra strings since 1993. She is also a trained Suzuki violin teacher, has a studio in the Preparatory Music Program and teaches in the Outreach Project.

The Youth Symphony has been a part of the Shenandoah Valley Preparatory Music Program since 1990. Musical instruction is given to 310 students in the following areas: (violin, viola, cello, piano, flute, clarinet, trumpet, guitar, Suzuki violin), (ages 18 months to 6 years), and the Shenandoah Valley Youth Symphony Orchestra/Junior Strings (grades 4-12), and the Violin Outreach Project (funded in part by
the Virginia Commission for the Arts and the Arts Council of the Valley).

Admission to the concert is a suggested $5 donation at the door.

Joan Griffing, music department chair, will present a faculty violin recital 7:30 p.m. Saturday, Sept. 25 in of the seminary building.

Dr. Griffing and guest artist Jeanne Johnson will perform works from the Baroque era. Their repertoire will include “Concerto in d minor for 2 violins” by J.S. Bach, “Sonata in C Major, Op. 4#1 by Archangelo Corelli and “Sonata in d minor (La Folia)” by Antonio Vivaldi and works by other composers.

John W. Fast, assistant professor of music at 91短视频, will accompany the duo on harpsichord.

A member of the 91短视频 music faculty since 1996, Dr. Griffing teaches violin and viola, coaches chamber music and conducts the 91短视频-community orchestra. She is concertmaster of the Shenandoah Valley Bach Festival held each June on the 91短视频 campus.

Griffing earned bachelor