Grove City College’s Symphony Orchestra will perform at the National Association for Music Education (NAfME) Eastern Division Conference Thursday, April 4 at the David L. Lawrence Convention Center in Pittsburgh.
The conference will be attended by approximately 4,000 music teachers, performers, business exhibitors and high school music students who will be participating in sessions, honors music ensembles and other professional development activities.
This is the first time the Symphony Orchestra has been selected to perform at an Eastern Division Conference, having previously been selected to perform at the PMEA State Conference in 2013. The symphony orchestra was selected by a rigorous evaluation process that included applications from 170 ensembles representing 14 states from the Northeast and Mid Atlantic regions.
“I am honored that the judging committee affirmed the dedication to excellence that exists within the Music Department, and specifically the orchestra program, at Grove City College. I am thrilled to share our students and their hard work with this audience of musicians and promote the commitment to excellence that exists at Grove City College,” Dr. Jeffrey M. Tedford ’00, director of orchestras and professor of Music, said.
The Symphony Orchestra will perform twice at the conference. The first performance will be the world premiere of a work written by a high school student from Pennsylvania who won the annual PMEA Composition Competition. The second will be a 40-minute concert featuring selections that the orchestra has been rehearsing since November, including the world premiere of a composition by Grove City College Professor of Music Dr. Joseph Hasper entitled “Suite for a Short Time.”
Two senior music majors who won the Fall 2018 Concerto/Aria Competition will also be featured: Vocal Performance major Callie Roberts ’19 will sing “Ain’t It a Pretty Night” from Carlisle Floyd’s opera “Susannah” and Music and Biology major Meredith Stratton ’19 will perform the first movement of the Vaughan-Williams Concerto in A minor for Oboe and String Orchestra.
“To be selected to perform at the NAfME Eastern Division Conference is not only a great honor and testament to our hard work as an orchestra, but also a rare opportunity to perform for an audience of such wide scope. The thought of playing for educators, students and musicians from 14 different states is quite exciting – what a special way to represent the Grove City College Department of Music and share what we are all about,” Sarah Dawson ’21, a Music Education major and orchestra President, said,
Orchestra Concertmaster Allison Smith ’21, a Music Education major, echoed that sentiment. “I am thrilled to have this opportunity to share great music performed at a high level with the attendees of the conference. I think it is a phenomenal opportunity for our orchestra and we will make some great memories from this performance,” she said.
Principal Percussionist Matthew Hickly ’20, a Music Education major said he was excited to perform for the conference audience. “This is a great opportunity for us to get our name out there and showcase the pieces we’ve worked hard on,” he said.