Four members of the Shenandoah Valley Youth Orchestra who have formed a string quartet will open the concert with selections by Tchaikovsky and Anderson.

The Junior Strings ensemble, directed by Sharon M. Miller, will play several classical selections by Handel and Vivaldi as well as a fiddle tune. This intermediate-level group has 13 members from Shenandoah, Rockingham, Shenandoah and Augusta counties.

The concert will continue with small groups of Youth Orchestra members. A wind quintet will play one number and a brass sextet will perform two pieces.

The 46-member Youth Orchestra, conducted by Maria Lorcas, will perform the 鈥淐oncerto for Oboe in C major” by Haydn featuring Perry Maddox, the 鈥淐oncerto for Cello No. 1鈥� by Saint-Saens featuring Joseph Roth, the Introduction and Finale from 鈥淩omeo and Juliet鈥� by Tchaikovsky and 鈥淪lavonic Dances Nos. 4 and 8鈥� by Dvorak. Students are from Rockingham, Augusta, Shenandoah, Page and Alleghany counties as well as West Virginia.

The featured soloists are Perry Maddox, oboe, and Joseph Roth, cello. Perry is the son of Charles and Martha Maddox. A senior at Broadway High School, he is in the Wind Symphony, Honors Choir, and Jazz Ensemble, and has participated in regional and state ensembles, recently as tenor sax in the all-VA Jazz Ensemble and principal oboe in the all-VA Orchestra. He has taken piano lessons for 11 years and oboe lessons for four-and-a-half years. In addition, he has participated in the Shenandoah Valley Children鈥檚 Choir for five years.

Currently, Perry studies oboe with Rhonda Stees and piano with Dr. Pat Brady. After high school, he plans to double major in music and ecology.

Joseph Roth is the son of Ken and Terri Roth. A senior at Harrisonburg High School, Joseph has been active in sports (cross country, track and tennis) and school clubs (French Club president, Gay Straight Alliance
Club). Joseph was chosen by audition for the South Central Regional Orchestra and has performed in musicals at Broadway High School as well as at Harrisonburg High school. He has taken piano lessons for eight years and cello for six years in the Shenandoah Valley Preparatory Music Program at EMU.

Joseph currently studies cello with Lisa Wright and piano with John Fast. Joseph has been active in the youth group at Community Mennonite Church and participated in a service project in Harlan, KY. After graduation,
Joseph plans to study psychology and then attend medical school.

The Shenandoah Valley Youth Orchestra and Junior Strings ensemble are part of 草莓社区’s Shenandoah Valley Preparatory Music Program.

A five-dollar donation is requested at the door to assist in the operation of these groups.

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 EMU where she also teaches Suzuki violin and viola, music education and Suzuki pedagogy courses. She has taught at EMU 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.