See
tomorrow’s musical leaders in action as outstanding students of the University
of South Carolina School of Music shine in the next USC Symphony Orchestra
concert. The first half of the March 13 concert showcases winners of the
orchestra’s concerto-aria competition and student conductors performing works spanning
four centuries by Haydn, Beethoven, Brahms and Ibert.
After
intermission orchestra music director Donald Portnoy will conduct Bizet’s
Symphony in C.
Students
in the spotlight are from around the U.S. as well as South America and Asia.
 |
| Nové Deypalan |
The
concert opens with “Overture to Egmont” written by Ludwig van Beethoven in 1810.
Conducting will be Nove Deypalan who in February conducted the world premiere
of “Dream of a Hundred Flowers” by Fang Man at Carnegie Hall. Deypalan, a
native of the Philippines, studied at the University of the Philippines College
of Music and was composer and conductor at the Cultural Center of the
Philippines. A doctoral student in
conducting, Deypalan holds a master’s degree from the University of Southern
California.
The work was a commission for a production of Goethe’s tragedy “Egmont.” The composer waived his fee “merely for love of the poet.”
 |
| Blair Francis |
Paula
Anne Ulicsni will conduct the third movement of the Concerto for Flute and
Orchestra by Jacques Ibert, with soloist Blair Francis. Francis, principal
flutist of the orchestra, is a senior performance major and the 2011 Presser
Scholar. She has been an award winner in
the Florida Flute Association College Young Artist Competition, the South
Carolina Flute Society’s Young Artist Competition and the National Flute
Association Masterclass Performers Competition.
 |
| Paula Anne Ulicsni |
Ulicsni
is pursuing a master’s degree in instrumental conducting. She has been assistant
conductor of Opera at USC, participated in the 2010 and 2011 Conductors
Institute of South Carolina and conducted for in the 2010 concerto-aria
Competition concert. She holds a bachelor’s degree from the University of
Minnesota Duluth.
The
third movement of the 1934 concerto immediately became a test piece at the
Paris Conservatory, in part due to its difficulty; for the same reason 20 years
passed before it became a frequent concert choice.
Robert
Brown conducts Franz Joseph Haydn’s Trumpet Concerto in E-flat Major, first
movement, with soloist Oswaldo Zapata.
 |
| Oswaldo Zapata |
Zapata
is from Colombia, South America, where he earned a music performance degree
from the Universidad Nacional de Colombia. In 2000 he began studying in his
native country with James Ackley, who is now on the School of Music faculty,
and in 2008 he came to USC to continue working with Ackley. Zapata is pursuing
a master’s degree in music performance.
 |
| Robert Brown |
Brown,
a master’s degree student in orchestral conducting, received a bachelor’s degree
from Moravian College in Pennsylvania where he performed in various ensembles
as a saxophonist, served as student director for the Moravian College BIG Band and
organized and conducted a full performance of Igor Stravinsky’s “The Soldier’s
Tale.”
The
Trumpet Concerto, written in 1796, is the one of the first important works
written for the recently-invented keyed trumpet.
 |
| Yi Yang |
 |
| Ying-Li Pan |
A
native of Taiwan, Ying-Li Pan is pursuing her master’s degree in performance.
She holds the positions of concertmaster with the USC Chamber Orchestra and associate
concertmaster with the Symphony Orchestra. A graduate of National Taiwan Normal
University, she toured with the Normal University Symphony Orchestra and Asia
Youth Orchestra throughout Asia, Australia and the U.S.
The
1878 work is the only violin concerto by the composer. He wrote the work for
his lifelong friend violinist Joseph Joachim.
 |
| Donald Portnoy |
Maestro
Portnoy will take the podium to conduct Georges Bizet’s Symphony in C. Bizet
wrote the symphony, his only one, when he was 17. The Symphony in C was not
discovered until decades after the composer’s death in 1875, with its first
performance given in 1935.
The
USC Symphony Orchestra, 7:30 p.m. Tuesday, March 13. Koger Center for the Arts.
Tickets are $25; $20 for USC faculty and staff and seniors, $8 for students.
Call (803) 251-2222 or go to capitoltickets.com
(To arrange interviews
with any of the participants, please contact the USC Symphony Orchestra at
803-777-7500.)
