Orchestra of Southern Utah season finale concert features young artists

CEDAR CITY – Exciting music and talented young performers promise a great finale to the Orchestra of Southern Utah season.

OSU Conductor and Music Director Xun Sun conducts the orchestra and young soloists for this special event, which features two sisters, a mother-to-be and a young man who taught himself to read music.  The concert also includes performances by the orchestra conducted by OSU Assistant Conductor Gerald Rheault and guest conductor Zheng Guo. Musicians Hillary Dalton, Rylee Dalton, Kristen Nielson and Michael Wager have been selected through competitive audition to perform with OSU at the R.L. Halversen Young Artist Concert April 18 at the Cedar City Heritage Center.

Hillary Dalton was featured as a Young Artist during the 2010 Halversen Concert and also performed as a soloist with the Southwest Symphony in the Salute to Youth Concert 2009. She has been concertmaster and member of several youth orchestras including All-State, BYU Summerfest, Zion Youth Symphony, Red Cliffs Chamber and St. George Youth Orchestras and has received top honors in many competitions and festivals. She will perform Sibelius’s “Violin Concerto” finale.

Rylee Dalton, Hillary Dalton’s 14-year-old sister, has been awarded superior ratings in competition and a scholarship from the Southern Utah Performing Arts Festival. She has performed at many venues including Tuacahn Summer Arts Institute, Utah Festival Opera and Musical Theater, recitals and care centers. Singing has always been a major part of her life and she recently discovered her true passion in opera. She will sing “Quando Me’n Vo” from Puccini’s “La Bohème.”

Nielson began her musical undertaking with the violin when she was six years old. At age eight she learned the piano, and at age 14 added the viola to her musical repertoire. She joined OSU in high school and has continued with the orchestra through her recent graduation from Southern Utah University. She also attended the Intermountain Suzuki Strings, learning from world renowned music artists and teachers. She is happily married and looking forward to the birth of her first child. Nielson will perform “Summer” by Vivaldi.

Wager began teaching himself to read music at age seven and soon began taking piano lessons. He later learned the violin and cello. He is a senior at SUU majoring in music performance and has been a member of OSU since 2008. He has also performed with the Utah Symphony, David Archuleta and Kurt Bestor. He will play Elgar’s “Cello Concerto,” first movement.

The orchestra will also perform “The Moldau” from “Má Vlast” by Czechoslovakian composer Bedřich Smetana and Liszt’s “Hungarian Rhapsody #2.”

Major concert sponsors include the Sterling and Shelli Gardner Foundation, the Dixie and Anne Leavitt Foundation and the local Rotary Club.

“Financial support from these foundations make it possible for us to keep ticket prices lower as well as perform in our beautiful Heritage Center,” OSU Manager Sara Penny said. “We appreciate their support.”

The R.L. Halversen Young Artist Concert will be held April 18 at 7:30 pm.  Doors open at 6:45 with lobby music by pianist Mikael Thatcher.  Tickets may be purchased at the Cedar City Heritage Center Box Office by calling 435-865-2882 or online and are $10 for adults, $5 for children age six and over and $30 for groups of six. Purchasing tickets in advance is recommended.

Event details and contact information

Date: April 18

Time: 7:30 p.m., doors open at 6:45

Location: Cedar City Heritage Center

Admission: $10 for adults, $5 for children, $30 for groups of six

Contact: Sara Penny – 435-586-2286

Submitted by: Orchestra of Southern Utah

Email: [email protected]

Twitter: @STGnews

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