The two orchestras based at the Danbury Music Centre, the Danbury Symphony Orchestra and the Danbury Community Orchestra, will each feature some of the greater Danbury's area's finest local young talent as soloists on their respective concerts.
On May 4th at 7:30 PM at Western Connecticut State University's Visual and Performing Arts Center, Stephen Michael Smith will lead the Danbury Community Orchestra's performance on a program titled 'May the Fourth be With You!'
The featured soloist will be graduating senior, violinist Juliana Chetcuti, who will perform the first movement of Bruch's Violin Concerto No. 1 in G Minor. The program will also include works by Mendelssohn, Schubert, and selections from 'A Star is Born' and 'Star Wars.' Audience members are encouraged to dress up as their favorite Star Wars character. Funding for this concert was provided in part by OrthoConnecticut.
On May 11th at 7:30 also at VPAC, the Danbury Symphony Orchestra, led by Ariel Rudiakov, will present its annual Young People's Concert. The concert will feature this year's winner of the Danbury Symphony Orchestra Concerto Competition, pianist Joy Xu, who competed along with several others at the competition in March. She was selected as the winner by the two competition judges, Rudiakov and Smith, and is an 8th grader at Hopkins School in New Haven. She will be performing the first movement from Beethoven's Piano Concerto No. 2 in Bb Major. Also on the concert will be a collaboration with Danbury Centre Strings, which is led by Glen Lebetkin, featuring a performance of Carnival of the Animals with puppets featuring Robert Rogers Puppet Company. Funding for this concert was provided in part by the Danbury Cultural Commission, Nico's Pizza and Pasta, Peg Heetmann, and Joan and Steve Howard - a Donor Advised Fund of The U.S. Charitable Gift Trust.
About Danbury Music Centre:
The Danbury Music Centre is a non-profit, 501(c)3 organization located on Danbury’s Main Street that provides classical community music experiences through ensembles and events.
Photos of Ariel Rudikov, Stephen Michael Smith, Joy Xu, and Juliana Chetcuti are attached.