Written by Allison Ericson

VSU students, faculty and staff are invited to “Virtuosity,” a concert showcasing VSU’s talented students. “Virtuosity” will have 27 VSU music majors performing in the orchestra and is expected to have an audience of 500 people.

VSU Concerto competition winners Alexander Schimpf and Mario Rivera will be performing pieces that are sure to showcase the concert’s theme of virtuosity.

Schimpf will be performing part of Brahms’ “Piano Concerto No. 2.”

“(This piece is) regarded by many pianists as one of the most difficult in the repertory,” Dr. Howard Hsu, assistant professor of music said.

Rivera, music major, will perform stimulating passages from Stauss’ “Don Juan” and Bartok’s “Viola Concerto.”

“Strauss’ ‘Don Juan’ is famous for pushing an orchestra to its limit, and many players will find passages from this piece on their list of excerpts required for auditions,” Hsu said.

Students began rehearsing for the concert in the beginning of March and are sure to impress. The audience will not only experience these students’ skills but will also receive a behind-the-scenes look at how a composer creates a musical work.

The concert will take place on Friday at 10 a.m. in the Whitehead Auditorium. It will last 45 to 50 minutes and will be followed by a question-and-answer session.

“For many students, the VSO Youth Concert is their only exposure to a live orchestra and classical music, so we want to give them insight into the incredible music and orchestra performances,” Hsu said. “We are extremely fortunate to have a professional orchestra in this region because many larger areas either don’t have an orchestra or have lost theirs.”