March 29, 2024
Annapolis, US 52 F

Londontowne Symphony Orchestra presents Carnival of the Animals

Anna Dunlap, harp, 12th grader at Severna Park High School will play the second movement of Debussy’s Danses Sacree et Profane.
Anna Dunlap, harp, 12th grader at Severna Park High School will play the second movement of Debussy’s Danses Sacree et Profane.

Bob Brown Puppets will narrate while the LSO plays Saint-Saëns’ Carnival of the Animals. And the three high school student winners of the Young Artist Competition will become stars as they each solo with the orchestra. “This is a concert for all ages who like the dramatic” said Anna Binneweg, the LSO Music Director and Conductor. “Puppets will talk to the young people about the music they will be hearing, and witnessing the music and growth of rising stars will bring a chill or a tear to any adult.”

Two well-known local pianists, Helen Smith Tarchalski and William Bloomquist, will be featured in the Carnival of the Animals as well as other individual members of the orchestra as the instruments represent different animals.

The Young Artist Competition was sponsored by the LSO and held last November. The only criteria that students needed to meet were that they be a Maryland resident, in grades 9-12 and not over the age of 19 as of the competition date.

The winners (and rising stars) are:

Glenna Cureton, violin, will play the first movement of Wieniawski’s  Concerto No. 2 in D minor. Glenna is 17 and in the 12th grade, homeschooled in Baltimore. She studies violin with Lauren Rausch.

Anna Dunlap, harp, will play the second movement of Debussy’s Danses Sacree et Profane. Anna is 17 and in the 12th grade at Severna Park High School. She studies harp with Michaela Tvnkova.

Evelyn Song, piano, will play the first movement of Grieg’s Concerto in A minor. Evelyn is 15 and in the 10th grade at Cedar Brooke Academy in Clarksburg, MD. She studies violin with Natasha Dukan.

There was also an honorable mention awarded to Katherine McCarthy, cello, who attends Broadneck High School and studies cello with Dan Shomper.

Rounding out the program the orchestra will play Ravel’s La Valse.

Bob Brown Puppets have enriched the lives, the imaginations, and the potential creative abilities of hundreds of thousands of children for over 50 years. Each year, they play to 60 to 75 thousand youngsters, now performing for the children of those they played to 35 years ago.

Bob Brown and his wife, Judy, were invited to create the Smithsonian Puppet Theater in 1967, and they moved from New York and settled in Virginia at that time.

It is impossible to separate the work of these master puppeteers, as each serves a vital role in each other’s creative process. Judy conceives a new project, Bob, as the designer, turns the concept into a workable area. Judy creates the scripts; Bob creates the puppets, sets and props. Judy is the director; Bob is the performer. A perfect combination that has resulted in wonderful creations that bring together art, music and story-telling to the delight of children (and grown-ups) everywhere.

Bob Brown said, “Our Concert Programs always serve the music first. We aim to not only capture the imagination of our young audiences, and fine tune their musical ears, but to also set them on a lifelong adventure of discovering the excitement of symphonic music. We want youngsters to leave our concerts saying, ‘That was really neat! When can we come back?’.”

Anna Binneweg was on the elite panel of judges for the Young Artist Competition. She has been the Music Director/Conductor of the LSO since 1997. She is also the Music Director/Conductor of the Anne Arundel Community College Symphony Orchestra where she  serves as Associate Professor of Music and teaches courses in music theory and conducting. Anna holds a doctor of music degree in orchestral conducting from Northwestern University.

Also on the judging panel were William Bloomquist, the competition coordinator, pianist and frequent soloist with the LSO; Donna Willingham, violinist and harpsichordist, the concertmaster of the LSO, and a 22-year member of the prestigious US Marine Band President’s Own; and Kerry Willingham, principal oboist with the LSO, the former principal oboist with the United States Army Field Band of Washington D. C., and performs with his wife, Donna, in the Annapolis Baroque Ensemble in many historic houses in the Annapolis, MD area.

The “Puppets & Stars” concert will be held on April 6, 2014, at 3pm at the South River High School in Edgewater. General admission for the concert is $15, seniors are $10, and all students are free. Tickets are available at the door or before the concert by visiting www.LSO-music.org or by calling (410) 562-8920.

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