CONTACT: Ellen Schantz, Director of Communications and Marketing, at 847-491-5726 or eschantz@northwestern.edu

FOR RELEASE: March 26, 2008

PDF version of this statement

Outstanding Northwestern Music Students to
Perform at Kennedy Center

On May 19, 2008, at 5 p.m. CDT, click this link
to view the live stream of the performance

CLICK TO WATCH ARCHIVES OF PAST PERFORMANCES
When you get to the page, scroll down to find links to
performances from 2005, 2006, and 2007.
You will need the most recent version of RealPlayer
installed on your browser in order to watch the performance online.

EVANSTON, Ill. --- Five Northwestern University School of Music students will perform at the Kennedy Center in Washington, D.C., on May 19, as part of the John F. Kennedy for the Performing Arts Conservatory Project for developing and presenting young talent.

Twice a year, the nation’s leading music schools are invited to send students to the Kennedy Center's Terrace Theatre to introduce top new talent to the public. Project participants have the opportunity to be critiqued by world-renown musicians, such as conductor Leonard Slatkin and tenor and opera administrator Plácido Domingo.

During the May 2008 cycle of performances, in addition to Northwestern, students from the Oberlin Conservatory, Berklee College of Music, Eastman School of Music at the University of Rochester, Indiana University Jacobs School of Music, and Shepherd School of Music at Rice University will perform.

The Conservatory Project is part of the Kennedy Center's "Performing Arts for Everyone" initiative, which provides free daily performances at 5 p.m. CDT.

The following Northwestern music students will perform at the Kennedy Center May 19:

Karin Bliznik, trumpet
Karin Bliznik is pursuing a Master of Music degree, studying with Barbara Butler and Christopher Martin.  Bliznik recently won First Place in the Masters Division at the 2007 National Trumpet Competition in Washington D.C, and was also part of the Northwestern Trumpet Ensemble which received First Place in the same competition. Bliznik is currently performing with the 2008 Spoleto Music Festival Orchestra, and has also played with the London Philharmonic, the Boston Pops Esplanade Orchestra, and at the Tanglewood Music Center.  She completed her undergraduate studies at Boston University.

Ellen Huntington, flute
Ellen Huntington is a second year Doctor of Music student and studies with Walfrid Kujala.  As the recipient of a Fulbright Grant, she studied with Jean-Claude Gérard, as well, at the Hochschule für Musik und Darstellende Kunst in Stuttgart, Germany.  Her other awards include the Union League Civic and Arts Foundation Award, the Farwell Award from the Musicians Club of Women in Chicago, and the Sigma Alpha Iota Graduate Performance Award.  Huntington is currently second flute with the Quad City Symphony Orchestra as well as a substitute with the Chicago Symphony Orchestra and the Wisconsin Chamber Orchestra.  A frequent recitalist, she has been featured at the Chicago Cultural Center, Augustana College, and the University of Chicago.  She received a Bachelor of Music degree from Northwestern University and a Master of Music degree from The Ohio State University.

Jennise Hwang, violin
Jennise Hwang is a senior and studies with Almita and Roland Vamos.  Among her many honors are the Twin Cities Union American Federation of Musicians Award in the 2008 WAMSO Young Artist Competition; First Prizes in the Young Artist String category at the East Central division in the Music Teacher National Association, the International Young Artists Peninsula Music Festival Competition, the Korea Times Violin Competition, and the Southwestern Youth Music Festival.  Hwang was also designated a Merit Scholar by the National Foundation of Advancement of the Arts and a scholarship recipient by the Young Musician and Leni Re Bland Foundations.  She has performed as a guest soloist for Canada’s Niagara Chamber Music Festival and the Ganei Tikva Orchestra in Israel, and has been heard as a chamber musician in the Bing Theater in Los Angeles.  She has also served as concertmistress of the Northwestern University and Colburn Chamber Orchestras.

Sergiy Komirenko, piano
Sergiy Komirenko is pursuing a Master of Music degree and studies with James Giles. Born in the Ukraine, he has amassed numerous awards including First Prizes in the Music Teachers National Association Illinois State and East Central Regional Competition, the Beethoven Society’s 17th Annual Beethoven Piano Competition, the MTNA-Yamaha Piano Competition, the 22nd Bartok-Kabalevsky-Prokofiev International Piano Competition, the MTNA-Baldwin Piano Competition, and the Seventh International Steinway-Paris Piano Competition.   Komirenko has also won Second Prize and a Special Prize for the best performance of Shostakovich at the Fourth International Krainev Piano Competition in Kharkiv, Ukraine, and Third Prize at the 12th International Chopin Piano Competition in Corpus Christi, Texas. Engagements for him include solo appearances with the Raleigh Symphony and Civic Orchestras, Durham Symphony Orchestra, and Tar River Philharmonic

Deanna Talens, cello
Deanna Talens is pursuing a Master of Music degree and studies with Hans Jorgen Jensen. At age 11, she debuted with the Madison Symphony Orchestra and since then has appeared as a guest artist with the Milwaukee and Victoria Symphony Orchestras, and as a recitalist and chamber musician in Boston’s Jordan Hall, the Konzerthaus and the Philharmonie in Berlin, and the Weill Recital Hall at Carnegie Hall.  Among her many honors are a Gold Medal at the Stulberg International String Competition, First Prizes in the Kingsville International Concerto Competition and the National MTNA Strings Competition, and Third Prize at the Witold Lutowslawski International Cello Competition. Talens was also awarded the David Shafran Prize of Hope Award at the 2002 Tchaikovsky International Competition, the Shar Award in 2001 for showing the highest artistry with potential for a promising career, and was specially invited to appear as a guest soloist at the 2000 World Cello Congress III in Baltimore, MD.  She earned an undergraduate degree at the Hochschule für Musik.

Pianist Kay Kim will accompany all five students.

______________________

Northwestern University at the Kennedy Center

May 19, 2008, at 6 p.m.

Peter Tchaikovsky (1840-1893): Pezzo capriccioso, Op.62
Deanna Talens, cello
Kay Kim, piano

André Jolivet (1905-1974): Chant de Linos
Ellen Huntington, flute
Kay Kim, piano

Franz Waxman (1906-1967): Carmen Fantasy
Jennise Hwang, violin                                   
Kay Kim, piano

Henri Tomasi (1901-1971): Concerto for Trumpet
II.  Nocturne 
III. Finale
Karin Bliznik, trumpet
Kay Kim, piano

Frédéric Chopin (1810-1849): Andante spianato and Grande Polonaise Brillante, Op. 22 in Eb Major 
Sergiy Komirenko, piano

           
More information about The Conservatory Project

Visit the Kennedy Center's web page about the Northwestern School of Music, including links to video of the 2005, 2006 and 2007 Conservatory Project performances.

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