On Thursday, May 30th, at 7pm in the Robert Frost Auditorium, the Collage Concert will feature smaller ensembles and student soloists. The Flute Ensemble, Jazz Combo(pictured at left,) Percussion Ensemble, Chamber Singers, and Chamber Music ensembles will present music that covers a diverse range of styles and genres. There will be music from Bach and Mozart, to that of contemporary composers Mark Carlson and Gernot Wolfgang, to jazz standards and original student compositions. Soloists include guitarists Wesley Park and Kayle Khanmohamed, pianist Isaac Harris, violinist Sara Murphy, percussionist Steven Torres, and woodwind musician Milo Bechtloff Weising. The Chamber Singers, directed by Aaron Sim, recently performed at Walt Disney Concert Hall with the L. A. Master Chorale High School Choir Festival.
On Friday, May 31st, also at 7pm in the Frost Auditorium, the Ensemble Concert will feature the Concert Band, Jazz Ensemble, and String Ensemble. These large student groups will present a program of music prepared throughout the spring semester. The String Ensemble, directed by Dr. Tania Fleischer, recently performed on the AVPA Spring Dance concerts.
Admission for both concerts is free, though donations are accepted to support the various programs offered to the music students.
The concerts cap one of AVPA Music’s busiest spring semesters ever.
Most recently, the Concert Band and Jazz Ensemble, directed by Dr. Tony Spano, participated in the Music in the Parks Music Festival on Saturday, May 18th. With performances at Rio Norte Junior High School in Santa Clarita, the ensembles both received ratings of “Excellent”, with the Concert Band winning 2nd Place and the Jazz Ensemble winning 1st Place in their respective categories. Over 1100 high school and middle school students from throughout the region participated in the festival, which included an awards ceremony at Six Flags Magic Mountain. Jazz Ensemble pianist Isaac Harris also won the “Most Outstanding Jazz Soloist” award as well.
These should be two wonderful concerts. The music program at the AVPA has really taken off in the last few years.