Friday, July 28, 2017
It’s hard to believe three days have already come and gone here at ClarinetFest®2017! Today was another full schedule, with many area students joining in the festivities for the Middle School/High School Day. The concerts began today with another wonderful potpourri recital in the Sun/Surf room. The incredibly diverse program featured cornerstone works in the repertoire as well as ground breaking works for unique ensembles.
The competitions continued today with the High School Competition. Area middle and high school students attending were able to see the incredible talent of the competition finalists. All finalists performed wonderfully for the panel of judges. The winner of the competition will be announced at the Awards Ceremony on Saturday evening.
There were several wonderful clarinet choir performances including a performance by Belgium’s Claribel Clarinet Choir Guido Six. The Ohio State University Clarinet Ensemble, The University of North Florida Clarinet Choir and The Los Angeles Clarinet Choir all performed fantastic programs with unique and exciting repertoire.
Participants were able to attend lectures about articulation, the business of the clarinet, and how to start a career in doubling. Each lecture offered a unique perspective on an aspect of the clarinet that can be useful to anyone.
The University of Central Florida Percussion Ensemble, conducted by Thad Anderson, performed with several soloists, including Allison Storochuk, the FOUR NEW BROTHERS (Sauro Berti, Rocco Parisi, Sarah Watts and Stephan Vermeersch), Kliment Krylovskiy, Kennon White, Paolo Beltramini and the Stark Quartet on the 4 pm feature recital.
We rounded out the evening with a stunning concert in the Citrus Crown Ballroom featuring the Southern Winds under the baton of Douglas L. Phillips. The group sounded absolutely fantastic performing works by Berlioz, Jeanjean, Weber, a 2017 World Premiere by Seung-Won Oh, Maslanka and Rossini. The soloists Nicolas Baldeyrou, Julie DeRoche, Musician 1st Class Jeffrey DeRoche (percussion), Alex Fiterstein and Anna Hashimoto didn’t disappoint, all playing with impeccable control, color and emotion.
Alex Fiterstein performs the Maslanka Concerto for Clarinet and Wind Ensemble with Southern Winds
