Arts and Entertainment

Concerto competition winners perform with Philharmonic Orchestra Feb. 24

Credit: Annemarie Mountz / Penn StateCreative Commons

UNIVERSITY PARK, Pa. — The Penn State Philharmonic Orchestra will perform its first concert of the spring 2018 semester at 7:30 p.m. on Saturday, Feb. 24, in Eisenhower Auditorium. The ensemble's program includes performances by student Concerto Competition winners, violinist Alma Bulibekova and pianist Carina Hui. The orchestra is conducted by Penn State director of orchestras Gerardo Edelstein, assisted by graduate orchestral conducting student Assaf Benraf. This concert is available on livestream at the Penn State School of Music.

Tickets are $12 for general admission and $4 for students. Buy tickets in advance for School of Music concerts in Eisenhower Auditorium and save 40 percent. There is no limit on the number. Purchases made the the day of the concert are not eligible. Tickets are available at any Arts Ticket Center location, by phone at 814-863-0255 or 1-800-ARTS-TIX, or online at Penn State Arts Ticket Center.

Program

— Overture from "The Flying Dutchman" - Richard Wagner

— Introduction and Rondo Capriccioso in A Minor, Op. 28 - Camille Saint-Saëns (with Alma Bulibekova, violin)

— Allegro (from "Piano Concerto No. 2 in F Major, Op. 102") - Dmitri Shostakovich (with Carina Hui, piano)

— Passacaglia, Op. 1 - Anton Webern (Assaf Benraf, conductor)

— Capriccio Espagnol, Op. 34 - Nicolai Rimsky-Korsakov

Alma Bulibekova was born in Kazakhstan where she completed her undergraduate degree in violin performance at the Kazakh National University of Arts (Astana). She won her first International competition, Giovani Talenti-Premio Rovere d'Oro, at age 12 in Italy. Alma is also the winner of the Republican Competition of Young Performers in Kazakhstan. (2007).

 In 2010, Bulibekova participated in a European tour as  part of the Eurasian Student Symphony Orchestra, playing concerts in Salle Gaveau in Paris (France), Musikverein Hall in Vienna (Austria), Music Hall of Santa Cecilia Conservatory in Rome (Italy), and the Great Hall of Moscow Conservatory in Moscow (Russia). In 2014, she performed a chamber music recital with pianist Zhanel Akhmetova in the Great Hall of Zurich University of Arts (Zurich, Switzerland).

Bulibekova is in her second year of study toward the master’s degree in violin performance. Her teacher at Penn State is Max Zorin.

Carina Hui, a Taiwanese-born pianist and chamber musician, began her piano musical training at the age of 5. She completed her bachelor’s degree at Hsinchu University in Taiwan. After graduating, she was invited to continue her musical training at the Manhattan School of Music, where she received both her master’s degree and Professional Studies Certificate under the guidance of Nina Svetlanova. Hui is currently a teaching assistant at Penn State and pursuing her doctoral degree under José Ramón Méndez.

Hui has performed solo recitals and chamber music in both Taiwan and the United States. In 2016 and 2017, Hui performed solo and chamber recitals at Penn State and was selected to perform in the Graduate Recognition Recital in Esber Hall. Hui has participated in different local and international summer music festivals including PianoSummer in New Paltz, New York and Gijón Piano International Festival in Spain.

The 90-member Philharmonic presents five to six full concerts per academic year. Off campus, the Philharmonic has performed throughout the northeastern United States, including concerts at New York City's Carnegie Hall, Pittsburgh’s Heinz Hall, Philadelphia’s Kimmel Center, and the MENC Eastern Division Conference in Baltimore. In March 2006, the orchestra participated by invitation in the Sixth International Orchestra Festival in Zaragoza, Spain. The Philharmonic’s repertoire from recent years has included works by Brahms, Debussy, Dvorak, Stravinsky, Beethoven, Mahler, Vaughan Williams, Rachmaninoff, and Wagner. Enrollment, open to all University Park students, is by audition at the beginning of each semester.

 

Last Updated February 21, 2018