The three winners of the Ithaca College School of Music Concerto Competition will perform with the Ithaca College Symphony Orchestra, conducted by Jeffrey Grogan, on Saturday, February 26. The free concert will begin at 8:15 p.m. in Ford Hall in the James J. Whalen Center for Music.
Graduate marimbist Yu-Tzu Huang will be featured in a concerto by Anders Koppel, junior soprano Alexandra Loutsion will perform an aria by Massanet, and graduate student Russell Posegate will play the opening movement of Saint-Saëns's second piano concerto. In addition, the symphony orchestra will perform Brahms's Symphony no. 4.
Held annually, the concerto competition is open to Ithaca College students enrolled in private lessons with a School of Music faculty member during the semester of the competition. This year, 23 students made it through the preliminary auditions and proceeded to the finals, where they performed for a seven-member faculty committee.
Yu-Tzu Huang is a native of Taiwan, where she performed extensively with the Jumping Percussion Group and the Ju Percussion Group. She graduated from the National Taipei University of the Arts in 2004. She is currently a master's student studying with professor of music performance Gordon Stout.
Alexandra Loutsion is a junior vocal performance major studying with associate professor of music performance Randie Blooding. She has recently performed "Una Conversa in Suor Angelica" with the Music Festival of Lucca in Italy and the title role in Purcell's Dido and Aeneas with the Ithaca College Opera Workshop. This summer she will attend the Florence (Italy) Voice Seminar with Benita Valente.
Russell Posegate is currently pursuing his master's degree in piano performance. A student of associate professor of music performance Read Gainsford, Posegate received his bachelor's degree in music education from Ithaca College in 1999, having studied trumpet with Kim Dunnick, professor and chair of music performance.
https://www.ithaca.edu/intercom/article.php/2005021810521665