Two concerts planned by GVSU Symphony Orchestra

The 75-member Grand Valley State University Symphony Orchestra, under the direction of Professor Henry E. Duitman, will present two special winter concerts.

A concert on Tuesday, February 24, will begin at 8 p.m in the Louis Armstrong Theatre, Performing Arts Center on the Allendale Campus. The orchestra will also perform on Thursday, February 26, 7:30 p.m., at Fairhaven Ministries Auditorium, 2900 Baldwin St. in Hudsonville. Both concerts are free and open to the public.

Featured soloists for both events will be Grand Valley faculty members, violinist MingHuan Xu, performing with the orchestra for the first time, and cellist Pablo Mahavé-Veglia, well-known to the artistic community of Grand Valley and Western Michigan. They will perform the Double Concerto in A Major by Johannes Brahms.

Joining the orchestra for the Thursday night concert will be the outstanding String Orchestra from Jenison High School, Dan Scott, conductor. The Grand Valley and Jenison orchestras will each perform and then play side-by-side for a performance of the popular Roman Carnival Overture, by Hector Berlioz. The Grand Valley orchestra will also perform the energetic Latin number, Danzon No. 2 by Arturo Márquez.

“One of my first year goals has been to meet as many area high school orchestra directors as possible,” said Duitman, who came to Grand Valley in the fall. “There are so many wonderful opportunities to interact with the community.”

Duitman is also collaborating with the Crooked Tree Arts Center, in Petoskey, to bring a group of 50-60 students in their Community Youth Orchestra to Grand Valley in March.

For more information, call Grand Valley’s Department of Music at (616) 331-3484.

BIOGRAPHIES:

Henry Duitman joined the faculty of Grand Valley State University in fall 2008. During his 22 years as the director of the Northwest Iowa Symphony Orchestra and 23 years as professor on the faculty of Dordt College in Sioux Center, Iowa, Duitman has built orchestra programs with national exposure. In addition he has conducted festival and honors bands and orchestras in Fla., Iowa and Minn. Duitman received a bachelor’s degree in music education from Florida State University and master’s degree from the University of South Florida. He also earned a doctorate degree in music education from Ohio State University.

MingHuan Xu also came to Grand Valley State University in fall 2008. At the age of 6, MingHuan made her recital debut in Beijing and at the age of 11, she won the 1st Prize at the Beijing Young Artists Competition. At the age of 18, she made her N.Y. debut as a soloist with the New York Youth Symphony. MingHuan’s latest recital and chamber music performances have brought her to Carnegie-Weill Recital Hall, Merkin Hall, Symphony Space, and the Smithsonian Institute. MingHuan studied at the Curtis Institute of Music and Northwestern University. Currently she is completing her doctoral work at Stony Brook University. She performs on a 1758 Nicolas Gagliano violin.

Pablo Mahave-Veglia has a repertoire that ranges from the early baroque, performed on period instruments, to his ongoing interest in researching, performing and recording the work of contemporary Latin-American composers. Mahave-Veglia is the cellist of the Kapell Trio, which has performed in the U.S., as well as with their ongoing summer residency at the International Music Academy in Pilsen, Czech Republic. An alumnus of the Interlochen Arts Academy, Mahave-Veglia holds degrees from the University of Wisconsin-Madison, Indiana University and the Eastman School of Music. Additionally, he has attended music festivals worldwide. Mahave-Veglia performs on a baroque cello made by Chilean Luthier Marcelo Cigna in 1986. His modern instrument is a 1790 William Forster on loan to him by an anonymous private collector.