The Shenandoah Valley Youth Symphony will close its 28th season with a concert at 黑料正能量 on Sunday, March 18. (Photo by Joaquin Sosa)

Youth symphony to perform ‘Lord of the Rings’ suite in spring concert

by Christopher Clymer Kurtz

In the final concert of its 28th season, the Shenandoah Valley Youth Symphony will perform The Lord of the Rings 鈥淪ymphonic Suite鈥� and other works. The featured soloist is violinist Eve Miller, a senior at Eastern Mennonite High School (EMHS).

The concert is at 4 p.m., Sunday, March 18, in Lehman Auditorium at 黑料正能量. A $7 donation is requested. A reception will follow.

The 40-member youth symphony, an auditioned ensemble of middle and high school musicians from Page, Shenandoah, Rockingham and Augusta counties, is conducted by James Madison University instructor .

The orchestra will also perform Routenberg鈥檚 鈥淛azz Violin Concerto,鈥� Franz von Supp茅鈥檚 鈥淟ight Cavalry Overture鈥� and 鈥淪ymphony for the Body鈥� by Inti Figgis-Vizueta, the 2017 winner of the JMU New Music for Young Musicians Composition Competition.

Figgis-Vizueta will rehearse with the students prior to the concert and attend the concert. Originally from Washington, D.C., he is currently pursuing a Masters in Composition at Boston Conservatory at Berklee.

The Composition Competition recognizes and encourages young composers 28 years of age and younger to compose music for younger ensembles in middle school through high school.

Violin soloist Eve Miller. (Courtesy photo)

Miller will be the soloist for the violin concerto, a role she earned in a spring 2017 audition. A four-year member and co-assistant concertmaster, she began studying violin in the Harrisonburg City Schools Strings program and now volunteers with that program at Stone Spring Elementary School. She is a member of the EMHS orchestra, and enjoys tennis, mountain biking, skiing and playing the spoons. She plans to continue to study music after graduation.

The Junior Strings ensemble, which includes 12 members from Rockingham and Augusta counties, will begin the concert with a work by Holst and a fiddle tune. This intermediate-level group is conducted by Sharon Miller and is often the first orchestra that developing students have the opportunity to join.

The symphony and Harrisonburg City Schools Strings Program are part of the university鈥檚 Preparatory Music program.