THE ORCHESTRA AT WILLIAM PATERSON UNIVERSITY PRESENTS SEASON FINALE ON APRIL 26

The Orchestra at William Paterson University closes its 2002 – 2003 season on Saturday, April 26. In an 8 p.m. concert at the Shea Center for the Performing Arts on campus in Wayne, the Orchestra performs a "Celebration of our Community" program that includes American, Russian, and French music. The 2003 Mae and Fletcher Fish Young Artist Competition finalists will also perform.

Paul Hostetter, conductor for the New Jersey Youth Symphony, music director of the Lyric Orchestra of New York and principal conductor for the Winter Sun Music Festival in St. Petersburg, Florida, will conduct the program featuring contemporary composer Joan Tower’s "Fanfare for the Uncommon Woman," Debussy’s "Nocturnes: Nuages, Fetes," and Tchaikovsky’s "1812 Overture."

Three young musicians have been selected to perform as finalists in the 2003 Mae and Fletcher Fish Young Artists Competition. Jerry Chiu, a violinist from East Brunswick, will perform the Allegro non troppo from Vieuxtemps’s "Concerto No. 5." Megan Emigh, a flutist from Haddonfield, presents Martin’s "Ballade," and Lisa Romain, violinist from Morristown, performs "Carmen Fantasy, Op. 25" by de Sarasate. The competition is open to high school-aged musicians who will be in grades 9, 10, 11 or 12 and reflects the Orchestra’s commitment to promoting youth education and participation in the arts.

This professional orchestra is underwritten, in part, by William Paterson University, and the Passaic County Cultural and Heritage Council at Passaic County Community College through the State County Block Grant Program of the New Jersey State Council on the Arts/Department of State, a Partner Agency of the National Endowment for the Arts.

Tickets for the concert are $25 standard, $20 for seniors (age 60 and older). For additional information on the concert, please call the Shea Center for Performing Arts Box Office at 973.720.2371.
(Biographical information on finalists below.)

4/14/03

# # #

FINALISTS IN THE 2003 MAE AND FLETCHER FISH YOUNG ARTISTS COMPETITION
Jerry (Ding-Chih) Chiu (East Brunswick, New Jersey)

Jerry Chiu, born in Taiwan in 1988, began piano study at age four and added violin study at age five. Chiu’s formal training began at age six at the Kuang-Ren private music school in Taipei City. Chiu and his family immigrated to the United States when he was eleven years old. Currently, he studies with Dorothy DeLay and Masao Kawasaki at Juilliard’s pre-college division. Recent performances include an invitation to perform at Taipei’s Art for Children concert in 2000, Sino Magazine’s annual New Jersey concert, and a first-place slot at the East Brunswick Young Musicians Competition.
Megan Emigh (Haddonfield, New Jersey)

Megan Emigh began playing the flute at age seven. Currently, she studies with Bradley Garner at Juilliard’s pre-college division. Previously, she studied with Mary Stolper and was a member of the Midwest Young Artists' orchestra and chamber programs in Chicago. In May of 2002, Emigh was selected to play on the "From The Top" radio program taped at Lincoln Center, N.Y. She was also the guest soloist for the Knox-Galesburg Symphony Orchestra's June 2002 concert. Emigh has been a winner of the Julius Baker Masterclasses, Midwest Young Artists Walgreen's Concerto Competition, the Festival of Flutes Competition, and the Society of American Musicians Competition.
Lisa Romain (Morristown, New Jersey)

Lisa Romain began violin studies at age four. Romain was a winner of the Frank and Lydia Bergen Foundation Scholarship and the Goldblatt Scholarship Competition. She performed with the Summit Symphony Orchestra in May 2002 as a winner of the Summit Symphony Young Artists Competition. Romain has also participated in master classes given by Philip Setzer, the Emerson String Quartet, and Jacques Israelievitch, concertmaster of the Toronto Symphony. Each summer since 1998, Lisa has attended the Meadowmount School of Music in Westport, N.Y., continuing her studies with Steven Rochen and Ann Setzer. Currently Ann Setzer’s student at the Pre-College Division of the Juilliard School, she attends high school at the Villa Walsh Academy in Morristown.

# # #

For Further Information, contact:

Mary Beth Zeman, Director, Public Relations 973-720-2966