Student News

Deana Cooks, Leah Redding and Rebekah Ruetz at the Bayshore Town Centre concert, Dec. 1, 2007

String Academy students have been busy this year performing over 35 concerts and recitals at UWM and around Milwaukee. Fall Concerts took place on November 17th at the Peck School of the Arts Recital Hall. The entire school body performed in concert at Bayshore Town Center on December 1st. Soloists Katya and Kartik Papatla, Andy Maslowski and Brian Zhang, along with I Cellisti and Violin Virtuosi groups, gave a performance at the downtown Milwaukee Public Library on December 8th. A group of SAW students presented a pre-concert performance with solos and group ensembles for the January 27th MSO Kinderkonzert in Magin Lounge at the Marcus Center for the Performing Arts. The SAW Spring Concerts were presented on March 15th in the Peck School of the Arts Recital Hall. Each concert featured violin and cello groups along with two winners of the SAW Concerto Competition. Violinist Rebekah Ruetz performed Mollenhauer’s The Boy Paganini and cellist Christian Morzinski performed Squire’s Danse Rustique with the SAW Chamber Orchestra. Concert repertoire included Folk songs, Irish tunes, and works by Bartok, Kreisler, Shostakovitch, Handel, Grieg, Schubert, Schumann and Granados.

Chaunte Ross, 2008 MSO Young Artist winner

Cassidy Franzmeier and Dee Luo were among the winners in the 2008 Milwaukee Symphony Orchestra’s Bach Double Competition. They performed on the March 2008 MSO ACE concert.

Katya Papatla and Jonathan Yu were featured soloists with the Homestead High School chamber orchestra last November. They performed the Bach Brandenburg Concerto No. 5 in concert at St. Boniface Church in Mequon.

Chaunte Ross was a semi-finalist in the 2008 Sphinx Competition in Detroit, Michigan. She was also a finalist in the Madison Symphony’s Concerto Competition and performed with the orchestra on April 2, 2008, in a live public television broadcast.

Chaunte Ross was a winner in the 2008 MSO Young Artist competition. Honorable Mention awards in this competition went to Kathryn Kozera, Katya Papatla, Jacob Wunsch, Daniel Yeager, Jonathan Yu, and Brian Zhang. These six students will perform side-by-side with members of the MSO at the Pabst Theater on Wednesday, May 14, 2008, and Chaunte will be one of the three featured soloists.

Linnea Snyder was honored with the Outstanding Junior Award at the Nicolet High School Orchestra 3rd Annual Awards Banquet held last May at Nicolet High School. Snyder served as the 2006-07 Co-Concertmistress of the Nicolet Chamber Orchestra.

Brian Zhang and Dee Luo were Waukesha Symphony 2008 Shining Stars scholarship winners. They both performed in a recital on April 24, 2008. Brian also won the Oconomowoc Women’s Club Scholarship.