SUU High School Honor Orchestra performs Beethoven, Liszt, Shostakovich
By Ashley H Pollock
Southern Utah University’s music department will team up with high school students throughout the region to perform the SUU High School Honor Orchestra Concert Sept. 22 at 5 p.m. in the Heritage Center Theater. The concert is free and open to the public. Dr. Christian Bohnenstengel, who serves as director of keyboard studies at SUU, will be featured as a guest soloist.
High school students nominated by their directors participate in an outstanding opportunity to rehearse and perform with the SUU Symphony Orchestra. The students then study orchestral works under the direction of Dr. Xun Sun, director of orchestral activities at SUU. Their hard work culminates in the final concert. Works performed will include Beethoven’s Coriolan Overture, op. 62; the first movement from Franz Liszt’s Piano Concerto No. 1, and the fourth movement from Shostakovich’s Symphony No. 5.
“Music is a universal language,” said Sun. “It addresses concerns about human feeling, emotion, thoughts, and how we sense the world. Music communicates hope for people. Symphonic music has its own unique artistic format and power to express those feelings, emotions, and thoughts. It is important for people, no matter who they are, to learn and understand this language. SUU provides this specific opportunity to teach high school and college students this musical language and to share their vision of the future.”
Bohnenstengel earned master’s and doctoral degrees in music from the University of Nebraska-Lincoln. He has performed on public radio and presented at state, regional, national, and international conferences. Bohnenstengel is a founding member of SUU’s faculty jazz combo, Kind of Blue, and frequently performs with jazz ensembles and musicians throughout southern Utah. His performances have taken him all over the United States, South America, and Europe.
For more information, please visit suu.edu/pva/music.
