Halversen Concert Spotlights Five Outstanding Soloists

Halversen Concert Spotlights Five Outstanding Soloists

– By Sara Penny –

April 17, 2025 – Cedar City, UT

Five outstanding soloists will perform with the Orchestra of Southern Utah (OSU) on Thursday, April 17, at 7:30 PM in the Heritage Theatre in Cedar City. Tickets are available at myosu.org. In addition to the solo pieces, OSU will perform the Easter Overture by Rimsky-Korsakov, which features several soloists within the orchestra.

This Young Artist Concert honors the memory of Roy L. Halversen, who was instrumental in expanding orchestral music in Cedar City as a college professor. Some of his students still play with OSU.

Leah Kim Keyes, flutist, will perform Gordeli Concertino for Flute and Orch, Op. 8. A junior at Woods Cross High School in Bountiful, she was a Salute to Youth soloist with the Utah Symphony in fall 2024. Leah is a four-time first-place winner of the State MTNA solo division and the State UMTA Concerto competition. In 2024, she won the Grand Prize of the Southwest Symphony Young Artist Competition.

Hannah Bradshaw will perform Andante and Rondo Ungarese featuring the viola, a piece with Hungarian and gypsy influences. From Cedar City, she has performed for 18 years with music degrees from SUU and the University of Colorado-Boulder. She has served as principal violist for several orchestras and has played with prominent musicians like Marie Osmond and David Archuleta.

Kloie Humes presents the Bassoon Concerto in F by Weber. The Kannaraville musician is an SUU graduate working towards a performance master’s degree. Her teachers have included Dr. Virginia Stitt, Dr. Emily Grady, and Dr. Ben Bradshaw.

Trevyn Karkula will perform the third movement of the Piano Concerto in F by Gershwin. The 14-year-old from St. George has been playing piano for six years and has studied with Brandon Lee, Mark Gubler, and Nancy Allred.

Sophie Wilkes shares Gypsy Airs for Violin, also known as Zigeunerweisen by Sarasate. She started violin at age five with Kristen Candland in St. George and also works with Jenny Oaks Baker on violin and Jason Bonham on viola. The 13-year-old played in the Salute to Youth concert in 2023 with the Utah Symphony and is involved in ensembles and orchestras at the local and state level.

“We had an incredible showing of talent at the auditions for this concert,” said Carylee Zwang, OSU Music Director. Alternates were Amanda Drake, Calli Price, and Elaina McEntee.

Assistant Conductor David Jordan will conduct the soloist pieces, with Zwang conducting the Easter Overture. This Romantic era piece transforms music from the Orthodox liturgy into a memorable masterpiece. Rimsky-Korsakov described it as celebrating both “the legendary and heathen side of the holiday, the transition from the gloomy and mysterious evening of Passion Saturday to the unbridled pagan-religious merrymaking on Easter Sunday morning.”

Lobby music starts at 6:45 PM and features the Utah Peaks Players from Salt Lake and Utah counties, led by Lauri Driggs, Nicole Macias, and Terry Fulwider. The group originated in 2022.

Student tickets are $5, and adult tickets are $15. Tickets are available at myosu.org. Children over six are welcome with supervision; no babies, please, as the concert will be recorded.

Preview the music at https://osulistening.blogspot.com/2025/03/r-l-halversen-young-artist-concert-2025.html