Opus 7
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CWOTO Opus 7

Tickets: click here to contact Edward Francis for advance tickets

Premiere Seating -- limited seating, guaranteed only if reserved in advance

Performance #2 only --  $15 general / $10 senior & student

General Seating -- available in advance or at the door

Performance #1 -- $10 general / $5 senior & student

Performance #2 -- $12 general / $8 senior & student

Combination ticket for both concerts -- includes Premium Seating in Thousand Oaks

$20 general / $10 senior & student

Performers and Their Pieces

Concerto for Oboe    Domenico Cimarosa (1749 - 1801)

Jamie Hsiao, 15, is a sophomore at La Reina High School. She has been playing oboe for four years, and is currently studying with Yi-Jin Hsu. Jamie very much enjoys music, and she loves to share her talents and her enthusiasm with others.

 This is Jamie’s first performance with the Conejo Concerto Orchestra, and she is excited and grateful for such a fabulous opportunity.

 Outside of music, Jamie is active in sports. She plays tennis, and she runs on her school’s track team.

Piano Concerto #3    Dmitri Kabalevsky (1904 - 1996)

     Allegro molto

Daniel Lessler (Danny), 13, is a 7th grade honor student at Mesa Union School. In 2003 he was recognized as the outstanding student at Mesa Union by the Noontime Optimist Club of Camarillo.

Danny began studying piano at age four and has been a student of Peter Yazbeck for the past five years. He has won four gold medals at festivals sponsored by the Music Teachers’ Association and has been a regional winner of the Southern California Junior Bach Festival. Danny is currently a level nine student in the MTAC Certificate of Merit program. In 2002 he performed at the MTAC State Convention.

Danny is the accompanist for his school’s chorus programs and for the Temple Ner Ami choir. He has performed in a variety of community settings, including playing with a trio at the Adolfo Camarillo House.

When he’s not playing the piano, he’s playing the drums, guitar, harmonica, or dulcimer.

Danny is thrilled to have this opportunity to play with the Conejo Concerto Orchestra.

Piano Concerto in G minor    Felix Mendelssohn (1809 - 1847)

     Allegro molto

Jonathan Chew, 17, began his piano studies at age nine with Edward Francis, who remains his current teacher. Jonathan has won several awards from the Contemporary Festival and Junior Bach Festivals sponsored by the Music Teachers’ Association of California. In 2001 he received a music scholarship from the Leni Fe Bland Foundation. In 2002 he completed the advanced level of Certificate of Merit with honors. In 2003 he was selected to participate in the honors piano seminar at the Colburn School of Performing Arts in Los Angeles. This is Jonathan’s second appearance with the Conejo Concerto Orchestra: he played in its inaugural concert in 2001.

Jonathan is an honor/AP student at Chaminade High School. He is a member of the California Scholarship Foundation and the National Honor Society. He is involved in Youth and Government, a YMCA sponsored program, which takes annual trips in February to Sacramento and uses the capitol building to form a mock legislature and court system. He is assistant copy editor of his school newspaper, link leader, and member of the Chaminade concert band as well as a member of several other clubs. In his spare time, he loves to ski and travel.

Jonathan thanks his mom, dad, grandmother, and his extended family for their continuous support.

Piano Concerto in G minor    Felix Mendelssohn (1809 - 1847)

     Presto

Brent Modell, 15, is a sophomore at Newbury Park Adventist Academy. He began piano lessons at age six. After studying with Julie Elliott and Karen Becker, he began lessons with Edward Francis three years ago.

Brent has been a Contemporary Festival winner several times, a Bach Festival winner, and he has received recognition for his performances at the Los Angeles Spotlight Awards. He received honorable mention in the Young Artist Competitions, leading to an invitation to play in the Roger Williams Young Pianist recital at the Ronald Reagan Library. Brent is currently completing level nine of Certificate of Merit. In 2001 he performed at the MTAC Piano Convention recital in San Francisco.

Brent was selected to participate in an honors piano seminar at the Colburn Performing Arts School in Los Angeles, where on a monthly basis he participates in Master Classes taught by university instructors from across the country.

Brent is an accompanist for the school choir, plays trumpet in the band and jazz band, and is a member of the National Honor Society. He is also a member of the Camarillo Community Band. He enjoys playing tennis and talking with friends in his spare time.

Piano Concerto in F    George Gershwin (1898 - 1937)

    Allegro con brio

Brandon Hynum, a senior at  Newbury Park Adventist Academy, began playing the piano when he was six years old, studying with Mrs. Rosalyn Framil. Later, when his family moved to Saudi Arabia, he studied with Mrs. Sallie Bowie and later Mrs. Carol VanSlooten. After returning to the United States in 2001, he started studying with Mr. Edward Francis.

Brandon was a Gold Medalist in the 2002 and 2003 Ventura County Contemporary Music Festivals. He also plays French horn and was co-principal first chair at the 2003 La Sierra University Invitational Band Festival. He accompanies his school choir on the piano, but also enjoys singing solos in its benefit concerts.

Brandon plays varsity basketball and is a four-year honor student. This year he is the vice president for his school’s chapter of the National Honor Society. He is also the editor for the academy paper, “The Final Word.” He would like to thank his family and Mr. Francis for all of their support.

Brandon plans next year to study history in college, as well as taking pre-med classes. He hopes to become a psychiatrist.

Premiere Rhapsody for Clarinet    Claude Debussy (1862 - 1918)

Abraham Smith (Abe), a senior at Camarillo High School, has studied clarinet with Dr. Dan Geeting of CLU for two years and previously with Dan Rhymes for six years. Abe is concertmaster of the Moorpark College Wind Ensemble, with which he performed Weber’s Clarinet Concertino in May 2003. He also has played with the Moorpark College Orchestra and chamber groups, the New West Youth Symphony, and the Gold Coast Wind Ensemble. He has attended music camps at BYU, Idyllwild, and Indiana University. Abe earned a “Superior” rating in the Southern California School Band and Orchestra Association Wind Solo competition last spring.

Abe also thoroughly enjoys playing the piano. He has studied piano for six years with Richard Beall of Ojai, has participated in numerous piano recitals, and has performed in church. Last spring, he won the Anne George Piano Competition.

Abe studied composition at the Tanglewood Institute last summer, and he has won the PTA 12^th district Reflections contest in composition six times.

Outside of music, Abe is an Eagle Scout and regional winner of the American Association of Teachers of German test, where he was awarded a study-abroad trip to Germany in 2002.

Piano Concerto in A minor    Edward Grieg (1843 - 1907)

    Allegro moderato

Joshua Hong, 13, is an eighth grade student at Colina Middle School in Thousand Oaks. Over the past seven years, he has studied piano under three different teachers and is currently under the tutelage of Edward Francis. Aside from the numerous recognitions he has received for his performances, including two scholarships from the Leni Fe Bland Foundation at the Santa Barbara Music Academy of the West, Joshua has been a regular feature at the Southern California Bach Festival, performing many times at the Branch, Regional, and Showcase Recitals. He has also received numerous gold medals at the Conejo Valley Contemporary Festival.

Along with the piano, Joshua has also studied violin for seven years. Beginning his private lessons under Shu-wei Liu, he recently switched to Joyce Osborn. His violin performances won him a first place finish in the Southwestern Youth Music Festival (SYMF) in 2000 and many gold medals from the Contemporary Festival.

When he is not busy preparing for his next performance, Joshua enjoys playing video games, reading science-fiction books, playing guitar, and listening to classic rock.

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