- Jonesboro Sesquicentennial Celebration: Convocation Center - Monday, September 28, 6:30p.m.

The Delta Symphony Orchestra is honored to have been invited to perform with an area wide community church choir & praise band in a celebration style worship service as a part of Jonesboro’s Sesquicentennial Celebration. The DSO will perform patriotic & contemporary gospel favorites.

Children and adults are invited to enjoy the Symphony perform music the whole family will enjoy, including Vivaldi’s Four Seasons with Guest Violinists Barbara Reeve and Dan Gilbert.

Brown Auditorium, Lyon College – Saturday, October 3, 7:00 p.m. Ticket info: $12 adult, $10 Senior adult, $5 student. Email kmelson@firstcommunity.net for tickets.

This evening of fun, food, music and dancing is an annual fund raiser for the Symphony. This year’s theme is “A Tropical Destination.” Fabulous items will be auctioned with live and silent bidding. Enjoy dance music by The Townsmen. Gala Event is at Atkins Celebration Hall in Paragould. For tickets please call (870) 761-2747.

You will not want to miss the Concerto Competition Concert showcasing the fantastically talented winners of our annual Young Artist Competition.

Featuring Guest Vocalist Matt Cavenaugh, performing selections from his Broadway Performances & other pops favorites.

* Indicates Concerts included in Season Ticket Package.

Support for The Delta Symphony Orchestra is provided, in part, by the Arkansas Arts Council, an agency of the Department of Arkansas Heritage and the National Endowment for the Arts.

The Delta Symphony Orchestra will perform the Young Artists Concerto Concert conducted by Dr. Neale Bartee on Sunday, February 14 at 2 p.m. at the Arkansas State University Fowler Center. Grand prize winners from the Young Artist Concerto Competition, which was held on January 16, 2010, will perform as soloists with the symphony. 25 year-old cellist Paul Vest from Birmingham, AL and 20 year-old pianist, Mira Lee from South Korea by way of St. Joseph, MO are the 2010 grand prize winners.

Each year young musicians from across the country send in audition tapes for this competition and qualifying applicants are invited to audition in five categories: Voice, Piano, Strings, Brass & Percussion, and Woodwinds. This year’s vocal category winner is 17 year-old Maddie Bowden of Jonesboro, AR. Grand prize winner Paul Vest won the string category and Grand Prize winner Mira Lee won the piano category. 17 year-old William Overcash won the high school division of the competition playing violin. Sponsors for this year’s competition and concert are Bill & Dawn Cantwell, Dr. & Mrs. Don Vollman, Sigma Alpha Iota Alumnae & Patroness Chapter, Clopton Clinic, Dr. Russell Harral, Dr. Robert and Irene Potts, and Dr. Dan Ross, Mr. & Mrs. John Freeman,Dr. & Mrs. Bill Keisker, Mr. & Mrs. David Yates and Dr. J.D. Kelly.

Mr. Paul Vest is 25 and is a native of Birmingham, AL. He is currently in his second year of a Doctor of Musical Arts program at the University of Memphis. His parents are Richard and Janet Vest. He has studied the cello for 16 years and completed a Bachelor of Music at Samford University in Birmingham, and a Master of Music at Memphis. His teachers include Leonardo Altino and Patricia Pilon. Vest was the 2003 and 2005 winner of the Concerto-Aria Competition at Samford University and took first place at the National Federation of Music Clubs Alabama State Competition in 2004 and 2006. He has attended Brevard and Masterworks Summer Music Festivals and played master classes for Lynn Harrell, Jeffrey Solow, Mark Kosower and the Ying Quartet. Vest is also a recipient of the Graduate Quartet Assistantship at University of Memphis since 2006.

Miss Mira Lee was born in South Korea and is the daughter of Suk Won Lee and Young Shim Park. Lee has studied piano for over 15 years at the following schools: Yewon School, Seoul Arts High School and Missouri Western State University. Her teachers include Eun-Young Cho and Dr. Matthew Edwards. She has performed in Piano Duo Concerts in the 9th Eun Youn Winter Music Festival, 2005, and at Youngsan Art Hall, 2005. Lee’s solo and recital performances include the Christmas Concert in Opus Hall, South Korea; various performances at Seoul Arts High School and Missouri Western State University. Mira Lee has competed in several other competitions including being named 1st Alternate in the Missouri Music Teachers Association Steinway Young Artists Competition, 2009; 2nd Prize in the Eumaksekye Competition, South Korea, 2005; and 3rd Prize in the CTS Competition, South Korea, 2007.

Miss Maddie Bowden is the daughter of Dudley and Faith Bowden of Jonesboro, AR. She is a senior at Jonesboro High School and has studied voice for six years under the direction of Mrs. Robin Yates. Bowden has performed lead roles in such musicals as South Pacific and Fame at her high school and has also performed in community theatre and musicals with the Jonesboro Foundation of Arts. Bowden has attended Interlochen Arts Camp in 2008 and 2009 where she performed in such musicals as Anything Goes and Guys and Dolls. Bowden has competed in All Region Choir placing first chair for the past two years and All- State Choir placing fifth chair in 2009. She also recently placed second in the classical division at Arkansas State NATS Competition and fourth place in the classical division at the Regional NATS Competition. She is a member of the Jonesboro High School Camerata and Chamber Choirs.

Mr. William Overcash is the son of Dr. and Mrs. Carl Overcash of Brinkley, Arkansas. He began his violin study at the age of four with Mrs. Ann Spurbeck of Memphis, Tennessee, and is currently the violin student of Pak Chung Cheng also of Memphis. He is a member of both the Arkansas State University Orchestra and the Delta Symphony Orchestra. He has performed with the University of Memphis Suzuki Performing group and has performed for many years with his siblings as a member of the Overcash String Quartet. He has attended Suzuki workshops in Dallas, Seattle, Memphis, Wisconsin, Colorado and Kansas, and this past summer he attended the Masterworks Performing Arts Festival in Winona Lake, Indiana. He also studies piano with Anna Cheng of Memphis and voice with Ruth Ann Vowan of Forrest City, Arkansas.

Paul Vest will be playing Cello Concerto in B minor, Movement No. 1 by Antonin Dvorak. Mira Lee will be playing the Piano Concerto No. 3, Movement 1 by Sergei Prokofiev. William Overcash will play Concerto in G minor, Movement 3 by Max Bruch. The concert will also feature a 200 voice children’s choir from 4th, 5th and 6th grade schools in the northeast Arkansas region. Students from Jonesboro Visual and Performing Arts, Paragould Baldwin and Oak Grove Elementary schools, Brookland Middle School, Marion, Valley View and Nettleton Elementary Schools will be participating.

Tickets are $15 for adults, $10 for senior adults and $5 for students. Tickets can be purchased through the ASU ticket office at 870-972-2781 or at tickets.astate.edu. For more information about the Delta Symphony Orchestra call 870-761-2747 or logon to www.deltasymphony.org