(July 28, 2015)

Centenary Youth Orchestra sets auditions for 2015-2016 season

SHREVEPORT, LA — The Centenary Youth Orchestra under the direction of associate professor of music Dr. Todd Gabriel announces auditions for the 2015-2016 season. Auditions will take place on Saturday, August 15 at 1 p.m. at the Hurley School of Music on the Centenary College campus.

"The second season of the Centenary Youth Orchestra will be awesome," said Dr. Gabriel. "We are continuing to grow the size and depth of this rewarding preparatory program. It has all come together beautifully."

Auditions are open to high school and advanced middle school orchestral musicians. Applicants can play a piece of their choosing for the audition and should also be prepared for some sight-reading.

The 2015-2016 Centenary Youth Orchestra will rehearse on Monday nights from 7-8:30 p.m. beginning on September 14, culminating in the fall semester concert on Sunday, November 15 at 3 p.m. This concert will feature Centenary alumna Cara Lamb '13 as guest artist, performing a Mozart piano concerto.

Lamb is originally from Dallas, Texas but has made Shreveport home since graduating from Centenary. During her college career, she was the Centenary College Choir accompanist, performed three solo recitals, and won two concerto competitions playing Mozart's piano concerto No.24 and Rachmaninoff's piano concerto No.2.

Orchestra director Gabriel is a graduate of the Juilliard School in New York City and a 40-year veteran orchestral violist with stints at the Alabama, Phoenix, and Queensland Symphony Orchestras in addition to the Shreveport Symphony Orchestra. He has worked with youth orchestras in Alabama and Arizona and is the Hurley School of Music Orchestra Director at Centenary.

The Youth Orchestra enjoyed a successful inaugural season in 2014-2015 with concerts featuring Shreveport natives Marcus Rose, viola, and John-Henry Crawford, cello. Crawford recently was one of 25 cellists to advance to the official first round of the prestigious 2015 Tchaikovsky International Competition in Moscow.

New this year is the Centenary Youth Orchestra Concerto Contest scheduled for Monday, December 7, 2015. During the event, young instrumentalists under 21 years of age will compete for an opportunity to play a solo with the orchestra at its spring concert.

For more information about auditions and the Centenary Youth Orchestra, please contact the Hurley School of Music at 318.869.5235.