Six student musicians featured in 52^nd annual concerto-aria contest on Feb. 11

Concert:52^nd Annual Concerto-Aria Competition
Date and time: Saturday, Feb. 11 at 7:30 p.m.
Location: Goshen College Music Center's Sauder Concert Hall
Cost: $7 for adults, $5 for seniors/students, GC students/faculty/staff free with ID, available at the door one hour before the concert

The winners of the 2012 Goshen College Concerto-Aria competition are (from left to right): senior baritone Martin Brubaker (Goshen), senior soprano Stephanie Hollenberg (Goshen), junior composer Levi Smucker (Akron, Pa.), senior violinist Elspeth Stalter (Iowa City, Iowa), senior pianist Lisa Horst (Goshen) and junior cellist Justin Yoder (Perkasie, Pa.).

GOSHEN, Ind. – Six Goshen College student winners will perform with the Goshen College Symphony Orchestra, directed by Christopher Fashun, in the 52^nd annual Concerto-Aria Concert on Saturday, Feb. 11. The concert will begin at 7:30 p.m. in Goshen College Music Center's Sauder Concert Hall. Tickets cost $7 for adults, $5 for seniors/students and will be available at the door one hour before the concert.

The winners include:

• Senior baritone Martin Brubaker (Goshen), performing "Madamina, il catalogo questo" from "Don Giovanni," by Wolfgang Amadeus Mozart. Brubaker is a communication and music double major.
• Senior soprano Stephanie Hollenberg (Goshen), performing "Caro Nome" from "Rigoletto," by Giuseppe Verdi. Hollenberg is a Bible and religion major and music and international studies double minor.
• Senior pianist Lisa Horst (Goshen), performing the "Egyptian," the first movement from "Piano Concerto No. 5, Op. 103," by Camille Saint-Sa‘ns. Horst is a music major.
• Junior composer Levi Smucker (Akron, Pa.), debuting his composition, "The Book of Job." Smucker is a music major.
• Senior violinist Elspeth Stalter (Iowa City, Iowa) and junior cellist Justin Yoder (Perkasie, Pa.), performing the first movement from "Concerto in A minor for violin and cello, Op. 102" by Johannes Brahms. Stalter is an English and music double major. Yoder is a music and interdisciplinary double major.

The Symphony Orchestra, directed by Assistant Professor of Music Christopher Fashun, will also perform Bernstein's "Overture to Candide" and Chabrier's "España."

A diverse and versatile conductor and performer, Fashun joined the Goshen College Music Department in 2010. He has conducted the University of Iowa Philharmonia and All-University Orchestras and was the music director of the St. Ambrose University Community Symphony Orchestra in Davenport, Iowa. Additionally, his conducting experience includes leading orchestras and wind bands at the high school and middle school levels and directing jazz ensembles, percussion ensembles and drum lines at the high school level.

Fashun holds a bachelor of music degree in music education from Saint Olaf College in Northfield, Minn., where he studied conducting and viola. He received his master's of music degree in percussion performance from the University of Wisconsin-Madison. He is in the final stages of completing his doctor of musical arts in orchestral conducting from the University of Iowa.

Editors: For more information about this release, to arrange an interview or request a photo, contact Goshen College Acting News Bureau Coordinator Alysha Bergey Landis at (574) 535-7762 or alyshabl@goshen.edu.

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Goshen College, established in 1894, is a residential Christian liberal arts college rooted in the Anabaptist-Mennonite tradition. The college's Christ-centered core values – passionate learning, global citizenship, compassionate peacemaking and servant-leadership – prepare students as leaders for the church and world. Recognized for its unique Study-Service Term program, Goshen has earned citations of excellence in Barron's Best Buys in Education, "Colleges of Distinction," "Making a Difference College Guide" and U.S.News & World Report's "America's Best Colleges" edition, which named Goshen a "least debt college." Visit www.goshen.edu.