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2013 Award Winners Savannah Robinson, Austin Rodriguez and Jordan Cress-Morrison receive prize money from Music in Paradise Managing Director Michael Kilgore.

 

Sunday concert showcases young performers

SPECIAL TO THE CITIZEN

The Fourth Annual Music in Paradise Awards and Concert is to be held at 7 p.m., Sunday, June 1, at St. Paul’s Episcopal Church, 401 Duval St. This concert and juried competition recognizes the best of the best among young musicians in the Keys. Admission is by a suggested donation of $10. Special consideration will be given to family groups, students and military.

Harry Schroeder, music critic and himself a notable musician, said, “This event, now in its fourth year, is of great value to those of us in the Keys who love music. Along with its benefit to the young players, it also has the effect of demonstrating to the rest of the community the extraordinary level of skill they’ve achieved. Last year, one of the judges, himself a professional musician, gave those kids the highest compliment one player can give to another: ‘Listening to the way they played made me go home and practice.’ ”

 

Some of the competing finalists are flautist Jordan Cress-Morrison, recently the 2014 John Philip Sousa winner; Vincent Chang, trumpet and Key West High School drum major; previous MiP winning percussionist Sammy Fuller, who won superior ratings with distinction on both his Mallet and Multi-Percussion solos; Duo Jake Graziano and Joshua Morales, both on the KWHS Drum Line; pianists Nathan Tuttle, Dominick Rojas and Emerson Farris, each representing his private teacher, and soprano Liza Catana who has sung at many public venues this year.

 

Other nominees will be announced at concert time. Invitation to perform is either by the single nomination of the student’s music teacher or by the student’s reception of the award of superior performance at appropriate music festivals.

 

In addition to the prestigious public performance at St. Paul’s, students compete for monetary recognition given by Music in Paradise and local supporters of the musical arts. The competition is adjudicated by notable Key West performers and critics.

 

Under the direction of James Carter, the Key West High School Men’s Chorus, otherwise known as the V.I.P.’s, will perform as the featured Showcase Ensemble. These 18 young men split from the normal Tenor/Bass voice parts into as many as six or eight parts depending upon the demands of the piece being performed. Their credits include their own District Superior ratings for six years running as well as their own State Superior Rating this year. They will perform pieces by Handel, Bartholomew and, for fun, a Key West-specific Zombie Jamboree arranged by Carter.

 

The Key West High School Jazz Ensemble, under the direction of Gary Hernandez, adds punch to the evening’s show. This group is always a source of true entertainment and inspiration for its audiences and education for all the future KW jazzers.

Music in Paradise gratefully acknowledges St. Paul’s Episcopal Church for its support of music education.

 

 

 

 

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