STEPHENVILLE (May 21, 2018) — Two undergraduate students from Tarleton State University have been selected to participate in an intensive musical study this summer as part of the World Youth Wind Orchestra Project in Schladming, Austria.
Senior music education majors Rico Allen of De Soto, and Tim Wilson of Midlothian, were accepted through a blind tape audition process to perform July 10-15 with the prestigious international ensemble as part of the Mid-Europe Wind Band Festival. The Tarleton undergraduates competed against musicians ages 16-30 from around the world.
“This means that they were not only competing with their undergraduate student peers, but also graduate students,” said Dr. Andrew Stonerock, professor of saxophone. “This makes Rico and Tim’s acceptance that much more of an accomplishment.”
As part of this project, Allen and Wilson will travel to Austria for a week of music-making with internationally respected conductors and composers. The World Youth Wind Orchestra will present two concerts in collaboration with musicians from around the globe, and provide an experience of a lifetime for the two Tarleton students.
Dr. Verena Mösenbichler-Bryant, associate professor of music and director of Duke University’s Wind Symphony, will serve as conductor for the 2018 orchestra. The ensemble will perform as part of the Mid-Europe Festival’s July 10 opening ceremony and July 14 hall concert — both at the Congress Schladming, one of Austria’s most modern event centers.
The World Youth Wind Orchestra Project is a part of Mid-Europe, the largest wind band festival in Europe, Stonerock said.
“Being a part of this festival will expose them to different cultures as well as music from many different bands. Bands travel from all over the world to perform at this festival, including student-musicians from Asia, Europe and North America.”
Students will have opportunities for cultural exchange and musical performances while being immersed in the local culture of Schladming, a former mining town in the Austrian Alps that now serves as a winter sports destination.
In all, 35 orchestras from 15 countries will perform at Mid-Europe Festival before an international public audience. Musical genres to be heard at this year’s festival at the various concerts and venues include classical, traditional Bohemian, swing and the lively rhythms of ska and pop. More than two-dozen indoor concerts and 15 open-air concerts will take place with orchestras of up to 150 musicians.
“This achievement of being accepted into an international performing opportunity is a testament to the hard work of these students and will help them professionally,” Stonerock said. “In addition, it will bring great recognition back to the Fine Arts Department, the College of Liberal and Fine Arts, and Tarleton State University.”
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