The young artists recital, sponsored by the Shenandoah Valley Bach Festival, will "give the community an opportunity to recognize and celebrate the special musical gifts of area students," according to Mary Kay Adams, Bach Festival coordinator.

Recital Showcases Area Youth

The works of Mozart, Hummel, Haydn, Loewe and others will be on display Sunday, May 6, at 3 p.m. in Martin Chapel, as 11 local students showcase their talents in a young artists’ recital on the campus of Eastern Mennonite University (EMU).

The program, sponsored by the Shenandoah Valley Bach Festival, will “give the community an opportunity to recognize and celebrate the special musical gifts of area students,” according to Mary Kay Adams, Bach Festival coordinator.

“The students that are selected are quite talented and the level of playing continues to rise each year,” said Adams. “Last year’s program was exceptional and I expect no less of this year’s performers.”

The event is open to the public; admission is free.

For more information, contact Mary Kay Adams at 540-432-4652; bach@emu.edu; or visit emu.edu/bach.

About the artists

Anna Armstrong is an 11-year old resident of Bridgewater, Va. A purple belt in karate and a member of the Black Belt Club, Armstrong enjoys camping, fishing, roller-skating and swimming. She has taken violin and piano lessons for six years and has performed in the EMU Piano Festival and the National Guild Auditions.

Eric Bame has been a member of the Robert E. Lee High School Symphonic and Jazz Bands for four years. Bame has participated in the all-district symphonic band, South Central Regional Orchestra and all-Virginia Symphonic Band. A student of Robert Harrold at Valley Music Academy, Bame has played trombone for over six years.

Hannah Deal is a sophomore violinist at Albemarle High School. Deal enjoys singing, playing volleyball on school and club teams and swimming. She won a Wednesday Music Club camp scholarship and attended a music camp at the University of South Carolina.

Kirsten Ferguson is a junior at Harrisonburg High School. She has performed in school productions of Les Miserables; How to Succeed in Business Without Really Trying!; Joseph and the Amazing Technicolor Dreamcoat, among others. Ferguson is a member of the marching band, church youth group, Tri-M Music Honor Society, and the ski/snowboarding club.

Morgan Fogler is a junior at Charlottesville High School. Fogler has studied piano for seven years – the last four of which have been with Linda Blondel. She attended the Music Education Center for seven years and has studied for two years with Emily Thomas.

Lillian Hughes is a freshman at Eastern Mennonite School. Hughes has studied violin for 10 years with Sharon Miller. In 2011, Hughes participated in the South Central Senior Regional and Junior Regional orchestras. She has been a member of the Shenandoah Valley Youth Symphony and her school orchestra. Hughes studies classical ballet, modern dance and musical theater and is a member of the Shenandoah Contemporary Dance Theatre.

Breton Nicholas is an eagle scout and a senior at Harrisonburg High School. Nicholas attended two summer Governor’s School programs, several summers at Blue Lake Fine Arts Camp and an exchange program in Costa Rica. An avid bicyclist and swimmer, Nicholas plays horn and violin and was selected principal horn in the 2012 all-state festival. He is a member of the Shenandoah Valley Youth Orchestra and high school band.

Abe Nouri is a sophomore at Harrisonburg High School. Nouri has performed in school productions of Les Miserables, Honk Jr., Sir Nose the Burger Rat, and Tom Sawyer. He has participated in summer theater camps with Shenan Arts and Broadway at Bethel (Kan.) College. A trombonist and baritone horn player, he plays in the Marching Band and Massanutten Youth Brass Band and has also studied piano, oboe and the erhu.

Natalie Sheffield is a homeschooled senior who attends Piedmont Virginia Community College. Sheffield studies violin with Susan Black. A member of the Waynesboro Symphony Orchestra and a fiddle player in the Charlottesville area old-time music group, she recently performed solo and chamber music works with Morgan in a joint recital.

Courtney Stout is a junior at Wilson Memorial High School and the Shenandoah Valley Governor’s School. Stout has played violin for eleven years. A student of Sonja Dillard, Stout plays in the Augusta County Junior Orchestra, at local churches, museums, concerts and charitable events.

Celia Quinn Turner, a senior at Broadway High School, began playing violin at the age of three in the Suzuki Program at EMU. A seven-year member of the Shenandoah Valley Youth Symphony Orchestra, she was selected to solo with the group last year. Having completed the Pedagogy Training for Suzuki Instruction, she instructs beginning violinists through the preparatory music program.