The Winthrop Wind Symphony was selected as the Featured Showcase Ensemble for the
2017 New York Sounds of Spring International Music Festival, March 25-29, 2017. Development has launched a new initiative to help the ensemble with the unexpected
travel expenses. See below how you can help.
ROCK HILL, SOUTH CAROLINA - Performers worldwide consider New York City's Carnegie Hall one of the greatest performing halls in the world.
"Groups cannot simply ˜walk off the street' to perform," said Doug Presley, assistant director of bands at Winthrop University. "Performances are vetted through
various organizations to ensure Carnegie Hall's legacy of high performance quality."
Winthrop students will soon join that list of quality performers. The World Projects
Corporation has chosen the Winthrop Wind Symphony as its Featured Showcase Ensemble for the New York Sounds of Spring International Music Festival on March 25-29, 2017.
This special group of talented Winthrop musicians will perform an as-yet-undetermined
45-minute program for select high school students from around the world and the general
public.
The World Projects Corporation requested recordings of past Winthrop Wind Symphony
performances. After review, CEO Deborah Gibbs extended the invitation, noting: "It
would be an honor to feature your incredibly talented musicianstheir caliber of performance
would undoubtedly serve as inspiration to the younger musicians in attendance."
Lorrie Crochet, director of bands, said such a prestigious opportunity gives Winthrop a musical
footprint that can't be provided solely in Rock Hill. Students looking to study music
want assurance regarding their university choice, she said, and the Carnegie Hall
performance provides that assurance-that Winthrop "is committed to the student experience,
fosters an environment that generates high-level artistry and seeks opportunities
to showcase that artistry."
"Simply put, these are the kinds of performance opportunities all students — current
and prospective — desire to be a part of," she said. "This opportunity will amplify
what we and our students at Winthrop already know, but will allow us a vocabulary
to communicate what we know to the community at large."
HOW YOU CAN HELP
This opportunity to perform in Carnegie Hall is well-deserved, but was not part of
the original travel plans this year. Gifts are needed to help offset the $55,000
travel expense. Gifts can be made to the Wind Symphony annual restricted fund online or through checks made payable to Winthrop University Foundation and sent to Winthrop
University Foundation, Winthrop University, Rock Hill, S.C,. 29733 and marked ˜Wind
Symphony' in the memo line.
Students will depart for New York City on March 26 for a whirlwind tour including
two concerts along the way along with hours of practicing, sight-seeing and then finally
performing. Those students are:
Piccolo
Dani Holmes (Rock Hill)
Flute I
Ally Karlin* (Rock Hill)
Flute II
Lori Lynne Hurst (Sumter)
Flute III
Katie Kesler (Newberry)
Oboe I
Haley Willis* (Rock Hill)
Oboe II
Chase Porter (Easley)
Clarinet I
Aaron Keith* (Cheraw)
Emily Eakes (Clover)
Clarinet II
Anna Gilreath (Belton)
Marisa Gunter (Gaston)
Clarinet III
Tyler Roth (Summerville)
Tiffany Edwards (Goose Creek)
Luke Malitz (Charlotte)
Bass Clarinet
Christina Sadak (Indian Land)
Contra Bass Clarinet
Marion Middleton (Rowesville)
Alto Saxophone I
Joseph Booth* (Rock Hill)
Alto Saxophone II
Noah Bruening (Sumter)
Tenor Saxophone
Lukas Ferrell (Fort Mill)
Baritone Saxophone
Ben Campbell (Greer)
Bassoon I
Ashley Blackwood* (Smyrna)
Bassoon II
Zach Bammann (West Columbia)
Horn I
Christa Laymon* (Prosperity)
Horn II
Donavon Frazier (York)
Horn III
Tyler Holliday (Rock Hill)
Horn IV
Joseph Kindig (Summerville)
Trumpet I
Anthony Russo* (Mount Pleasant)
Katherine Shindledecker (Lexington)
Trumpet II
Rafael Santos (Fort Mill)
Terrence Miller (Rock Hill)
Trumpet III
Logan Durham (Gaffney)
Alex Dudek (Tega Cay)
Chrisa Murray (Cheraw)
Trombone I
Matthew Grant* (Easley)
Trombone II
William Shaw (Rock Hill)
Trombone III
Ryan Hobbs (Fort Mill)
Bass Trombone
Sam Malitz (Charlotte)
Euphonium I
Riley Pagett* (Rock Hill)
Euphonium II
Zack Cantrell (Easley)
Tuba I
Joseph Ritchie* (Easley)
Tuba II
Carl Long (Bowling Green)
Piano
Billy Ramsey (York)
Percussion
Kyle Bruenning (Rock Hill)
Brandon Ebron (Spartanburg)
Jennifer Hotz (Naperville, Illinois)
Nadina Slusser (Clover)
Jordan Toran (Easley)
Veronica Weygandt* (Sprtanburg)
*Indicates principal.
For more information, contact Nicole Chisari, communications coordinator, at 803/323-2236 or chisarin@winthrop.edu.
