The Fresno Opera and Orchestra Summer Academy (FOOSA) launches today, offering an opportunity for students to work side-by-side with music professionals and perform in the Walt Disney Concert Hall in Los Angeles.
Created and led by Fresno State orchestra director Dr. Thomas Loewenheim, FOOSA is a partnership between Fresno State and the Youth Orchestra of Fresno that offers hands-on experience for students while providing the public with affordable artistic performances and exposure to the arts.
Orchestra and voice students from across the country, as well as a few international students, auditioned to be a part of the 100-student intensive program where they will work with professional musicians and opera singers to hone their musical talent and develop their performance skills.
The program starts today with a welcome reception on campus, and will culminate with a debut concert on Friday, June 21 at 8 p.m. at the Walt Disney Concert Hall located at 111 S. Grand Street in Los Angeles. During that performance the professionals who instructed them during the summer program will join the students on stage.
Dr. Thomas Loewenheim
Conducted by Thomas Loewenheim and directed by Anthony Radford, director of the Opera Theatre at Fresno State, the program will include performances of “Cuban Overture” by George Gershwin, selections from “Cavalleria Rusticana” by Pietro Mascagni, “Hab’ mir’s gelobt” by Johann Strauss, selections from “I Pagliacci” by Ruggero Leoncavallo, “Fresno sin Frenos: Mariachi Madness” by Benjamin Boon, and a suite from “Spartacus” by Aram Khachaturian.
The cast includes two professional singers, tenor Scott Piper and soprano Laura Pedersen. The FOOSA orchestra and chorus, along with John Minagro, bass-baritone, and student soloists Kirstyn Olsen, Tiffanie Trujillo and Kaylene Clark, will perform music across genres. Dancer Rebecca Hambalek will accompany the Mariachi Madness piece.
The concert at the Walt Disney Hall is free. Tickets can be reserved online.
In addition to the concert at the Disney Concert Hall, the FOOSA participants and professional performers will present two fully staged operas at the Fresno State Concert Hall at 8 p.m. on Friday, June 28 and Sunday, June 30 at 2 p.m. Tickets are $35 and $15 for students.
For more information, call 559.275.6694 or office@youthorchestrafresno.org.
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