College concert to feature winners of Concerto/Aria Contest

MIDDLETOWN — Soprano Ashley Heilweil and flutist Audrey Zybura will be the featured soloists during the SUNY Orange Community Orchestra’s Feb. 26 concert at Middletown’s Paramount Theatre. The two performers were selected as winners of the orchestra’s ninth annual Concerto/Aria Contest. Under the direction of Dr. Hilarie Clark Moore, the orchestra will take the stage at 8 p.m. to perform Bedrich Smetana’s “The Bartered Bride Overture,” Wolfgang Mozart’s “Concerto No. 2 in D Major, K. 314,” George Handel’s “V’adoro, pupille” and Ludwig van Beethoven’s “Symphony No. 1 in C Major, Op. 21.” Zybura will perform a flute solo in the Mozart concerto and Heilweil will sing during the performance of Handel’s “V’adoro, pupille.” Ashely Heilweil Heilweil is a music performance student at SUNY Orange where she performs with the Concert Choir and Madrigal Singers under the direction of Christa Damaris. From early in her elementary school years, she has played clarinet and sung soprano. As a student at Goshen High School, she participated in Advanced Concert Choir and Women’s Choir. Her first appearances on stage were in the high school musicals “42 St.” and “Beauty and the Beast.” At SUNY Orange, Heilweil performed the role of Ainsley in “Back Story” and participated in last year’s Student Recital sponsored by the Arts and Communication Department. In the past three years, while working with the Hudson Opera Theatre, she has appeared in “Dialogues of the Carmelites,” “Orpheus in the Underworld,” “Sex and “Violence: The World of Grand Opera,” and most recently performed in concerts of the Mozart Requiem. She is currently studying with Ron DeFesi and plans to audition for major conservatories to further her music career. Audrey Zybura Zybura, a senior at Washingtonville High School, serves as section leader of the school’s Wind Ensemble. She began her flute studies with Nicole Jones when she was a fifth grader. She has participated in several music festivals including the All-County, All-Area All-State, NYSBDA Honors Band, and was an alternate for the 2009 and 2010 All-State conferences. She also performs with the SUNY New Paltz College-Youth Symphony Orchestra (and Wind Ensemble) and the Hudson Valley Honors Youth Wind Ensemble. She plays nearly every Sunday morning with the Praise Band at the Monroe United Methodist Church and has attended the Crane Youth Music Summer Camp. In 2009, Zybura visited Germany and Austria during the summer with the American Music Abroad Empire Tour and was featured in a master class given by Claire Chase, an accomplished professional flutist. Zybura also sings in her church choir and with Washingtonville High School’s Chamber Choir. Last year, she completed her Girl Scout Gold Award with a project that was focused on inspiring young flutists. She plans to pursue flute performance and possibly music therapy in college. General admission to the Feb. 26 concert is $5. For additional information, call the Arts and Communication Department at 341-4787. (In case of inclement weather, the college has set 5 p.m., Sunday, Feb. 27 as the snow date for the concert.) Past winners of contest Previous winners of the Concerto/Aria contest include: 2010 Kaitlyn Mesic (Goshen H.S.), violin Erica Moore (Warwick Valley H.S.), French horn 2009 Stephen Gorgone (Monroe-Woodbury H.S.), viola Justin Randolph (SUNY Orange), vocalist 2008 James Rose (Warwick Valley H.S.), trumpet 2007 Rachel Conklin (home schooled, Washingtonville), violin 2006 Clare Herceg (Warwick Valley H.S.), flute Emily Moore (Warwick Valley H.S.), viola 2005 Lucie Jaronowski (Monroe-Woodbury H.S.), violin Tim Takagi (Middletown H.S.), French horn 2004 George Courtsunis (Newburgh Free Academy), piano Radhika Shah (Warwick Valley H.S.), violin 2003 Sarah Tusch (Monroe-Woodbury H.S.), violin Valentina Ponochovnaya (SUNY Orange), piano