Tickets may be purchased:
In person by cash or check at The Jacksonville Center in Floyd
or by credit card charged over the phone 540.745.2784 (Jacksonville Center)
or at the door.
Directions: Celebration Hall, at 188 EcoVillage Trail, Floyd, VA, is just a short distance off Franklin Pike. The turn onto EcoVillage Trail is 1.25 miles on Franklin Pike from Floyd Highway North (Rt 221 N). For MapQuest and GPS systems, use the address ‘718 Franklin Pike, Floyd, VA’ to locate the turn onto EcoVillage Trail – then follow signs.
Map Directions to Floyd EcoVillage (Campground is just past Celebration Hall)
“Classics Around the World”
Akemi Takayama, violin
Julee Hickcox, flute
John Smith, double bass
Al Wojtera, percussion
David Stewart Wiley, artistic director and piano
Program:
Michio Miyagi Haru no Umi: “The Sea in Spring” (1929)
Felix Mendelssohn from Violin Concerto: Andante/Allegro Molto Vivace
Amy Beach: Romance
Vittorio Monti: Czardas
Intermission
Claude Bolling: “Jazzy” from Suite No.2 for Flute & Jazz Piano Trio
Claude Bolling: Suite No.1 for Flute & Jazz Piano
1. Baroque and Blue 2. Javanaise 3. Fugue 4. Irlandaise 5. Veloce
David Stewart Wiley: Mara Louise Waltz & Leaping the Blue Ridge
George Gershwin/Arr. Wiley: Finale from Rhapsody in Blue (1924)
Akemi Takayama
Celebrated violinist Akemi Takayama, co-concertmaster of the 2013 Festival Orchestra, has served as the concertmaster of the Roanoke Symphony Orchestra since 2004. In this vital leadership role, she brings an extraordinary depth of musicianship, glorious solo sound, vibrant stage presence and natural musical leadership. Ms. Takayama appears regularly as soloist and concertmaster of the RSO, and Williamsburg Symphonia as well as an active chamber musician and associate professor at the Shenandoah University Conservatory of Music. Ms. Takayama performed for 14 years as violinist for the internationally renowned Audubon Quartet, and toured regionally and nationally with the group. Her recordings with the Audubon Quartet include four CDs, all available on the Centaur and Composers Recordings labels.
Born to musical parents in Tokyo, Japan, Takayama begun her violin studies with her mother at the age of three. Her professional violin career began in Japan at the age of 15. She has performed throughout Japan, France, and the U.S., including appearances with the Shinsei-Tokyo Philharmonic Orchestra, the Toho School of Music Orchestra, and on a “FM Recital” broadcast throughout Japan on NHK Radio. She also has performed with the Tokyo Metropolitan Orchestra, the Yomiuri Philharmonic Orchestra, Music at Gretna, and with the New World Symphony Orchestra. Her solo performances in the U.S. have included radio and TV appearances in the greater Cleveland area and with the Cleveland Institute of Music Symphony Orchestra, the Grand Junction Orchestra, and the University of Wyoming Symphony and Chamber Orchestras.
Akemi Takayama received first prize in both the Northwest Regional Music Teacher National Association and the Grand Junction Young Artist competitions. She has performed at and served on the faculties of the Chautauqua Institute in New York, the Idyllwild School of the Arts in California, the Brevard Music Center in North Carolina, Shenandoah Performs in Virginia and at Virginia Tech. During her graduate studies, Akemi was a teaching assistant to the renowned Donald Weilerstein at the Cleveland Institute of Music, where she earned both an Artist Diploma and a Master of Music degree. Previously, she studied with Toshiya Eto and Ryosaku Kubota at the renowned Toho School of Music in Tokyo, where she earned her bachelor’s degree in music performance. Ms. Takayama won a position in the prestigious Marlboro Music Festival and the Isaac Stern Music Workshop. The late Isaac Stern said of Ms. Takayama “she is a true musician and will always bring credit to any group that she works with.” and Maestro Lorin Maazel recently described her as an “excellent violinist and concertmaster.” Ms. Takayama plays a J.B. Ceruti violin from Cremona, Italy, made in 1805.
Julee Hickcox
Julee Hickcox, Festival flutist , was born in Singapore and spent her formative years in Hong Kong . She moved to the United States with her family at an early age and attended the North Carolina School of the Arts, where she studied flute with Philip Dunigan. She also played regularly with the NCSA Symphony in the United States and Europe, and the Winston-Salem and Salisbury symphony orchestras on both flute and piccolo. Ms. Hickcox is a member of the Roanoke Symphony, the Wintergreen Festival Orchestra and performs regularly with the orchestras of Lynchburg, Winston-Salem, Greensboro, Salisbury, the Western Piedmont Symphony, as well as Mill Mountain Theatre and Opera Roanoke. Her mentors include contemporary piccolo masters Jeffery Zook, Clement Barone, and Jan Gippo. Ms. Hickcox currently maintains a full flute & piccolo studio in Roanoke, Virginia and serves as orchestra contractor for the RSO.
John Smith
John Smith, Festival bassist, performs regularly with numerous professional orchestras including the Roanoke Symphony, where he is Associate Principal Bass. He also performs with Opera Roanoke and the Wintergreen Festival Orchestra, and serves as librarian of the RSO. A Professor of Double Bass at Roanoke College and Liberty University, Mr. Smith serves as an active clinician and instructor for the region, and as librarian for the RSO. He has toured Germany, France, Italy, and Switzerland with orchestra. He received his B.M. from George Mason University and his Artist Diploma studies at the Boston Conservatory.
Al Wojtera
Al Wojtera, Festival percussionist, is Chair of the Music Department at Radford University. He has served as the Director of Percussion Studies, directs the RU Percussion Ensemble, teaches studio percussion, percussion methods, jazz history, and hosts the RU Percussion Symposium. Mr. Wojtera is an active percussionist in solo recitals, small chamber ensembles, the Roanoke Symphony, Opera Roanoke, Wintergreen Festival Orchestra, regional jazz ensembles and touring show productions, and has served as conductor for RU productions of the Nutcracker. He is a frequent adjudicator and clinician throughout the Tri-State area, and is the Southwest Regional Representative for the Virginia Chapter of the Percussive Arts Society. He earned his BME from Central Connecticut State University and his MM from Northwestern University.
David Stewart Wiley
David Stewart Wiley, Virginia’s Blue Ridge Music Festival artistic director & conductor, serves concurrently as Music Director & Conductor of New York’s Long Island Philharmonic and Virginia’s Roanoke Symphony Orchestra (RSO.com). David and his family reside in Roanoke, and his parents Mary & David Sr. live in Pilot at Laurel Ridge Farm. Active as a guest conductor, pianist, arranger and film composer, Wiley has guest conducted acclaimed symphonies including Boston, Buffalo, Cincinnati, San Francisco, Milwaukee, Indianapolis, Minnesota, Saint Louis, Atlanta, Oregon, Honolulu, and Utah, among many others in 35 U.S. states. Wiley’s music career has taken him to dozens of countries in Europe, Asia, and Africa. He has previously served as Assistant Conductor of the Minnesota Orchestra and the Indianapolis Symphony Orchestra. Among his diverse activities, he created and leads an acclaimed event with business executives and musicians together on stage titled “Conducting Change” which helps executives to model leadership skills in a fun and engaging atmosphere. See: David Stewart Wiley. David is the winner of numerous awards, including the Aspen Conducting Prize, the Perry F. Kendig Award, NAACP award for outreach, and numerous others. Dr. Wiley holds four degrees — Indiana University (D.M. & M.M., Conducting), New England Conservatory (Piano Performance), and Tufts University (Religion) Summa Cum Laude.