Dank weather couldn’t stop Gabriel Youth Orchestra musicians from shining during their spring concert Sunday.
Under the direction of John F. Potlunas, the young musicians brought the audience of several hundred to its feet during their performance at D.H.H. Lengel Middle School in Pottsville.
Five GYO soloist competition winners for 2016 were featured performers. They were percussionists, Cody Gemmell, Rachel Gibson and Kaitlyn Pekarik; violinist, Malachi Ahlert; and pianist, Jason Brauer.
All of the soloists have accomplished resumes behind them.
Gemmell, Gibson and Pekarik performed “Trio Sonata No. 1” (Three Movements) by Joseph Haydn. Ahlert, accompanied by Brauer, performed “Summer” (Movement Three) from the “Four Seasons” by Antonio Vivaldi.
Opportunity
The finalists shared their experiences as members of GYO backstage prior to the concert’s start. Most said their parents, and even some of their grandparents, were attending Sunday’s program.
“I’m here because of the experience of being in an orchestra in Schuylkill County. It’s the only (youth) one,” Ahlert said.
The GYO brings together instrumental music students from Schuylkill and neighboring counties, and is under the guardianship of the Gabriel Chamber Ensemble, Orwigsburg. It’s open to musicians in grades 7 to 12, with exceptions made for younger students upon recommendation of their music teachers.
Brauer, too, found being a GYO member invaluable. “It’s a great performance and practice opportunity and it’s nice to share my gifts,” he said, noting Beethoven and Debussy are his favorite composers because they’re “very dramatic” and have some of the most commonly played pieces.
Gibson said her experience with the youth orchestra has improved her musical abilities. “I want to better myself as a musician and enjoy playing with my friends,” she said.
Meanwhile, the style of music is what drew Pekarik to GYO. “I prefer orchestra over band, because there’s more mellow tones,” she said.
Show pieces
Joan M. Koslosky, a board director with the ensemble, welcomed guests and introduced Zehn Schropp, concert master. The audience was treated to a medley of popular and classic music from “Superman Returns” by John Williams and John Ottman; to “The Great Locomotive Chase” and “The Inferno” by Robert W. Smith; a Beach Boys Medley arranged by Calvin Custer; and a “Salute to Ol’ Blue Eyes,” arranged by John Moss. The evening concluded with selections from Andrew Lloyd Webber’s “Phantom of the Opera.”
Potlunas and Koslosky also recognized GYO’s six graduating seniors, Collin Larkin, Nativity BVM; Gemmell, Pottsville; Kyle Karlavage, Marian; Patrick McMullen and Julia Shellhamer, both from Tamaqua; and Gibson, Williams Valley. The seniors wore corsages presented to them with matching ribbons in their school colors, Koslosky announced.
Alumni
James Schoffstall, a drum instructor for Williams Valley and a prior GYO participant, attended Sunday’s show.
“It’s such an excellent experience for them. They’d have to travel a long way to get this type of experience to Harrisburg, Pittsburgh or Philadelphia. Working together with people of this calibre and working with someone like Mr. Potlunas is great,” he said.
Schoffstall said he knows the alumni musicians performing with the students pass along information, too.
“When they come back to school, they’re always so excited to see someone as passionate about music as they are. It really prepares them for pre-college and the next level,” Schoffstall, Tower City, said.
An alumni musician, Daniel Romberger, 24, of Detroit, filled in on trombone during Sunday’s concert. He said he played in GYO in 2010.
“I’m impressed that they have such strong, solid string players,” said Romberger, who triple majored in math, economics and music at Binghamton University, New York, and received a masters in music composition in 2015. “The two pieces by Robert Smith are very challenging and technical, but did a phenomenal job.”
2016 GYO soloists
• Ahlert, 14, of Orwigsburg, began playing violin when he was 4 under the direction of Agnes Maurer, and later as a pupil with Simon Maurer. He’s received several scholarships, including the Plymouth Hill Foundation scholarship to the prestigious Luzerne Music Camp. He has been showcased with the Gabriel Chamber Ensemble, and has played for the Anthracite Philharmonic and several youth chamber groups. He’s an eighth-grader at Kempton New Church School.
• Brauer, 15, of Orwigsburg, is a Blue Mountain freshman who has been playing piano for more than 11 years. Under the instruction of Debra Perkins, he has earned 14 superior ratings from the National Guild of Piano Teachers and other organizations. The piece he composed, “Surviving by Firelight” for piano, violin and cello won the Music Teacher’s National Association Composition Contest (Junior Division) for the state. This summer, he will spend six weeks at the prestigious Interlochen Summer Arts Camp in Michigan.
• Gemmell, 18, of Saint Clair, is a Pottsville Area High School senior. He’s studied percussion for four years with Robert Nowak. He’s a member so the school’s marching, concert, stage, pep and pit bands and percussion ensemble. Gemmell participated in Pennsylvania Music Education Association district, region and all-state festivals and the Nafme All-National Symphony Orchestra. He plans to attend Penn State University to study architectural engineering and music.
• Gibson, 18, of Tower City, is a Williams Valley senior and co-principal percussionist of the GYO. She studies with Nowak. She has been a PMEA All-State Musician for three years, participating in district and region level concert bands and orchestras. In 2015, she was selected to perform with the National Association for Music Education All-National Concert Band, which performed at the Grand Ole Opry. Gibson plans to major in music performance for percussion at the Oberlin Conservatory of Music, Ohio.
• Pekarik, 16, of Pottsville, is a Pottsville Area High School sophomore. She plays percussion in the school’s concert, marching and pep bands, along with the percussion ensemble. Pekarik also participates in the Cressona and Third Brigade bands, the Anthracite Youth Wind Symphony, GYO and Schuylkill County band. After graduation, she plans to study music and foreign languages.