4 area youth to perform in annual concert

By Murray Bishoff Special to the Monett Monthly

The Ozark Festival Orchestra will continue its 46th season of concerts in Monett at 3 p.m. on Feb. 22, with the annual Young Artists concert at the Monett High School Performing Arts Center, featuring four area young people appearing as soloists with the OFO, plus more international works showcasing the full ensemble.

The Young Artists, selected by panel of judges as ready to play with a full orchestra, will present works showcasing the trumpet, flute, clarinet, and voice. Three qualified in the senior division and one in the junior division. 

The concert will include Mt. Vernon High School senior Ayden Alexander, a soprano, singing “Laurie’s Song” from Aaron Copland’s opera “The Tender Land;” J.P Dickey, a junior from Mountain Grove, on trumpet, playing Arban’s “Carnival of Venice” by French composer Jean Baptist Arban; and Israel Merida-Noriega, a junior from Berryville, Ark., who will play the first movement of Mozart’s first Flute Concerto. 

In the junior division, seventh-grader Henry Sexton, from Republic, will play a movement from Carl Maria von Weber’s “Concertino for Clarinet and Orchestra.”

Music Director Carla Wootton will lead the OFO in additional selections from the masters. Italy is represented by Giuseppe Verdi’s dramatic overture from his opera “The Force of Destiny.” Czech composer Antonin Dvorák puts dance on display with one of his Slavonic Dances. Dvorák’s countryman Julius Fucik weighs in with his colorful “March of the Gladiators.” Cinema tips its hat with a medley of tunes from the 2017 musical film “The Greatest Showman.” 

Admission to the concert will be $10 for adults and free to children high school age and younger. Online tickets are available from www.ozarkfestivalorchestra.org. 

Local players in the orchestra are: LeAna Colf, Seligman; Holly Thompson, Eagle Rock; Sarah Willson, Purdy; Christina Oliphant, Katie Oliphant, Jennifer Oliphant, Michele Oliphant, Moira Oliphant, Trent Oliphant, and Nick Berrett, all of Cassville; Jessica Hall, Elizabeth Snarey, Marena Snarey, Gina Milburn, Stevani Stovall, Carol Dahlstrom, and Phyllis Garrett, all of Monett; and Murray Bishoff and Julie Waetke-Bishoff, Pierce City. 

Monett High School, 1 David Sippy Drive, is located off East Cleveland Avenue (Business Hwy. 60) at the east end of the city, next to Price Cutter Supermarket. 

Mike and Phyllis Garrett are sponsors for the Young Artists concert for the second year.  

The orchestra is also playing its second annual Kiddie Concert at the MHS Performing Arts Center for all the fifth graders in Monett during February. The concert introduces students to different instrumental sounds as they have the opportunity to choose what to play in band as sixth graders. Jerry and Judy Hudson of Monett are sponsoring that performance. 

The OFO is a community orchestra composed of players from southwest Missouri and nearby towns, focusing primarily on classical music. The orchestra is a 501(c)3 not-for-profit organization supported by sponsors, memberships, local foundations, ads in the orchestra program book, and funds managed by the Monett Community Foundation. 

Additional information is available at www.ozarkfestivalorchestra.org or Facebook/ Ozark Festival Orchestra or at www.ozarkfestivalorchestra.org.