Elementary School Violinists to Play

A group of young violinists from the R.N. Harris elementary school in Durham will open for the Duke Symphony Orchestra in Baldwin Auditorium on Duke University's East Campus at 8 p.m. Wednesday, Feb. 28. The children of the R.N. Harris Suzuki Violin Players will perform three pieces under the direction of Ann Bauer, an instructor at the school. The compositions are a minuet by Johann Sebastian Bach, "Orange Blossom Special" and "Amazing Grace." The school's Suzuki program was founded in 1996 with a federal grant and donations of time, expertise and money from local residents and organizations. About 260 students in kindergarten through fifth grade at R.N. Harris receive the violin training. It is required for all children in grades K-3 and optional for those in fourth and fifth grade. Some students also have tutors or private teachers. The full title of the school is the R.N. Harris Integrated Arts/Core Knowledge Magnet School. The upcoming concert will be the first time the Suzuki Violin Players perform with the Duke Symphony Orchestra. Following the children's presentation, the orchestra begins the first of two concerts featuring Duke student concerto competition winners as soloists. The performance by the R.N. Harris students, as well as the orchestra concert, is free and open to the public. Organized by the university's Department of Music and held each fall, the concerto competition invites undergraduates to vie for the chance to perform with the orchestra under the leadership of Harry Davidson. Only three or four winners are selected each year. The first solo will be played by junior and pianist Jiyoon Im of Edison, N.J. She will perform the first movement (Allegro) from Beethoven's "Emperor" concerto for piano. The program also will include works by Mozart, Purcell and Grieg. The other two students selected as this year's concerto competition winners, both Duke seniors, are violinist Belinda Yu of Rockledge, Fla., and baritone Joshua Sekoski of Belle Vernon, Pa. They will perform with the orchestra April 18. The orchestra has about 60 members, most of whom are Duke students. Three other undergraduates, all members of the orchestra, serve as volunteers in the Suzuki program. They are Joyce Kung, from Orange, Conn.; Ana Pocivavsek, from Spartanburg, S.C.; and Dede Addy, from Grand Rapids, Mich.