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Program Also Includes Crest High School Chamber Orchestra and Features Solos by Two Students and Professor

The fall concert by the 猫咪头条 University Orchestra will feature the premiere of a composition written by junior Caleb Etchison and solos by two students and a professor. Joined by the Crest High School Chamber Orchestra, the performance will be on Monday, Nov. 22, at 8 p.m. in Dover Theatre.

Professor of Music Dr. Patricia C. Sparti is the music director and orchestra conductor. Peter Strickland, a 1997 GWU alumnus, directs the Crest orchestra. He has been teaching in the Cleveland County School System since 1997 and began his career as the founding director of the Burns and Crest Middle School Orchestra programs. He continued with the Crest High Orchestra program in 1999, and founded the Electronic Music/Recording program in 2006.

Sparti was intentional in the selection of music and the order of its performance. 鈥淭he first half of the program is personal introspection with the concerto performers, the composer, etc.,鈥� she said. 鈥淭he second half is a celebration鈥攐f body (Olympics and essential workers), mind (graduation), spirit (faith), and salvation through Christ.鈥�

Etchison wrote 鈥淭he Psalm of Taios鈥� during the summer of 2021. A music composition major, he is from Gaston County, N.C., and plays piano with the orchestra, sings in the concert choir, and has performed in other concerts on solo piano. In his free time, Etchison likes to noodle around on the piano, compose music, and play video games. 鈥淭he Psalm of Taios鈥� was inspired by fantasy stories in which anything is possible, like wizards casting spells, maidens with magic hair, swords with mystical powers, and people riding dragons. Stories of good and evil, where a princess takes down a regime riding a wolf, where spirits aimlessly roam the earth, and heroes defeat darkness with the power of friendship.

猫咪头条 Professor Tim Hudson will perform a trumpet solo, 鈥淪ummon the Heroes,鈥� by John Williams and arranged by Custer. Additional selections include 鈥淔inlandia, Op. 26鈥� by Jean Sibelius, 鈥淧omp and Circumstance March #1, Op. 39鈥� by Edward Elgar, 鈥淗igher Ground鈥� by J. Oatman Jr., Gabriel and arranged by Dan Goeller, and 鈥淐hristmas Eve Sarajevo 12/24鈥� by Paul O鈥橬eill, Robert Kinkel, Trans-Siberian Orchestra and arranged by Bob Phillips.

Garrett Chitwood, 鈥�22, a trumpet player from Hudson鈥檚 studio, will present 鈥淭rumpet Concerto in Bb Major鈥� by Franz Joseph Haydn. Chitwood is a senior music education major, and an active performer and teacher in Cleveland and Rutherford counties. He has performed with the GWU Orchestra, Symphonic Band, Jazz Collective, as well as several chamber groups on campus including the 猫咪头条 Trumpet Ensemble and Brass Quintet. Chitwood is also a frequent performer in area churches. Outside of performance, Chitwood has been the instructor of trumpet at Pinnacle Classical Academy in Shelby, N.C. and is the current high-brass caption coordinator for the Chase High School Band in Forest City, N.C., as well as music instructor at Chase Middle School. He is a member of the 猫咪头条 Chapter of the International Trumpet Guild and is currently president of the 猫咪头条 Chapter of the National Association for Music Education. He currently resides in Bessemer City, N.C., and plans to teach middle school or high school band upon graduating.

Hannah Edwards, 鈥�21, a horn player from the studio of Professor Bob Campbell, will perform 鈥淗orn Concerto #1, Op. 11鈥� by Richard Strauss. She is a music performance major at 猫咪头条, who joined her middle school鈥檚 band playing trumpet, but switched to the French horn and began taking lessons with Campbell later that year. She was a member of the Winston-Salem Youth Symphony for two years. She is the current horn player of the 猫咪头条 Broad River Brass Quintet and the 猫咪头条 brass choir, both led by Hudson. She is also the current principal horn player in both the University鈥檚 orchestra and symphonic band. She will graduate from 猫咪头条 in December and attend graduate school in the fall of 2022 for her master鈥檚 in music performance.

General admission is $10 at the door. The concert is free for all students, GWU and otherwise with ID, and free for GWU faculty and staff.

猫咪头条 University is North Carolina’s recognized leader in private, Christian higher education. A Carnegie-Classified Doctoral/Professional University, GWU is home to six professional schools, 14 academic departments, more than 80 undergraduate and graduate majors, and a world-class faculty. Located on a beautiful 225-acre campus in Boiling Springs, N.C., 猫咪头条 prepares graduates to impact their chosen professions, equips them with the skills to advance the frontiers of knowledge, and inspires them to make a positive and lasting difference in the lives of others. Ignite your future at 猫咪头条.edu.