Phenomenal Young Artists Join Southern Miss Symphony Finale

Tue, 04/18/2023 - 10:07am | By: Dr. Mike Lopinto

Winners of the William T. Gower Concerto Competition will join The University of Southern Mississippi (USM) Symphony Orchestra for their final concert of the season, Future Stars and Firebirds!, on April 27 at 7:30 p.m. in Bennett Auditorium on the Hattiesburg campus. 

The program finishes with an exciting, audience favorite, Stravinsky’s “Firebird Suite.” Tickets are available at the ticket website or call 601.266.5418 or 800.844.8425.

“This finale closes an exceptional season and offers another testament to the quality of our students and their teachers,” said Dr. Michael Miles, music director. “The ‘Firebird Suite’ is a showcase and much like our last concert, the Verdi Requiem, will have you cheering for more.” 

The William T. Gower Concerto Competition provides students with the unique opportunity to compete against their peers for the chance to perform with the Symphony Orchestra. An annual tradition of more than 25 years, the competition was named in 2007 in honor of William T. Gower, former professor of music at Southern Miss and a widely respected musician. 

This year’s three winners, Yinghan Zhang, piano, Alexander Ilchev, violin, and Amani Zouehid, cello, showcase the diversity of Southern Miss’s School of Music. These distinguished young artists will be performing noted works including the Concerto for piano No. 3 in C minor, op. 37 by Ludwig van Beethoven, Concerto for violin in D minor, op. 47 by Jean Sibelius, and Concerto for cello in B minor, op. 104 by Antonin Dvořák. 

Pianist Yinghan Zhang is from Luoyang, China. She received her undergraduate and master’s degrees in piano performance from the Wuhan Conservatory of Music.  In 2019, she won the Excellence Award in the Youth Final of the Sixth Yangtze River Piano Cup competition.  In 2020, she received first prize in the Wuhan Division of the Third Liszt International Youth Piano Competition.  She is currently pursuing a Doctor of Musical Arts degree in piano performance at USM and studies with Dr. Ellen Price Elder.

Amani Zouehid is currently a music performance major student in cello under Dr. Alexander Russakovsky and a minor in media and entertainment arts management student at The University of Southern Mississippi. Zouehid was born in Puerto Cabello, Venezuela, in 1997. Amani started her musical studies and orchestral experience at the age of seven in the prestigious Venezuelan program El Sistema. At 14 years old, Amani was admitted to the Simon Bolivar Music Conservatory,  Latin American Academy of Violoncello in Caracas, and the Carabobo Youth Symphony Orchestra in Valencia, Venezuela. She has gained orchestral experiences through the years under the baton of many famous conductors. She is currently an active member of the cello section of the Meridian Symphony Orchestra, Gulf Coast Symphony Orchestra and Pensacola Symphony Orchestra.

Alexander Alexandrov Ilchev began learning the violin at the age of seven with Ekaterina Dramalieva as his teacher. Later, he continued his studies with his father, Professor Alexander Petrov Ilchev. He graduated from the National Academy of Music “Prof. Pancho Vladigerov” with a master’s degree. He is currently studying with Dr. Borislava Iltcheva at The University of Southern Mississippi. His awards include the 2021 XII Academy Violin Competition “Ludwig van Beethoven” – first prize; the 2018 X Academy Violin Competition – first prize; the 2017 XII International Competition for young performers, Pernik – first Prize; the 2015 XXIII International Competition for Instrumentalists and Composers, “Music and Earth,” Sofia - first prize, section Chamber Music; and the 2014 XXIV National Competition for Instrumentalists and Singers, “Svetoslav Obretenov,” Provadia – first prize.

“These students will leave our audiences awestruck,” said Miles. “Their talent coupled with the incredible instruction of our Southern Miss faculty have resulted in performers ready to tackle the concert world. We are fortunate to have them and share them with our community.”

The Firebird was the first of several groundbreaking collaborations between Igor Stravinsky and Serge Diaghilev, head of the Ballets Russes. The Firebird was an instant success for both impresario and composer from the moment it premiered on June 25, 1910, in Paris. The orchestral suites Stravinsky later created have remained equally popular with symphony audiences. Stravinsky’s inventive, virtuosic use of orchestral colors and abrupt, repetitive rhythms took audiences on a sound journey unlike any they had previously experienced.