World-Class Guest Soloist Joins West Chester University Percussion Ensemble for April 16 Concert
WEST CHESTER, Pa. — West Chester audiences can hear a world-class guest soloist
for FREE when the West Chester University Percussion Ensemble is joined by Metropolitan Opera
Orchestra percussionist, Steven White, for a concert on Tuesday, April 16 at 8:15
p.m. The concert takes place in the Madeleine Wing Adler Theatre, Swope Music Building
and Performing Arts Center, 817 S. High Street, West Chester. The concert is FREE and open to the public.
Steven White joined the MET Orchestra as a percussionist and assistant timpanist in 2017. Before moving to New York, Steven held a percussion position with the Civic Orchestra of Chicago and was a regular substitute musician with the Chicago Symphony Orchestra, accompanying them on their tour to Carnegie Hall in 2015. Steven spent his summers at Tanglewood Music Center, Music Academy of the West and Aspen Music Festival. Equally passionate about orchestral and solo playing, Steven was second prize winner at the Percussive Arts Society’s International Vibraphone Competition in 2013, as well as a competitor at the TROMP International Percussion Competition in Eindhoven, Netherlands in 2012. Steven holds a master’s degree in orchestral performance from Manhattan School of Music. He received his undergraduate degree from Northwestern University.
White will spend three days “in residence” at West Chester University, participating in rehearsals for the April 16 concert and presenting a clinic for WCU percussion students.
Ralph Sorrentino, Assistant Chair of Applied Music and director of the WCU Percussion Ensemble, “At the Wells School of Music, we strive to give our students the invaluable experience of working alongside world-class artists. Steven has accomplished great things early in his career, and it will be an inspiration for our students to perform with such an accomplished percussionist. I am thrilled that we were able to arrange this residency within his busy performance schedule.”
The WCU Percussion Ensemble is comprised of percussion majors from the Wells School of Music. Their repertoire ranges from standard percussion ensemble compositions to important new works written by emerging composers. Two public concerts are performed on campus each season, with at least one concert featuring a notable guest artist. Past guest soloists have included Angela Nelson (Associate Principal Timpanist of The Philadelphia Orchestra), Cynthia Yeh (Principal Percussionist of the Chicago Symphony Orchestra), and Christopher Rose (Assistant Principal Percussionist of “The President’s Own” U.S. Marine Band), among others. The ensemble also tours elementary and middle schools every spring, presenting assemblies for more than 2,500 students annually.