On Wednesday, May 5 the Winnipeg Symphony Orchestra welcomed over 200 music students from across Manitoba to the Centennial Hall Stage for its annual Rising Stars concert. As the media release states, “this concert connects aspiring musicians with their professional idols, giving them a chance not only to meet these expert performers, but also to play alongside them.” WSO music director Alexander Mickelthwate will share the podium on this occasion with conductors Cheryl Ferguson (Junior Band), Wendy McCallum (Intermediate Band), and Fraser Linklater (Senior Band).

For this event, the WSO partnered with the Manitoba Band Association (MBA), which convened the group through its Provincial Honour Band program. All Manitoba students who are members of the MBA, or whose band instructor or private teacher is a member of the MBA, are eligible to audition for an Honour Band. Applicants are judged on the quality of a recorded audition, which consists of several scales and two etudes. The students are then divided by grade level and experience into the Junior, Intermediate, and Senior Bands.

The performance  featured a solo by Senior Band member JongJu Park, winner of the WSO’s Rising Stars Student Competition. Park, a Grade 12 student from Vincent Massey Collegiate, performed the first movement of Ferdinand David’s Concertino for Trombone with the WSO.