MusicaNova Young Artists Dazzle on Harp and Piano Jan 21

MusicaNova Orchestra presents four virtuoso young musicians in the concert "Beautiful Strings II," a celebration of music for harp and piano, on Saturday, January 21, 2017, at 4:00 PM at the Arizona Piano Company, 4134 East Wood Street, Phoenix.

Tickets are $15 for general admission and $10 for seniors and students, and are available online at the MusicaNova website and at the door. Youth under 18 are admitted free with a paid admission.

Last season's concert "Beautiful Strings" brought together harps and pianos for the first time. This season's concert features harpists Marina Tiffany, 14, an eighth-grader at South Valley Junior High in Gilbert, and Hannah Guan, 15, a freshman at Hamilton High in Chandler, both students of master teacher Alla Yashneva, author of multiple instructional books on harp including "The Russian Method." Hannah and Marina will play works by G. F. Handel, Alphonse Hasselmans, contemporary American composer David Watkins, and others, with collaborative pianist HaeJu Choi.

Complementing the harpists in the concert are pianists Asuka Firdaus, 12, a sixth-grader at BASIS Scottsdale School and student of versatile Valley teacher Snezana Krstic, and Lawrence Wen, 10, a fourth-grader at Keystone Montessori in Ahwatukee, and student of MusicaNova Young Artists Coordinator Fei Xu. Lawrence and Asuka will perform works by J. S. Bach, Claude Debussy, Frédéric Chopin, and others.

MusicaNova's Young Artist Concerts series started in 2013 to give exceptional young musicians a unique opportunity to perform in a formal recital setting.

Violinist Flavia Pajaro-van de Stadt, now at the Peabody Conservatory, said: "Performing with MusicaNova's Young Artist Series was a great experience for me. It's a place for young musicians to showcase their talents in a very supportive and encouraging environment, in a professional setting, while still in our formative years."

About MusicaNovaMusicaNova is a professional symphony orchestra founded in 2003 and dedicated to playing new and neglected music and introducing the finest new artists to the Valley of the Sun. MusicaNova is supported in part by grants from the Arizona Commission on the Arts and the Phoenix Office of Arts and Culture. Call 480-585-4485, or visit www.musicanovaaz.com

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