A Youth Conservatory for Music student at Park University has been selected for a fellowship at the 2008 John F. Kennedy Center for Performing Arts/National Symphony Orchestra (NSO) National Trustees' Summer Music Institute.
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| Jonathan Dawson |
Jonathan Dawson, 14, of Leawood, Kan., is a freshman at Shawnee Mission East High School in Prairie Village, Kan. He began violin when he was 3 years old, and currently studies with Gregory Sandomirsky at the Youth Conservatory for Music, which is part of the International Center for Music at Park University.
The fellowship gives Jonathan a full scholarship to participate in the institute, June 30 to July 28 in Washington, D.C. Public concerts are set for 6 p.m. July 13 and July 27 at the Kennedy Center Concert Hall. As part of the fellowship, Jonathan also will perform in one of four chamber music concerts scheduled at 6 p.m. July 20-23 at the Kennedy Center Millennium Stage. The winner of a concerto competition during the institute session will be presented as soloist at the July 27 concert.
Every summer about 70 young students attend the NSO Summer Music Institute. They will have private lessons, rehearsals, coaching by National Symphony Orchestra members, classes and lectures to prepare aspiring musicians for their futures in music.
Jonathan also has been accepted to participate in the Endless Mountain Music Festival Academy this summer in Wellsboro, Pa. He is among 10 students selected by members of the Festival Orchestra, which includes members from many major professional orchestras and ensembles around the U.S. The one that Jonathan will join has members from Charlotte, N.C., Buffalo, N.Y., Harrisburg, Pa., Lancaster, Pa., Baltimore, Kansas City, New York and Philadelphia orchestras.
As part of the experience of playing alongside mentors, the students will receive two 45-minute coaching sessions per week with their mentors based on the orchestra repertoire and full participation in the Festival Orchestra, which runs July 28 through Aug. 17. The concerts will be Aug. 1-3; 8-10; 14-17.
Last year, Jonathan was the Kansas state winner of the 2007 Music Teachers National Association competition in the Junior String Division.
For more information about Jonathan or the Youth Conservatory of Music, contact Robert Pevitts, Ph.D., executive director of the International Center for Music at (816) 584-6550 or robert.pevitts@park.edu.
