Vocal soloist Abigail Miles discusses her role in the concert
Six student soloists from the School of Music will join the BYU Symphony Orchestra onstage during their March 7 concert.
“This performance is the BYU Symphony Orchestra’s yearly Concerto Night, which features the winners of the freshman and sophomore concerto competition held last fall,” said Symphony Orchestra director Christian Smith. “These soloists represent our finest up-and-coming music majors in the BYU School of Music. It is always a pleasure for the orchestra to collaborate with such gifted musicians.”
The annual competition spans all majors in the School of Music, allowing for a variety of instruments. The winners — Caleb Hodson on clarinet, Sophie Lyman on cello, Caroline Durham on violin, Amaya Bickmore on saxophone, Alex Worley on piano and Abigail Miles with vocal performance — were selected after two rounds of auditions last semester.
For Miles, now a junior majoring in vocal performance, the concert represents a personal triumph in her studies and practice. She will sing an aria from Charles Gounod’s “Romeo and Juliet,” the same song she used to audition and a piece that she originally took to her voice teacher knowing that it may have been beyond her current ability.
“The aria that I’m singing is so important to me,” said Miles. “I worked hard on it because I wanted to sing it so badly, but there were definitely times when I was almost ready to give up. Over the course of the semester, we got to a place where I felt good about it, and then I decided to audition. It’s a dream; I didn’t think I would be able to sing it, and now I get to perform it with an orchestra. It’s been a hard but rewarding journey with this song.”
The concert will give the participating students a leg up in both their academic and future professional careers.
“It’s such a valuable opportunity for a performance major,” said Miles. “Our goal is to get to do something like this someday, so the fact that BYU provides that opportunity for students while in college is an incredible privilege. It motivates you to reach for those kinds of opportunities after you graduate. I won’t feel as scared going into the world and trying to kickstart my career because of my experience in the School of Music.”
Tickets and Show Details
Performance Dates and Times: Mar. 7 | 7:30 p.m.
Location: de Jong Concert Hall, Franklin S. Harris Fine Arts Center, BYU
Price: $7
Tickets: Available in person at the BYU HFAC or Marriott Center Ticket Office, by phone at (801) 422-2981 or online at byuarts.com