University News
Annual Orchestra Concerto Winners Concert March 5
March 3, 2026
MACOMB, IL - - MACOMB, IL - - The Western Illinois University (WIU) School of Music will present its annual Orchestra Concerto Concert at 7:30 p.m Thursday, March 5 in the College of Fine Arts and Communication (COFAC) Recital Hall. The student winners of the 2025-26 competition will perform with the WIU Symphony Orchestra, conducted by Music Education Coordinator and Director of Orchestras, Rich Cangro.
The annual Orchestra Concerto Concert features students who are selected as winners of the Concerto/Aria/Composition Competition by a panel of judges. The student soloists represent some of the finest musicians in WIU's School of Music. The program also presents an opportunity to premiere a student composition selected by the School of Music's theory/composition faculty for its artistic and creative merits.
The student winners of the 2025-26 competition are:
Bryar Townsend (senior, Galesburg), clarinet
Sarah Cisney (graduate, Greencastle, PA), trumpet
Josiah Daneels (senior, Mooseheart), baritone
Chris Jenkins (senior, Macomb), alto saxophone
Brady Wade (senior, Jacksonville), composer
Isabelle Hardy (junior, Canton), soprano
George Parvu (senior, Romania), violin
The program will include:
Concerto pour Clarinette et Orchestre - Jean Françaix -
I. Allegro
- Bryar Townesend, clarinet
Concerto No. 2 for Trumpet and Strings - Eric Ewazen
I. Allegro moderato
- Sarah Cisney, trumpet
"Bella siccome un angelo" from Don Pasquale - Gaetano Donizetti
"Ballade de la Reine Mab" from Romeo et Juliette - Charles Gounod
- Josiah Daneels, baritone
Concerto for Alto Saxophone and Wind Ensemble - Ingolf Dahl
II. Passacaglia
III. Rondo alla Marcia
- Chris Jenkins, alto saxophone
Through the Uncharted - Brady Wade (composition winner)
*Premiere*
"Quia respexit humilitatem" from Magnificat in D Major, BWV 243 - Johann Sebastian Bach
- Isabelle Hardy, soprano
Carmen Fantasie Brilliante - Jenö Hubay
- George Parvu, violin
This performance is open free to the public and will be live-streamed on the School of Music's YouTube Channel.
For more information, call the COFAC Recital Hall office at (309) 298-1843 or visit
wiu.edu/recitalhall.
Posted By: University Communications (U-Communications@wiu.edu)
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