Illinois Valley Symphony Orchestra announces young soloists for upcoming concert

Young musicians from across the Illinois Valley area competed Jan. 6 for the opportunity to play solo with the Illinois Valley Symphony Orchestra for their upcoming concert and school concert performances.

Senior division winner Gabrielle Mosley is the daughter of Jeanette Mosley. She is a senior at La Salle-Peru High School and studies flute at Music Suite 408 as a student of Sue Gillio. A participant in community ensembles, Mosley performs in the Illinois Valley Flute Ensemble; the Illinois Valley Community College Wind Ensemble; and the L-P wind ensemble, symphonic band, marching band and pit orchestra. She has attended the Illinois Music Education Association district bands and orchestras for six years and was selected for the Illinois All-State band and honors bands for three years. Mosley plans to attend the University of Arizona to study pre-medicine and minor in flute performance.

Junior division winner Hallee Loza is a freshman at Ottawa High School and the daughter of Sandra and William Loza of Ottawa. Loza has played the flute since third grade, studying with Jen Etscheid and with Gillio at Music Suite 408. At OTHS, she is a member of the concert band and wind ensemble. She has been selected for District 2 ILMEA band the past two years as well as IVCC Honor band in eighth grade. Loza is a member of the Illinois Valley Flute Ensemble and has performed at the annual Summer Flute Retreat as a masterclass participant under Gerald Carey, flute professor emeritus at Western Illinois University. In addition to flute, Hallee participates in cross country and track.

Junior division honorable mention competitors were Mia Gross on piano and Daphne Heeley on viola. Senior division runner-up was flutist Ava Rosengren, and honorable mentions were Molly Ewen, voice; Emily Kmetz, flute; and Ella Lewis, saxophone.

Competition runners-up and honorable mentions will perform at Westclox Fine Arts Factory in the IVSO Honors Recital at 6 p.m. Friday, Feb. 2.

Competition winners Mosley and Loza will join the IVSO onstage at its March 10 concert at La Salle-Peru High School and at a series of school performances March 1. With the IVSO, they will play for students at La Salle-Peru High School and John F. Kennedy Elementary School in Spring Valley.

Funding for these concerts was provided in part by the Illinois Arts Council, the National Endowment for the Arts and the Starved Rock Country Community Foundation.

The concert program also will feature Edvard Grieg’s “Peer Gynt Suite” and “The Firebird Suite” by Igor Stravinsky alongside selections by Michael Torke and Aaron Copland.

Want to go?

The IVSO Presents: Inspired by Youth! concert is at 3 p.m. Saturday, March 10, at Matthiessen Memorial Auditorium, La Salle-Peru High School, 541 Chartres St., La Salle.

Tickets are available online at ivso.org for $20 for adults. Students in kindergarten through 12th grade are free, and college students are $5 with an ID.

The 2023-24 concert season is sponsored in part by Miller Group Charitable Trust and partially supported by a grant from the Illinois Arts Council Agency. All IVSO concerts are Americans with Disabilities Act-compliant and accessible. Any questions about accessibility should be directed to accessibility@ivso.org.