April 17, 2006 - Sylvia Bierschenk

SFA's Orchestra of the Pines to present Mozart concert

NACOGDOCHES, TEXAS - The Stephen F. Austin State University College of Fine Arts and School of Music will present the Orchestra of the Pines in its final concert of the season, "Mozart! Mozart! Mozart!" at 7:30 p.m. Saturday, April 29, in W.M. Turner Auditorium.

Performing with the regional orchestra will be mezzo-soprano Kimberly LaGraff and baritone Scott LaGraff, SFA assistant professor of music.
The vocalists will sing arias from three of Mozart's operas: "Don Giovanni," "The Marriage of Figaro" and "Così fan tutte."

Kimberly LaGraff is a vocal instructor for the SFA Music Preparatory Division. A graduate of the Tri-Cities Opera Resident Artist program in Binghamton, NY, she has sung the roles of Dorabella in "Così fan tutte," Isabella in "L 'Italiania in Algeri," Cheubino in "Le Nozze di Figaro," Nicklauss in "Les Contes d'Hoffmann" and Valencienne in "The Merry Widow."

She has also made solo appearances with the Syracuse Symphony Orchestra, the Binghamton Philharmonic Orchestra and the Ithaca Choral Society, and was a regular soloist with the Binghamton Pops Orchestra.

Kimberly earned her Master of Music degree from Northern Arizona University and her Bachelor of Music degree form the University of Redlands in Redlands, Calif. Both degrees were in vocal performance.

Scott LaGraff, who joined the SFA faculty in 2004 as an instructor of music, is a veteran of the operatic, concert and recital stage. As a resident artist at Tri-Cities Opera in Binghamton, New York, he performed the title roles in "Don Giovanni" and "Le Nozze di Figaro,"
as well as The Villains in "Les Contes d?Hoffmann," Reverend Hale in "The Crucible" and Capulet in "Roméo et Juliette," among others.

He has also appeared with the Syracuse, Tulsa, Pensacola, Westchester Hudson and Ithaca opera companies, the Syracuse Symphony Orchestra, Ocean City Pops, the Binghamton Pops and the Syracuse Oratorio Society.

The Athens, Ohio, native received the Bachelor of Music degree from the Cincinnati Conservatory of Music, the Master of Music degree from the State University of New York at Binghamton and is currently a doctoral candidate at Louisiana State University. Prior to accepting a position at SFA, LaGraff was a member of the voice faculty at Simpson College in Indianola, Iowa. He has also held teaching positions at Cornell University in Ithaca, N.Y., and Wilkes University in Wilkes-Barre, Pa.

During the April 29 concert, the Orchestra of the Pines will also perform the overture to "Don Giovanni" and Symphony No. 41, popularly known as "The Jupiter Symphony." Jeff Jacobsen, assistant professor of music at SFA, directs the orchestra.

The concert is a joint presentation of the SFA College of Fine Arts, School of Music and Orchestra Series. It is sponsored in part by Nacogdoches Memorial Hospital, Ed and Gwen Cole and the Wedgeworth-Wright Endowment for the Arts.

Tickets are $15 for adults, $12 for seniors and $5 for students. For tickets or more information, please visit www.finearts.sfasu.edu or call (936) 468-6407 or (888) 240-ARTS.