UNC Symphony Orchestra highlights undergraduate talent in mid-semester concert

It takes many musical instruments coming together to create a unique harmony. Tonight, UNC students are doing just that in the annual mid-semester UNC Symphony Orchestra concert.

The concert, which highlights undergraduate talent, will feature two UNC student soloists — Kaswanna Kanyinda and Christina Lai — both of whom were winners in the symphony’s annual student concerto competition, held in November.

In addition to the competition winners and the undergraduate orchestra members, senior Vincent Povazsay will act as a guest student conductor for Gustav Mahler’s “Adagietto from Symphony No. 5,” an impressive feat as very few undergraduates are given this privilege.

Povazsay said he was extremely thankful for the opportunity granted to him by the music department.

“It’s a rare opportunity to be able to lead a group of 100 of your closest friends and colleagues to the great music of Gustav Mahler,” he said.

“Working on that piece with the orchestra has been a real pleasure and it’s sounding fantastic.”

Junior Vincent DeSio, president of the UNC Symphony Orchestra executive committee, said a panel of three professional musicians from outside the University selected the concerto winners to eliminate bias within the music department.

“(The judges) decide who would be the best performer for the concert — music selection, how they perform it, how expressive they are, how professional they are,” he said.

Kanyinda, a senior, will be singing Tchaikovsky’s “Polina’s Romance” from the opera “The Queen of Spades, Op. 68,” as well as Gershwin’s “My Man’s Gone Now,” from the opera “Porgy and Bess.”

Kanyinda said though she will be performing a solo, the true value in the performance comes from the collaboration with the rest of the orchestra.

“When you’re rehearsing with the orchestra, you’re so enamored by the amount of sound that comes through the instruments and the depth that it has, ” she said. “You get so caught up in it. I love it.”

Lai, a junior pianist, is the concerto’s other winner. She will be performing Ravel’s “Concerto in D major for Piano, Left Hand.”

An already difficult piece, Ravel’s piece appealed to Lai because she injured her right hand, leaving only her left to play with. But, after practicing for more than a year, she has perfected the technique.

“The piano piece is quite spectacular,” said Tonu Kalam, a UNC music professor. “It’s almost 20 minutes long — it will bring down the house because it’s a big part for the soloist, and it’s a big part for the orchestra.”

While the focus is largely on the concerto competition winners and on Povazsay, the UNC Symphony Orchestra also hopes to draw attention to the excellence of UNC’s music program in general.

“As Carolina students, a lot of people think of athletics, and the nursing school, and the law (school),” Kanyinda said.

“I feel like this is our opportunity as a music department to say, ‘Hey, Carolina is great for all of these things, but don’t forget the music. Don’t forget that we have artistic people — we have well rounded students, and this is their artistic side.’”

arts@dailytarheel.com