The combined choirs from West Windsor-Plainsboro North and South and the Princeton High School Choir will be accompanied by the High School South Orchestra to perform Mozart’s Coronation Mass on Friday, May 14, at 8 p.m., at the Trenton War Memorial. General admission tickets are $10 and may be purchased from participating students, at the door, or by calling 609-984-8400.
The concert will begin with the three choirs performing three a cappella pieces together: Randall Thompson’s Alleluia, Rene Clausen’s Set Me As A Seal, and the traditional spiritual My Soul’s Been Anchored in the Lord. The Symphony Orchestra strings and the String Ensemble will combine to perform Ralph Vaughn Williams’
Variations on a Theme by Thomas Tallis. Also on the program is Glinka’s Overture to Russlan and Ludmilla, performed by the Symphony Orchestra. The performance concludes with the Mozart mass.
The concert will be conducted by Paul Head, Choral Director from University of Delaware. Director of the High School North Choir is Mary Jacobson, director of the High School South Choirs is Janice Chapin, director of Princeton High School Choir is Charles Sundquist, and the director of the High School South Orchestras is Jean Mauro.
“This concert is a continuation of the traditional combined works that began at the Princeton Chapel in 1999 and continued at Carnegie Hall in 2001,” says Jean Mauro,director of the High School South Orchestra. (Princeton High School did not participate in the Carnegie Hall concert).
Four members of the High School South Orchestra comprise the Findeceno Quartet, who performed at the West Windsor-Plainsboro Education Gala on May 7. “We were personally asked to perform at the Gala by (WW-P Education Foundation Director) Marcia Fleres after she saw us perform at MarketFair,” says Kevin Luan, who plays first violin with the quartet. Pierson Tu plays second violin, Nisha Javeri plays viola; and Jin-sung Kim plays cello. Javeri and Luan live in Plainsboro, and Tu and Kim live in West Windsor.
“The freshman never had a quartet before, but I’m excited that we’re the first,” says Luan. “We started a small, random group back in eighth grade. Last December, we formed this group and were able to get music from Mrs. Mauro. We have begun to advertise ourselves as entrepreneurs.”
The name of the quartet, Findeceno has a story behind it. “Originally we were called the freshman quartet but we wanted something more interesting,” says Luan. “A friend who is a Lord of the Rings fan told me about a website for names with translations from English to Elvish .We each typed in our own names and Jin-Sung Kim’s seemed the most interesting. We just chose our word from the most appealing translation. ”
Luan, 14, began studying the violin at the age of nine and is currently studying with Mia Wu, a graduate of the Juilliard School. Concertmaster of the High School South String Ensemble, he is ranked 16th in the High School Regional II Orchestra this year. A member of the Greater Princeton Youth Orchestra, he also competes in the Associated Board of the Royal Schools of Music program. As an eighth grader, he received the Diploma ABRSM, being one of the youngest people to receive a diploma.
He began studying piano at the age of seven and currently studies in the private studio of Ingrid Clarfield. He took first place in the NJMTA (New Jersey Music Teachers Association) in 2001 and third place for 2002 and 2003. This spring, he receives his three-year award for the NJMTA annual auditions after receiving high honors for each year. He was also one of the four competitors in the state selected for the NJMTA Master Class.
Last summer, he was accepted and attended the International Institute for Young Musicians. Not only has he performed at the Weill Recital Hall, Carnegie Hall, he was the winner of piano competitions including the Andrew DeGrado Competition, the Chinese American Cultural Association Piano Competition, and the Piano Teachers Congress of New York.
A member of the Pirate swim team at High School South, he is also an all honors student and in the honors and accelerated math program.
Pierson Tu, 14, studies the violin with Matthew Reichert. He began violin studies at the age of six with Anastasia Jempelis at the Eastman School of Music in Rochester, New York. In seventh grade, he was selected into the New York all-county and area-all state orchestras, and the Rochester Philharmonic Youth Orchestra (RPYO). He moved to New Jersey when he was in eighth grade.
He is the second violin section leader for the High School South String Ensemble. Currently playing in the Greater Princeton Youth Orchestra (GPYO), he was a member of the Youth Orchestra of Central Jersey (YOCJ) and the Regions II Orchestra.
Nisha Javeri has been playing the viola for seven years. A member of GPYO for three years, she is a former member of Youth Orchestra of Central Jersey. A member of the varsity Girls Tennis team this year, in 2002, she went to Australia and New Zealand as a sports ambassador for People to People. She is also a member of the school’s Red Cross Club.
Jin-Sung Kim is principal cellist of the West-Windsor Plainsboro High School South String Ensemble. Playing only six years, he studies with Jean Mauro. Besides being an avid cellist, he is also is a nine-year pianist, and studies with Marion Zarzeczna. This year he will be awarded the five-year honors award in the NJMTA piano audition.
An excellent student taking all possible honors courses, he maintains a four point average. He also participates in extra-curricular activities with a starting position with both ultimate frisbee and junior varsity volleyball. Kim was also a cello soloist for the High School’s production of Damn Yankees.
Mozart’s Coronation Mass, featuring the combined choirs of West Windsor Plainsboro High School North and South and Princeton High School, and WW-P High School South Orchestra, Friday, May 14, 8 p.m., Trenton War Memorial. $10 at the door. 609-984-8400.
