VSU Hosts Viola Day Oct. 12

VALDOSTA — Valdosta State University will host Viola Day on Saturday, Oct. 12. The third annual event is sponsored by the Viola Studio and South Georgia String Project and is open to high school and college musicians of all playing abilities.

Participating students will study viola with M. Brent Williams, Lauren Burns, as well as Renate Falkner.

Williams teaches violin in VSU’s Department of Music faculty. He is a noted violinist, principal second violin with the Valdosta Symphony Orchestra, concertmaster of the Albany Symphony Orchestra, assistant concertmaster of the Tallahassee Symphony Orchestra, and a dedicated chamber musician currently performing with the group enhake. He holds a Bachelor of Musical Arts from Oklahoma University and a Master of Music and Doctor of Music from Florida State University.  

Burns teaches viola at VSU and serves as director and master teacher of the award-winning South Georgia String Project. She serves as principal viola of the Valdosta Symphony Orchestra and violist of the Azalea String Quartet and spends summers as a faculty artist at the Premier Orchestral Institute in Jackson, Miss., and Schlern International Music Festival in South Tyrol, Italy. She holds a bachelor’s degree from the University of South Carolina, master’s degree from the Peabody Conservatory, and doctorate from the University of Alabama.

Falkner is a member of the University of North Florida faculty, as well as a talented artist praised for her versatility and creativity on both modern and baroque viola. In Florida, she performs regularly with Opera Tampa, the Naples Philharmonic, the St. Petersburg Opera Company, and the Jacksonville Symphony. She is a member of the New Haven Symphony, Boston Baroque and has performed with such groups as the Baltimore Symphony, Orchestra New England, and Tafelmusik Baroque Orchestra, as well as at festivals around the globe. She has recorded for several music labels and appeared in such venues as the Metropolitan Museum of Art and Carnegie Hall in New York and the Beinecke Rare Book and Manuscript Library at Yale University. She holds degrees from Oberlin College and Conservatory, the Yale School of Music, and is completing a doctorate at Florida State University.

Viola Day will conclude with a special performance — “Bach-toberfest” — featuring the Viola Studio, Burns, Williams, and Falkner at 5 p.m. in Whitehead Auditorium. The concert is free and open to the public.

Whitehead Auditorium is located on the first floor of the VSU Fine Arts Building, at the intersection of Oak Street and Brookwood Drive.

Contact Lauren Burns at eburns@valdosta.edu or (229) 219-1269 to learn more. 

On the Web:

www.valdosta.edu/music

http://www.valdosta.edu/colleges/arts/music/bios/lauren-burns.php

http://www.valdosta.edu/colleges/arts/music/bios/brent-williams.php

http://www.valdosta.edu/sgsp/

Valdosta State University’s 2013-2019 Strategic Plan represents a renewal of energy and commitment to the foundational principles for comprehensive institutions.

Implementation of the plan’s five goals, along with their accompanying objectives and strategies, supports VSU’s institutional mission and the University System of Georgia’s mission for comprehensive universities.

The story above demonstrates VSU's commitment to meeting the following goals:

Goal 1: Recruit, retain, and graduate a quality, diverse student population and prepare students for roles as leaders in a global society.

Goal 3: Promote student, employee, alumni, retiree, and community engagement in our mission.

Goal 4: Foster an environment of creativity and scholarship.

Goal 5: Develop and enhance Valdosta State’s human and physical resources.

Visit http://www.valdosta.edu/administration/planning/strategic-plan.php to learn more.