MusicaNova Orchestra Presents Two Young Phenoms In Recital

MusicaNova Orchestra presents a celebration of music for violin and piano in the next Young Artists Series concert, 4 p.m. Feb. 8 at the Arizona Piano Company, 4134 E. Wood St. in Phoenix. Tickets are $15 for general admission and $10 for seniors and students, and are available online at MusicaNovaAz.org or at the door. Youth under 18 are admitted free with a paid admission.

Sean Ellis, 17, is a junior at Desert Vista High School in Phoenix. He is co-concertmaster of the Desert Vista Chamber Orchestra and associate principal second violin in the Phoenix Youth Symphony. He was one of 18 violinists chosen to attend the Charles Castleman Quartet Program last year. Sean teaches underprivileged youth the violin through Harmony Project Phoenix, and looks forward to a career in music after college. Jessica Zhang, 17, is a a senior at Corona del Sol High School in Tempe.

This will be her third appearance as a MusicaNova young artist. A student of the piano since she was 5, she made her Carnegie Hall debut last summer after winning first place in the American Protégé International Music Talent Competition. She was recognized in 2019 as a National YoungArts winner and won first prize at the 2017 IIYM International Piano Competition. She leads Corona del Sol's Music for Cure Club, taking student performances into senior homes and hospitals.

MusicaNova's Young Artist Concerts series started in 2013 to give exceptional musicians under the age of 18 a unique opportunity to perform in a formal recital setting. It allows them to showcase their talents in a supportive yet a professional setting.

MusicaNova's final Young Artists Concert of the season will be held March 21 at the Arizona Piano Company, featuring flutist Daniel Walker and pianist Katheryn Chan. Remaining concerts in MusicaNova Orchestra's 2019-2020 season include Music With a Voice: A Concert of Reconciliation on March 29 at Scottsdale Center for the Performing Arts, Stabat Mater: Reflections on Holy Week on April 5 at Scottsdale Presbyterian Church, and the season finale, The Mannheim Phenomenon: Centuries of String Orchestra Sound on May 10 at the Musical Instrument Museum.

MusicaNova is a professional symphony orchestra founded in the Valley in 2003. MNO also presents its Young Artists Concert and free Community Concert Series at venues in Phoenix, Tempe, and Scottsdale, conducts extensive educational outreach with Valley schools, and created the unique MNO Composition Fellows Program for hands-on mentoring of emerging composers.

Call 480-750-9466 for more information, or visit musicanovaaz.com.