An Evening of Love and Lyrics   Warm Springs, VA (May 18, 2019) - The third installment of Garth Newel Music Center’s new Emerging Artist Alumni Concert Series took place this past May 18th. This concert series brings back talented alumni of Garth Newel Music Center’s flagship program (Emerging Artist Fellowship), providing the opportunity for them to share their artistry as emerged professionals in music. Many members of the Bath County community came out to Herter Hall to hear pianist Haeshin Shin, cellist Jacob Wunsch, and soprano Elena Mindlina perform a program of Rachmaninoff, Medtner, and Shostakovich. Shin and Wunsch both met as fellows of Garth Newel’s 2014 Emerging Artist Fellowship Program, and both remarked on how special it was for them to return after five years to the place where they had experienced great musical growth and happiness. Shin, who was the recipient of the Hella and Cecil Armstrong Fellowship, keeps in regular contact with the Armstrongs, and they were thrilled to see Shin return to Garth Newel’s Herter Hall as a beautiful and polished professional. Entitled “The Russian Masters”, the program showcased three vastly different voices of Russia’s rich musical legacy, from the rich virtuosity of Rachmaninoff’s Sonata for cello and piano, to the lyricism of Nikolai Medtner’s Pushkin-inspired songs, to the sharp musical parodies of Dmitri Shostakovich’s Satires. The evening was capped by a rendition of the popular 1950’s hit “Be My Love” by Nicholas Brodzsky. By ending on an American song composed by a Russian Emigre, performed by three artists hailing from South Korea, Wisconsin, and Russia, and whose collaboration began in the mountains of Virginia, the message of this encore was clear: Music bridges all cultures.

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