A Celebration and Benefit Concert - presents - Uniting America Concert I: Delaware to Michigan Date: Time: Uniting America Concert I Order State Performer Name 1 Delaware Larry Stomberg 2 Pennsylvania Martina Smith 3 New Jersey Erika Hallenbeck 4 Georgia Steven Lester 5 Connecticut Candy O'Terry 6 Massachusetts Ryan O'Connell, Hayden Adams 7 Maryland YaoGuang Zhai 8 South Carolina Noelani Perry 9 New Hampshire Seth Lampert 10 Virginia Andrew Shield, Esther Tien 11 New York Alison Fierst 12 North Carolina Jesse Krebs 13 Rhode Island Chris Janson 14 Vermont Sarah Brady 15 Washington D.C. Emily Nazario 16 Kentucky Emily Durocher 17 Tennessee Madeline Cawley, Alabama Abigail Workman 18 Ohio Austin Motley 19 Louisiana Alanna Benoit 20 Indiana Keslie Pharis, Arthur Tang 21 Mississippi Nicholas Perna, Tyler Kemp 22 Maine Hunter McKay 23 Missouri Donald Rabin, Illinois Nancy Hueber 24 Arkansas Kaitlin Jones 25 Michigan Joseph Gascho Lawrence Stomberg, Delaware In the End We All Just Dance it Out, Alisa Rose & Mazz Swift Lawrence Stomberg enjoys a varied career of performance as soloist and chamber musician, pedagogue, and in community outreach through music. He performs annually at the Techne Music Festival, and served thirteen years as the cellist of the acclaimed Serafin String Quartet. Currently, he is a member of the Philadelphia-based Halcyon Consort. Stom- berg recently presented performances of the six Cello Suites of Bach and the complete Cel- lo and Piano works of Beethoven, as well as international premiers of works by American and British composers. He has performed across four continents, and has recorded for the Centaur, VAI, Ravello, Naxos, and Albany labels. A recipient of the 2018 Delaware Division of the Arts Established Artist Fellowship, Stomberg offers musical outreach and community engagement through Bach in Wilming- ton, a project presenting music of Bach and Swift-Rose. The project continues with work in the community, and a forthcoming set of video performances. Stomberg is currently Professor of Cello and Associate Director for Performance Studies at the University of Delaware School of Music, and is a frequent master class teach- er at schools across the United States and abroad. Martina Smith, Pennsylvania Tanguito, Dante Yenque Hornist Martina Smith is currently a student of the Curtis Institute of Mu- sic, studying under Jeffrey Lang and Jennifer Montone. Martina also studied with Jeffrey Lang at Temple University where she received her Bachelor of Music in Horn Performance. Martina is a freelancer in the Philadelphia area playing with various chamber groups and orchestras. She has played with Symphony in C and was a substitute player in the Curtis Symphony Orchestra while still a student at Temple University. Martina has worked and taught at the Philadelphia Internation- al Music Festival the past several summers as the Assistant Orchestra Director, chamber coach, and private practice coach. She has also attended other summer festivals such as the Atlantic Brass Quintet Seminar, Imani Woodwind Quintet Mu- sic Festival, Curtis Summerfest, and the Boston University Tanglewood Institute’s Horn Workshop. While in high school she was the principal horn of the All-City Phil- adelphia Orchestra’s Italy tour. She will be attending the AIMS festival in Graz, Aus- tria in the summer of 2021. Martina teaches privately in the Philadelphia area. Erika Hallenbeck, New Jersey It Could Have Been You & This Don’t Feel Like Love, Erika Hallenbeck Erika Hallenbeck is a New Jersey singer songwriter who just com- pleted the first year of her masters degree at The New England Conserva- tory of Music. She recently released her EP, “Growing Pains” on all streaming platforms, and hopes to record a full album soon. Not bound by genre, Hallenbeck hopes her music can combine the elements of pop, soul, and jazz to reach new audiences, and stretch the idea of what is deemed “mainstream music”. Steven Lester, Georgia Deep Blue, Ian Clarke Steven Lester is from Warner Robins, GA, and is a Senior at Liberty University studying Flute Performance under the instruction of Alycia Hugo. Steven has played the flute for eleven years and is currently in the Liberty University Wind Symphony, Symphony Orchestra, Woodwind Quintet, and various other chamber ensembles. Steven has also served as piccolo section leader of the Liberty University Marching Band for three consecutive years. In the Summers of 2019 and 2020, Steven attended the orchestra/chamber and flute intensive music program at the Masterworks Festival, studying un- der renowned flutists Bonita Boyd, Anne Harrow, and Paula Kasica. He has also played in opera pit orchestras and traveled on tour with the Liberty Wind Symphony. Steven hopes to continue his studies in Flute Performance upon the completion of his undergraduate degree. Candy O’Terry, Connecticut Amazing Grace, Traditional Candy O’Terry is an award-winning broadcaster and podcaster who has spent her career talking to women on the radio and providing a platform for them to share their stories. Known as Can- dy O for 25 years on Magic 106.7/WMJX, Boston, she is the founder of My Dove Productions and the Candy O Radio Network. A prolific content creator, Candy’s weekly programs The Story Behind Her Success podcast and radio series, The Speaker Coach, 16 Life Lessons, and the new Nashville-based podcastseries Country Music Success Stories. Born in New York City and raised in Norwalk and Newington, Connecticut, Candy is proud to represent the Nutmeg state at the Uniting America Concert. Her CD Dream Come True includes 5 tracks that have received worldwide airplay including The Gift and Valentine with Grammy nominee Jim Brickman, You Are the Only One with rocker Charlie Farren, Silent Night with Grace Kelly and Has- ten Down the Wind with Livingston Taylor. Chosen by her peers as the 2015 Massachusetts Broadcaster of the Year, Candy is the winner of 50 local and national awards for excellence in women’s programming. To date, she has interviewed over 700 women from every walk of life. A devoted mentor to women in her field, Candy is the Co-Founder of Boston Women in Me- dia & Entertainment and is an inspiring performer, public speaker and voice over talent who never met a microphone she didn’t love! Ryan O’Connell, Massachusetts Sunny Side of the Street, Jimmy McHugh A native of Western Massachusetts, Ryan O'Connell is a second-year master’s student at the New England Conservatory and a recent graduate of the University of Massachusetts, Amherst. While at UMass, he earned a BM in Trumpet Performance and a BM in Music Education. Ryan has performed with various ensembles across the state including the Berkshire Symphony, New England Conservatory Philharmonia, and Panopera Music Company. In addition to these ensembles, Ryan has performed at some of the country's leading performing venues including: Boston Symphony Hall, Jordan Hall, and the Grand Ole Opry. A versatile musician, Ryan is classically trained but has strong experience playing in the jazz and funk idioms as well. His prima- ry teachers include Eric Berlin, Ben Wright, Thomas Hooten, and Phil Smith. Hayden Adams, Massachusetts Sunny Side of the Street, Jimmy McHugh Trombonist Hayden Adams is currently pursuing a Master’s Degree in Trombone Perfor- mance from the Boston Conservatory of Music where he studies with Norman Bolter, former trombonist with the Boston Symphony Orchestra. Hayden earned his Bachelor’s Degree in Trombone Performance from Temple University where he studied with Matthew Vaughn, co -principal trombone of the Philadelphia Orchestra. A native of Monson, Massachusetts, Hayden began his musical studies in the 5th grade studying privately with Christopher Glanville. In 2012, Hayden continued his studies at the New England Conservatory Preparatory School in Boston, where he studied with Norman Bolter from 2012-2015. Hayden has played in numerous masterclasses and lessons with world-renowned trom- bonists such as Nitzan Haroz, Colin Williams, Blair Bollinger, John Rojak, and Scott Hartman. Hayden has also participated in numerous music festivals across the country such as the Blackburn Music Academy- Festival Napa Valley, Atlantic Brass Quintet Seminar, Eastman Summer Trombone Institute, NAFME All-National, All-Eastern, and MMEA All-State festivals. Hayden currently maintains an active performing and teaching schedule in the Greater Bos- ton area. YaoGuang Zhai, Maryland Mu Ge (Pastoral Song) YaoGuang Zhai is currently principal clarinet of the Baltimore Symphony Orchestra. He was appointed by Maestra Marin Alsop in 2016 and is the first Chinese-born clarinetist ever to hold such a position in a major North American symphony orchestra. A native of TaiYuan, China, YaoGuang began his musical career at the age of three as a violinist, switching to the clarinet seven years later. In 1999 he entered the China Central Conservatory and then came to the United States in 2003, attending the Idyllwild Arts Academy as a full scholarship student. He continued study at the Curtis Institute of Mu- sic and graduated YaoGuang was Associate Principal Clarinet of the Toronto Symphony Orchestra for five years appointed by Maestro Peter Oundjian, and served as Principal Clarinet of the Shanghai Symphony Orchestra for two years under Chinese con- ductor Maestro Long Yu. In 2015, he also won the Associate Principal Clarinet position with the Pitts- burgh Symphony Orchestra, appointed by Maestro Manfred Honeck. While performing in Toronto the Globe and Mail described his performance as !the most beautiful lyrical playing of the evening” and the Toronto Star spoke of YaoGuang as having played with mesmerizing grace.” YaoGuang Zhai serves as a clarinet faculty member at the Interlochen Summer Music Camp, the Curtis Institute Summer Music Camp, Master-Players Summer Music Festival and National Youth Orchestra of China. YaoGuang is a Buffet Crampon and Vandoren artists. Noelani Perry, South Carolina Waltz-Scherzo for Violin and Piano, Op.