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<p class="x_MsoNormal" style="text-autospace:none"><span style="font-size:11.0pt; font-family:"Avenir 55 Roman"">For Immediate Release: April 25, 2014</span></p>
<p class="x_MsoNormal"><span style="font-size:11.0pt; font-family:"Avenir 55 Roman"; color:black">For More Information Contact:<br>
Bridget Lee-Calfas, Advertising and Publicity Director</span><span style="font-size:11.0pt; font-family:"Avenir 55 Roman""><br>
<span style="color:black"><a href="mailto:bklee@illinois.edu">bklee@illinois.edu</a><br>
</span>217/766-2820</span><span class="x_Apple-style-span" style="font-family:'Avenir 55 Roman'; font-size:15px"> </span></p>
<h1><font class="x_Apple-style-span" face="'Avenir 55 Roman'"><span class="x_Apple-style-span" style="font-size:15px"><a href="http://krannertcenter.com/performance.aspx?id=201371895913725128174106178"><span style="font-size:11.0pt; font-family:"Avenir 55 Roman"">Krannert
Center for the Performing Arts 2014 Debut Artists Announced:<br>
</span><span style="font-size:11.0pt; font-family:"Avenir 55 Roman"">Samuel Gingher, piano<br>
Alexandra Nowakowski, soprano</span></a></span></font></h1>
<p class="x_MsoNormal"><span style="font-size:11.0pt; font-family:"Avenir 55 Roman"">The dual roles of Krannert Center as a professional performing arts center and a training facility for students reflect its mission to nurture excellence in the arts through
education and presentation. Krannert Center’s long-standing commitment to young artists is uniquely strengthened by its affiliation with the University of Illinois and the School of Music.</span></p>
<p class="x_MsoNormal"><span style="font-size:11.0pt; font-family:"Avenir 55 Roman"">In 1984, Dean Jack McKenzie of the College of Fine and Applied Arts recognized that the performing caliber of many students in the School of Music equaled that of some of the
young professional artists featured at Krannert Center. McKenzie, at the time Acting Director of Krannert Center, and Robert Bays, then Director of the School of Music, agreed that the School of Music and Krannert Center together would choose a student through
audition and that Krannert Center would present the student in recital with a full professional contract. Beginning in 1990, the Krannert Center Debut Artist recital became a part of the Sunday Salon Series, a series specifically devoted to the presentation
of emerging young artists in which an intimate atmosphere is created by seating audience members onstage with the performers. All Krannert Center Debut Artists, since the very first in 1984, have remained active performers and educators. For these artists,
the award has carried national impact because of Krannert Center’s reputation for excellence.</span></p>
<p class="x_MsoNormal"><span style="font-size:11.0pt; font-family:"Avenir 55 Roman""> </span></p>
<p class="x_MsoNormal"><b style=""><span style="font-size:11.0pt; font-family:"Avenir 55 Roman"">For only the third time in the competition’s history, co-winners have been announced:</span></b></p>
<p class="x_MsoNormal"><span style="font-size:11.0pt; font-family:"Avenir 55 Roman"">Soprano
<b style="">Alexandra Nowakowski</b> is pursuing her bachelor’s degree in vocal performance under the tutelage of Cynthia Haymon-Coleman. With the School of Music Opera Program, she has performed in the world premiere of
</span><em><span style="font-size:11.0pt; font-family:"Avenir 55 Roman"">Paradises Lost, The Magic Flute, Rigoletto,</span></em><span style="font-size:11.0pt; font-family:"Avenir 55 Roman""> and
</span><em><span style="font-size:11.0pt; font-family:"Avenir 55 Roman"">Orpheus in the Underworld.</span></em><span style="font-size:11.0pt; font-family:"Avenir 55 Roman""> In August 2013, Alexandra sang with the Lyric Opera Studio Weimar as Donna Elvira in
</span><em><span style="font-size:11.0pt; font-family:"Avenir 55 Roman"">Don Giovanni.</span></em><span style="font-size:11.0pt; font-family:"Avenir 55 Roman""> She received the Encouragement Award at the District Metropolitan Opera Auditions in Iowa. Alexandra
is a recent winner of the Armstrong Competition and is a recipient of the Thomas J. Smith Scholarship and the Dorothy Bowen Scholarship through the U of I.
</span><span style="font-size:11.0pt; font-family:"Avenir 55 Roman"">For her Debut recital selections, Alexandra will be accompanied by pianist Jianan Yu as she presents Dvo</span><span style="font-size:11.0pt; font-family:"Times New Roman"">ř</span><span style="font-size:11.0pt; font-family:"Avenir 55 Roman"">ák’s
<i style="">Cigánské melodie/Gypsy Songs 1-7; </i>Mozart’s<i style=""> Oiseaux, si tous les ans, K. 307</i> and
<i style="">Dans un bois solitaire, K. 308</i>; and Strauss’ <i style="">4 Lieder, Op. 27 1-4</i>.</span><span style="font-size:11.0pt; font-family:"Avenir 55 Roman""><br>
<br>
A doctoral student in piano performance at the U of I, <b style="">Samuel Gingher</b> has won the Brevard Music Center Solo Piano Competition, the Intersection of Jazz and Classical Music Piano Festival and Competition at West Virginia University, the 21st
Century Piano Commission Award Competition at the U of I, the LaGrange Symphony Orchestra Young Artists Competition, and piano concerto competitions at the University of North Carolina at Chapel Hill and the U of I. Gingher is currently studying with Timothy
Ehlen and has studied jazz piano with Edmund Paolantonio, Mark Freundt, and Joan Hickey. His research interests lie in 19th-century classical piano improvisation.
</span><span style="font-size:11.0pt; font-family:"Avenir 55 Roman"">His Debut program will offer Carl Czerny’s
<i style="">Piano Sonata No. 1 in A-flat major, Op. 7</i> and Liszt’s <i style="">
Après une Lecture de Dante: Fantasia quasi Sonata. </i></span><em><span style="font-size:11.0pt; font-family:"Avenir 55 Roman""></span></em></p>
<p class="x_MsoNormal"><b style=""><span style="font-size:11.0pt; font-family:"Avenir 55 Roman"; color:black"> </span></b></p>
<p class="x_MsoNormal"><font class="x_Apple-style-span" face="'Avenir 55 Roman'"><span class="x_Apple-style-span" style="font-size:15px"><b><a href="http://krannertcenter.com/performance.aspx?id=201371895913725128174106178">Tickets and Performance Information:</a></b></span></font></p>
<h1><span style="font-size:11.0pt; font-family:"Avenir 55 Roman"">Krannert Center Debut Artists:
</span></h1>
<p class="x_MsoNormal"><b style=""><span style="font-size:11.0pt; font-family:"Avenir 55 Roman"">Alexandra Nowakowski, soprano</span></b></p>
<p class="x_MsoNormal"><b style=""><span style="font-size:11.0pt; font-family:"Avenir 55 Roman"">Samuel Gingher, piano</span></b></p>
<p class="x_MsoNormal"><span style="font-size:11.0pt; font-family:"Avenir 55 Roman"">Sunday Salon Series—Emerging Artistry</span></p>
<p class="x_MsoNormal" style="text-autospace:none"><span style="font-size:11.0pt; font-family:"Avenir 55 Roman"">Sunday, May 4 at 3pm</span><span style="font-size:11.0pt; font-family:"Avenir 55 Roman"">
</span></p>
<p class="x_MsoNormal" style="text-autospace:none"><span style="font-size:11.0pt; font-family:"Avenir 55 Roman"">Foellinger Great Hall</span><span style="font-size:11.0pt; font-family:"Avenir 55 Roman""></span></p>
<p class="x_MsoNormal" style="text-autospace:none"><span style="font-size:11.0pt; font-family:"Avenir 55 Roman"">Flex: 40 / SC 35 / Stu 15 / UI & Yth 10</span></p>
<p class="x_MsoNormal" style="text-autospace:none"><span style="font-size:11.0pt; font-family:"Avenir 55 Roman"">Single: 42 / SC 37 / Stu 15 / UI & Yth 10</span></p>
<p class="x_MsoNormal"><span style="font-size:11.0pt; font-family:"Avenir 55 Roman"">Balcony: 10 / UI & Yth 5</span></p>
<p class="x_MsoNormal"><span style="font-size:11.0pt; font-family:"Avenir 55 Roman"; color:black"> </span></p>
<p class="x_MsoNormal"><span style="font-size:11.0pt; font-family:"Avenir 55 Roman"">Tickets for stage seating are currently unavailable; to join the waiting list, patrons may visit <a href="http://krannertcenter.com/performance.aspx?id=201371895913725128174106178">KrannertCenter.com </a>or
call 217/333-6280. Balcony seating is still available; patrons are asked to please contact the Ticket Office at 217/333-6280 or
</span><span style="font-size:11.0pt; font-family:"Avenir 55 Roman"; color:black">800/KCPATIX (527-2849) for more information. Patrons who are deaf, hard-of-hearing, or speech-impaired may also make inquiries via TTY at 217/333-9714.</span></p>
<p class="x_MsoNormal"><span style="font-size:11.0pt; font-family:"Avenir 55 Roman""> </span></p>
<p class="x_MsoNormal"><b style=""><span style="font-size:11.0pt; font-family:"Avenir 55 Roman"">Past Debut Artist Winners:
</span></b></p>
<p class="x_MsoNormal"><b style=""><span style="font-size:11.0pt; font-family:"Avenir 55 Roman""> </span></b></p>
<p class="x_MsoNormal"><span style="font-size:11.0pt; font-family:"Avenir 55 Roman"">April 28, 1991<span style="">
</span><span style=""> </span>Gregory Mason, accompanist, joined by tenor Mark </span>
</p>
<p class="x_MsoNormal"><span style="font-size:11.0pt; font-family:"Avenir 55 Roman""><span style="">
</span>Hamman, soprano Janet Robb, soprano Mary Ann </span></p>
<p class="x_MsoNormal"><span style="font-size:11.0pt; font-family:"Avenir 55 Roman""><span style="">
</span>Kyle, and soprano Julianne Cross</span></p>
<p class="x_MsoNormal"><span style="font-size:11.0pt; font-family:"Avenir 55 Roman""> </span></p>
<p class="x_MsoNormal" style="text-autospace:none"><span style="font-size:11.0pt; font-family:"Avenir 55 Roman"">May 3, 1992 Margaret Donaghue, clarinet, with Victoria Demaree, piano</span></p>
<p class="x_MsoNormal" style="text-autospace:none"><span style="font-size:11.0pt; font-family:"Avenir 55 Roman""> </span></p>
<p class="x_MsoNormal" style="text-autospace:none"><span style="font-size:11.0pt; font-family:"Avenir 55 Roman"">April 25, 1993 Layna Chianakas, mezzo-soprano, with Gregory Mason, piano</span></p>
<p class="x_MsoNormal" style="text-autospace:none"><span style="font-size:11.0pt; font-family:"Avenir 55 Roman""> </span></p>
<p class="x_MsoNormal" style="text-autospace:none"><span style="font-size:11.0pt; font-family:"Avenir 55 Roman"">April 24, 1994 Horia Mihail, piano</span></p>
<p class="x_MsoNormal" style="text-autospace:none"><span style="font-size:11.0pt; font-family:"Avenir 55 Roman""> </span></p>
<p class="x_MsoNormal" style="text-autospace:none"><span style="font-size:11.0pt; font-family:"Avenir 55 Roman"">April 23, 1995 Irina Muresanu, violin, with Joseph Bognar, piano</span></p>
<p class="x_MsoNormal" style="text-autospace:none"><span style="font-size:11.0pt; font-family:"Avenir 55 Roman""> </span></p>
<p class="x_MsoNormal" style="text-autospace:none"><span style="font-size:11.0pt; font-family:"Avenir 55 Roman"">April 28, 1996 Diana Popescu, piano</span></p>
<p class="x_MsoNormal" style="text-autospace:none"><span style="font-size:11.0pt; font-family:"Avenir 55 Roman""> </span></p>
<p class="x_MsoNormal" style="text-autospace:none"><span style="font-size:11.0pt; font-family:"Avenir 55 Roman"">April 20, 1997 Catalin Rotaru, double bass, with Diana Popescu, piano</span></p>
<p class="x_MsoNormal" style="text-autospace:none"><span style="font-size:11.0pt; font-family:"Avenir 55 Roman""> </span></p>
<p class="x_MsoNormal" style="text-autospace:none"><span style="font-size:11.0pt; font-family:"Avenir 55 Roman"">May 3, 1998 Harold Gray Meers, tenor, with Dewitt Tipton, piano</span></p>
<p class="x_MsoNormal" style="text-autospace:none"><span style="font-size:11.0pt; font-family:"Avenir 55 Roman""> </span></p>
<p class="x_MsoNormal" style="text-autospace:none"><span style="font-size:11.0pt; font-family:"Avenir 55 Roman"">May 2, 1999 Samir Golescu, piano</span></p>
<p class="x_MsoNormal" style="text-autospace:none"><span style="font-size:11.0pt; font-family:"Avenir 55 Roman""> </span></p>
<p class="x_MsoNormal" style="text-autospace:none"><span style="font-size:11.0pt; font-family:"Avenir 55 Roman"">April 30, 2000 Owen Rockwell, percussion, with Britton Plourde, alto flute</span></p>
<p class="x_MsoNormal" style="text-autospace:none"><span style="font-size:11.0pt; font-family:"Avenir 55 Roman""> </span></p>
<p class="x_MsoNormal" style="text-autospace:none"><span style="font-size:11.0pt; font-family:"Avenir 55 Roman"">April 8, 2001 Kyung-A Yang, piano</span></p>
<p class="x_MsoNormal" style="text-autospace:none"><span style="font-size:11.0pt; font-family:"Avenir 55 Roman""> </span></p>
<p class="x_MsoNormal" style="text-autospace:none"><span style="font-size:11.0pt; font-family:"Avenir 55 Roman"">April 28, 2002 Alda Dizdari, violin, with Magi Dizdari, piano</span></p>
<p class="x_MsoNormal" style="text-autospace:none"><span style="font-size:11.0pt; font-family:"Avenir 55 Roman""> </span></p>
<p class="x_MsoNormal" style="text-autospace:none"><span style="font-size:11.0pt; font-family:"Avenir 55 Roman"">April 6, 2003 Lori Williams, soprano, with Jeffrey Peterson, piano</span></p>
<p class="x_MsoNormal" style="text-autospace:none"><span style="font-size:11.0pt; font-family:"Avenir 55 Roman""> </span></p>
<p class="x_MsoNormal" style="text-autospace:none"><span style="font-size:11.0pt; font-family:"Avenir 55 Roman"">May 2, 2004 Wae-Jane Chen, piano</span></p>
<p class="x_MsoNormal" style="text-autospace:none"><span style="font-size:11.0pt; font-family:"Avenir 55 Roman""> </span></p>
<p class="x_MsoNormal" style="text-autospace:none"><span style="font-size:11.0pt; font-family:"Avenir 55 Roman"">April 17, 2005 Ann Kai-An Wu, piano</span></p>
<p class="x_MsoNormal" style="text-autospace:none"><span style="font-size:11.0pt; font-family:"Avenir 55 Roman""> </span></p>
<p class="x_MsoNormal"><span style="font-size:11.0pt; font-family:"Avenir 55 Roman"">April 23, 2006 Co-winners: Bomi Lim, piano, and Rochelle Sennet, piano</span></p>
<p class="x_MsoNormal" style="margin-left:1.0in; text-indent:.5in"><span style="font-size:11.0pt; font-family:"Avenir 55 Roman""><span style="">
</span><span style=""> </span>Honorable Mention: Jane Boxall, marimba </span>
</p>
<p class="x_MsoNormal" style="margin-left:1.0in; text-indent:.5in"><span style="font-size:11.0pt; font-family:"Avenir 55 Roman""><span style=""> </span><span style="">
</span>(Featured in Afterglow on April 13, 2006)</span></p>
<p class="x_MsoNormal"><span style="font-size:11.0pt; font-family:"Avenir 55 Roman""> </span></p>
<p class="x_MsoNormal"><span style="font-size:11.0pt; font-family:"Avenir 55 Roman"">April 15, 2007
<span style=""> </span>Thomas Kronholz, piano</span></p>
<p class="x_MsoNormal"><span style="font-size:11.0pt; font-family:"Avenir 55 Roman""> </span></p>
<p class="x_MsoNormal"><span style="font-size:11.0pt; font-family:"Avenir 55 Roman"">April 27, 2008<span style="">
</span>Yu-Chi Tai, piano</span></p>
<p class="x_MsoNormal"><span style="font-size:11.0pt; font-family:"Avenir 55 Roman""> </span></p>
<p class="x_MsoNormal"><span style="font-size:11.0pt; font-family:"Avenir 55 Roman"; color:black">April 26, 2009<span style="">
</span>Melissa Davis, mezzo-soprano, with Sun-Hee Kim, piano</span></p>
<p class="x_MsoNormal" style="margin-left:2.0in"><span style="font-size:11.0pt; font-family:"Avenir 55 Roman"; color:black">Honorable Mention: Phil Doyle, tenor saxophone, and Henning Schröder,
<br>
alto saxophone</span></p>
<p class="x_MsoNormal" style="margin-left:2.0in"><span style="font-size:11.0pt; font-family:"Avenir 55 Roman"; color:black">(Featured in Krannert Center 40th Anniversary Celebration, May 1, 2009)</span></p>
<p class="x_MsoNormal" style="margin-left:2.0in"><span style="font-size:11.0pt; font-family:"Avenir 55 Roman"; color:black"> </span></p>
<p class="x_MsoNormal"><span style="font-size:11.0pt; font-family:"Avenir 55 Roman"; color:black">April 25, 2010<span style="">
</span>Chen-Yu Huang, harp</span></p>
<p class="x_MsoNormal"><span style="font-size:11.0pt; font-family:"Avenir 55 Roman"; color:black"> </span></p>
<p class="x_MsoNormal"><span style="font-size:11.0pt; font-family:"Avenir 55 Roman"; color:black">April 17, 2011<span style="">
</span>Co-winners: </span><span style="font-size:11.0pt; font-family:"Avenir 55 Roman"">Patrycja Likos, cello, and Chu-Chun Yen, piano
</span></p>
<p class="x_MsoNormal"><span style="font-size:11.0pt; font-family:"Avenir 55 Roman""> </span></p>
<p class="x_MsoNormal"><span style="font-size:11.0pt; font-family:"Avenir 55 Roman"">April 15, 2012<span style="">
</span>Wuna Meng, piano</span></p>
<p class="x_MsoNormal"><span style="font-size:11.0pt; font-family:"Avenir 55 Roman""> </span></p>
<p class="x_MsoNormal"><span style="font-size:11.0pt; font-family:"Avenir 55 Roman"">April 21, 2013<span style="">
</span><span style=""> </span>Moye Chen, piano</span></p>
<p class="x_MsoNormal"><span style="font-size:11.0pt; font-family:"Avenir 55 Roman""> </span></p>
<p class="x_MsoNormal"><span style="font-size:11.0pt; font-family:"Avenir 55 Roman"">###</span><span style="font-size:11.0pt; font-family:"Avenir 55 Roman""></span></p>
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