(9/1) Music, Gettysburg! opens its new concert season September 10, 2006 with the Gettysburg Chamber Orchestra and award winning violinist Ms. Tessa Lark playing Beethoven's Violin Concerto.

The afternoon concert program will also feature Wofgang Amadeus Mozart's final symphony, Symphony No. 41, the "Jupiter," in C major. This work stands as a monument to Mozart's symphonic output often cited as one of the greatest symphonies ever written.

The concert, free and open to the public, takes place at 4pm in the chapel of Gettysburg Seminary, 147 Seminary Ridge on the western edge of the Gettysburg borough.

Ms. Tessa Lark, a 16-year-old from Richmond, Kentucky, walked away with the "Violin First Place" in the prestigious Johansen International Competition held in Washington, DC, early in March. Ms. Lark competed with 16 of the finest young violinists from around the world­with contestants from Russia, China, Korea, Israel and France, as well as the United States­all between the ages of 13-17, to win this coveted prize. The award includes a $10,000 cash honorarium and a solo performance at the Corcoran Gallery in Washington, D.C.

Gettysburg Chamber Orchestra Director, Norman Nunamaker, chose the Mozart Symphony No. 41 from an unusually prolific time from Mozart’s life. This work, along with Symphonies 39 and 40, was completed within a six week period during the summer of 1788. Nunamaker said that Symphony No. 41 "is unusual in that it appears to have been written by the composer from some inner need rather than for a specific concert, which was the usual case with his compositions." The Director of the GCO indicated that "the performance of this work is a fitting tribute to the 250th birthday of Mozart which occurs this year."

Tessa Lark began her violin studies at the age of six and is currently studying at the Cincinnati Conservatory of Music. Ms. Lark has had numerous performing opportunities ranging from casual programs, including jazz , bluegrass, Cajun and Celtic, to more formal occasions. In 2005 she was a soloist with the China Opera and Ballet Orchestra in Beijing, China, and at the Glinka Concert Hall in St. Petersburg, Russia. She has received numerous awards, including a New Horizon Fellowship to the Aspen Music Festival, and a fellowship to the Great Wall International Music Academy, in Beijing. Tessa will graduate from Madison Central High School in May and will enter the New England Conservatory, Boston, in the fall to continue her music studies.

The Johansen International Competition was founded in 1997 through the generosity of a trust fund established by the late Anna Storch Johansen, a violinist from Falls Church, VA, and a Life Member of the Friday Morning Music Club, the sponsoring organization. The Competition is held every three years. This year, from the 136 applicants, only 14 youngsters were chosen to move on to the Finals. The judges this year were Joseph Silverstein, former Concertmaster and Assistant Conductor of the Boston Symphony Orchestra; Daniel Foster, Principal Violist of the National Symphony Orchestra, and Anthony Elliott, Professor of Cello at the University of Michigan. In all, over $66,000 were given to the various winners of the competition.

The Gettysburg Chamber Orchestra was founded in 1997 by Carolyn and Norman Nunamaker, and has presented at least two concerts per year since that time. The ensemble is fortunate to have been able to present many former Gettysburg musicians now working in such places as New York, Atlanta, and Long Beach, California. This will be the third occasion the GCO has presented a winner of the Johansen Competition; in 2000 the 16-year-old violinist Angie Cheng, from Shanghai, performed the Mendelssohn Violin Concerto, and in 2003, the cellist Sung You Kim, from Seoul, Korea, performed the Haydn Cello Concerto in D. The Director of the GCO, Norman Nunamaker, stated that he is honored to be working with the Friday Morning Music Club and the Johansen International Competition, for it is a testament to the quality of this fully-professional local ensemble.

Thanks to the generous support of hundreds of individuals and corporate sponsors, this free concert will be presented by Music, Gettysburg! on Sunday, September 10, at 4:00 pm in the Seminary Chapel. For more information please call 717-334-5508. Music, Gettysburg! continues its recent practice of providing courtesy concert reminders and important news announcements through its electronic list serve. Interested persons may sign on for the list serve from www.musicgettysburg.org . New this year is a concert information update voice mail box at Tel. 717-338-3000 ext 2197.