Merit School of Music Hosts PERFORMATHON Today

Nearly 300 students from Merit School of Music's Alice S. Pfaelzer Tuition-free Conservatory will share the spotlight at Performathon, a special evening followed by a full day of non-stop classical and jazz performances today, February 28 from 7-9 p.m. and all day Saturday, March 1 starting at 9 a.m.

The public is invited to drop in at Performathon anytime to enjoy the many talents of Chicago's top youth musicians at Merit's Joy Faith Knapp Music Center, 38 S. Peoria St., in Chicago's West Loop. The free, 32nd annual event allows Chicago's top young musicians - who attend the Conservatory at no charge - to perform before a live audience and raise crucial funds for the non-profit community music school.

Music lovers can expect to hear a nearly constant, eclectic mix of classical, jazz, chamber and vocal ensembles and performers throughout Performathon, including in Merit's 372-seat Anne and Howard Gottleib Hall, one of the premier chamber music venues in Chicago. Performathon also will feature an ethnic food fair, silent auction, raffle and Merit merchandise.

Friday night's program kicks off at 7 p.m. with the Junior Band performing "Joy," a set from the Symphonic Band, and two songs by oboe soloist Lisa Lutgen. The Merit Wind Symphony wraps Friday's night Performathon with a set concluding with "El Camino Real."

98.7 WFMT will broadcast live from Performathon Saturday morning from 9 to11 a.m. The broadcast kicks off with a performance of the "Hungarian March from the Damnation of Faust" by the Merit Chamber Orchestra. Top Merit students and alumni also will be interviewed live throughout the morning on WFMT's Introductions show.

On Saturday at 10:45 a.m., current Merit student Tanner Jackson, a senior at Tinley Park High School, will play "Stephansdom," a solo for bass trombone and trombone choir composed by Merit alum Ryan Diefenderfer. Jackson was one of two Merit trombone players who performed this summer in the inaugural season of the National Youth Orchestra of the United States of America. Diefenderfer, a recent Indiana University graduate with degrees in trombone and composition, won the International Trombone Association composition contest two years ago with this piece and it has now been published. All Merit alumni in attendance will be recognized at 11 a.m.

Parents and children interested in learning more about Merit School of Music's Conservatory program are also strongly encouraged to attend Performathon. Students are accepted into Merit's Tuition-free Conservatory by audition only and receive free of charge a college preparatory level of musical training, valued at $2,500 per year. Conservatory students represent an economically and ethnically diverse cross section of the Chicago area, and most graduates continue their music studies at top colleges, universities and music conservatories.

The next round of auditions will be in May 2014 for both classical and jazz instruction. For more on auditions, visit meritmusic.org/alice-s-pfaelzer-conservatory/auditions/ or call 312.786.9428.

Performathon is hosted by the Merit Parent Association. Accelerando Sponsors (at press time) are Loop Capital and USG. Crescendo Sponsors are Marie S. Malayil and Andrius K. Strimaitis, and Ruth Miner Swislow. Rubato Sponsors are Alphagraphics, Eric & Anne Blanchard, J.P. and Colleen Fowler, Andrea Hargrave, Italian Village Restaurants and Mark Vend Company.

For Performathon updates and a full schedule of repertoire, visit meritmusic.org/performathon.

About Merit School of Music: Celebrating its 35th anniversary of "Making Music, Building Lives," Merit School of Music is devoted to giving children-especially children living in economically disadvantaged communities-the opportunity to grow through music. As part of Merit's commitment to providing access to a high quality music education, substantial financial support is provided to young musicians through program subsidies, need-based tuition relief, low-cost instrument rental, and music supplies so that motivated students can participate in every program regardless of their economic circumstance. The goal is to ensure that children, regardless of their family income, have access to high quality music education and all of its benefits in developing personally as well as musically. To learn more about Merit's music education programs, visit meritmusic.org or call 312.786.9428.

Pictured: (top, left) High school senior Tanner Jackson, one of two Merit trombonists selected to perform with the National Youth Orchestra of the United States of America, will perform along with hundreds of Chicago's most talented youth musicians at Performathon. (bottom, right) The Merit Parent Association will raise funds via an ethnic food fair. Andrea Hargrave (far left) is not only the Merit Parent Association president, but a Merit alum as well.

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