Rising Star Winners to Compete for 'All-Star' Title at the 20th Annual Celebration of the Arts in Howard County

The Howard County Arts Council has announced the 20th Annual Celebration of the Arts in Howard County on Saturday, March 25, 2017 at the Peter and Elizabeth Horowitz Visual and Performing Arts Center, Howard Community College (HCC), Columbia, MD.

Padraic M. Kennedy will serve as Honorary Chair. Richard W. Story, Senior Vice President, Community Relations and Government Affairs, and Business Development Liaison for Howard Bank, will serve as Event Emcee.

The Celebration is a multi-faceted signature event, showcasing and promoting the arts and raising funds in support of the arts, artists, and arts organizations in Howard County. One of the highlights of the 2017 Celebration is a special, 20th anniversary edition of the popular Rising Star Competition, in which previous winners will return to compete for the Rising All-Star title and a cash prize of $5,000.

The Rising Stars will perform at the Celebration before an audience of artists, arts patrons, business and political representatives, and community members who will select the winner by popular vote. The award will be presented on stage that evening!

The seven Rising Stars performing at the Celebration are Samantha McEwen Deininger, Musical Theatre; Mark Dubac, Clarinet; Mark Edwards, Classical Guitar; Sola Fadiran, Musical Theatre; Alexander X. Francis, Piano; Maggie Kudirka, Contemporary Ballet; and Tao-Chang Yu, Violin.

ABOUT THE ARTISTS:

Samantha McEwen Deininger, Musical Theatre (2012 Rising Star winner)

Samantha McEwen Deininger trained to be an opera singer at The University of the Arts in Philadelphia and later studied at the Ward Acting Studio in New York. She received the gold medal for "Classical Vocalist" in Maryland for the state level of the National Act-So competition in both 1998 and 1999. In 2000, she received the "Outstanding Soloist Award" in the Fiesta-Val vocal competition in Myrtle Beach, South Carolina. In 2011, Samantha was nominated for the Broadway World Baltimore Awards as best actress.

Mark Dubac, Clarinet (2005 Rising Star winner)

Mark Dubac joined the clarinet section of the Oregon Symphony in 2008, where he plays second clarinet and E-flat clarinet. He also performs in several Portland-based chamber groups, including Third Angle, fEARnoMUSIC, and 45th Parallel. Mark previously served as principal clarinet of the Green Bay Symphony Orchestra and has performed with the Santa Fe Opera Orchestra, Milwaukee Symphony Orchestra, Milwaukee Ballet Orchestra, New Mexico Symphony Orchestra, Portland Opera Orchestra, and the Oregon Ballet Theatre Orchestra. Mark has participated in a number of summer festivals, including the Santa Fe Chamber Music Festival, Colorado Music Festival, Astoria Music Festival, Oregon Bach Festival, National Repertory Orchestra, Spoleto Festival Italy, National Orchestral Institute and Festival, Kent/Blossom Music Festival, and the Sarasota Music Festival.

Mark Edwards, Classical Guitar (2016 Rising Star winner)

Mark Edwards has been hailed by the Montgomery Advertiser as a guitarist who "transfers to another zone, effortlessly strumming, plucking and picking a variety of classical masterpieces with clarity." Recent engagements include ArtScape, Trinity Church in New York City, the Toronto Guitar Symposium, and Mississippi Guitar Festival. In 2009, Mark joined the Maryland State Arts Council Touring Artist Roster. From 1998 to present, Mark has earned 32 top prizes in the United States, Canada, and Thailand including the 2010 Asia International Guitar Competition, 2009 Montreal International Guitar Competition, and 2008 D'Addario National Guitar Workshop Solo Competition. Mark holds a Master of Music in Performance/Pedagogy from the Peabody Institute of Music, and a Bachelor of Music, Magna cum laude with Honors, from Columbus State University.

Sola Fadiran, Musical Theatre (2015 Rising Star winner)

Sola Fadiran is a Nigerian-American baritone singer and actor with strong Howard County roots. A Glenelg High School graduate, Sola studied with soprano Alina Kozinska and performed with the Columbia Center for Theatrical Arts and Toby's Dinner Theater. At 20 years old, he is currently completing his third year at the College Conservatory of Music in Cincinnati. Most recently, Sola performed in the ensemble of "Intimate Apparel," a new work by librettist Lynn Nottage and composer Ricky Ian Gordon, at the Lincoln Center for the Metropolitan Opera/ Lincoln Center Theater New Works Program.

Alexander X. Francis, Piano (2008 Rising Star winner)

Alexander X. Francis studied piano performance, music production, and engineering at Berklee College of Music. Alexander is currently living in Orange County, California where he has worked with, written, and produced for major recording artists including two-time Grammy nominee Luke James (Island Records), The Stereotypes, Sabi, Rihanna (RocNation), and labels such as UMG, Sony Music, and Atlantic Records. One of Alexander's goals is to develop additional music opportunities for the mid-atlantic region and give back to the community, particularly youth who share his passion for music.

Maggie Kudirka, Contemporary Ballet (2013 Rising Star winner)

Maggie Kudirka is from Ellicott City and trained with Olga Tozyiakova, Svetlana Kravtsova, Runqiao Du, and Francesca Corkle. After graduating from Towson University, she accepted a full merit scholarship to the Joffrey Ballet School and joined the Joffrey Concert Group at the invitation of director Davis Robertson. In June 2014, following a stage 4 breast cancer diagnosis at age 23, she created the Bald Ballerina social media movement to raise awareness that no one is too young; no one is too fit; no one is immune from breast cancer. She currently travels across the country giving master classes and advocating for metastatic breast cancer awareness.

Tao-Chang Yu, Violin (2007 Rising Star winner)

Tao-Chang Yu is a highly acclaimed concert violinist and violin teacher. Tao has performed in recitals and concerto concerts across three continents since the age of twelve. He began violin study with Dr. Shiao-Jun Ma, father and teacher of renowned cellist Yo-Yo Ma, at age four and released his first recording at age 12 in Taiwan. By age 12, Tao won the Taiwan National Violin Competition and gave his first concerto debut at Sung Yet-Sun Memorial Hall. At age 13, he was featured in the Taiwanese Government's Promotional Cultural Documentary as the country's most talented violin prodigy. Tao has twice received the "Rose and Lou Becker Memorial Prize in Violin" at Peabody Conservatory, and won the Homer Ulrich Award in solo performance from the University of Maryland, College Park, where he received his doctoral degree.

The Howard County Arts Council is a non-profit organization whose mission is to serve the citizens of Howard County by fostering the arts, artists and arts organizations. The Howard County Arts Council receives major grants from the Howard County Government and the Maryland State Arts Council and sustaining annual support from corporate, foundation and individual sponsors. Howard County Arts Council offices are located at the Howard County Center for the Arts, 8510 High Ridge Road , Ellicott City , MD 21043 . The Howard County Center for the Arts is an accessible facility encouraging the full participation of individuals with disabilities.

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