Gullah-Geechee Heritage + Competition Winners
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Steven Errante, conductor
Ron Daise, guest artist 2022 Richard R. Deas Young Artists Concerto Competition Winners (Saybren Long (High School Division) and Guitare Le (UNCW Division)) CONCERT PROGRAM
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The Wilmington Symphony Orchestra will highlight the Cape Fear region's role as the northern terminus of the Gullah-Geechee Cultural Heritage Corridor with a new work written by story-teller singer Ron Daise and score by Steven Errante. Sankofa: Return and Get It will take audience members through the unique culture of the Gullah Geechee people who have traditionally resided in the coastal areas and the sea islands of North Carolina, South Carolina, Georgia and Florida.
The concert will also feature a symphonic work by Florence Price, a Black composer whose music is enjoying a deserved revival, and performances by our High School and UNCW division winners of the 47th annual Richard R. Deas Young Artists Concerto Competition. Guitare Le (UNCW division) will perform Mozart’s Piano Concerto No. 9 and Saybren Long (High School division) will perform Violin Concerto in D Minor by Jean Sibelius. This concert is sponsored by:
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Ron Daise, singer/songwriter
RON DAISE is an author, performance artist, singer/songwriter, educator, and cultural interpreter. His productions and recordings about Gullah heritage began after the publication of his first book, Reminiscences of Sea Island Heritage, in 1986. Several books and recordings, including his "Gullah Tinks fa Tink Bout" CD, have followed.
Since 2004, DAISE has served as Vice President for Creative Education at Brookgreen Gardens in Murrells Inlet, SC, where his accomplishments, in part, have garnered him the 2019 SC Governor's Distinctive Achievement Award. He is known by many as “Mr. Ron” from “Gullah Gullah Island,” the Nick Jr. TV’s award-winning children’s program of the 1990s. Daise also is a former chairman of the federal Gullah Geechee Cultural Heritage Corridor Commission and currently serves on the Charles Joyner Institute for Gullah and African Diaspora Studies Advisory Board. He is featured in a video exhibit about Black language and speech at the Smithsonian National Museum of African American History and Culture.
A native of St. Helena Island, SC, and a graduate of Hampton University in Hampton, VA, Daise and his wife Natalie reside in Georgetown, SC, and are parents of three adult children.
rondaise.com
Since 2004, DAISE has served as Vice President for Creative Education at Brookgreen Gardens in Murrells Inlet, SC, where his accomplishments, in part, have garnered him the 2019 SC Governor's Distinctive Achievement Award. He is known by many as “Mr. Ron” from “Gullah Gullah Island,” the Nick Jr. TV’s award-winning children’s program of the 1990s. Daise also is a former chairman of the federal Gullah Geechee Cultural Heritage Corridor Commission and currently serves on the Charles Joyner Institute for Gullah and African Diaspora Studies Advisory Board. He is featured in a video exhibit about Black language and speech at the Smithsonian National Museum of African American History and Culture.
A native of St. Helena Island, SC, and a graduate of Hampton University in Hampton, VA, Daise and his wife Natalie reside in Georgetown, SC, and are parents of three adult children.
rondaise.com
High School and UNCW Division winners of the 47th annual Richard R. Deas Young Artists Concerto Competition
Saybren Long, violin (High School Division)
16 year old Saybren Long began studying violin at age 7 with Redding Farlow-Soderberg and moved to his current teacher, Dr. Danijela Žeželj-Gualdi, at age 9. He is an active orchestral player and has served as concertmaster for the Cannon Music Camp String Orchestra (2022), concertmaster for the Wilmington Junior Strings (2019-20), and co-concertmaster for the Cannon Music Camp Symphony Orchestra (2022). He enjoys playing chamber music, performing at local venues such as the Cameron Art Museum and the Wilmington Community Arts Center, as well as performing with an honors string quartet at the Haye’s School of Music this past summer. He has won multiple local competitions such as the 2019 Brooklyn Arts Academy Double Bach Concerto Competition and the 2019 Junior Division Richard R. Deas Young Artists Concerto Competition. At age 12, he made his solo debut with the Tallis Chamber Orchestra and since then has been featured as a concerto soloist with the UNCW CMA Summer Camp orchestra and Wilmington Symphony Youth Orchestra in addition to numerous solo recitals.
16 year old Saybren Long began studying violin at age 7 with Redding Farlow-Soderberg and moved to his current teacher, Dr. Danijela Žeželj-Gualdi, at age 9. He is an active orchestral player and has served as concertmaster for the Cannon Music Camp String Orchestra (2022), concertmaster for the Wilmington Junior Strings (2019-20), and co-concertmaster for the Cannon Music Camp Symphony Orchestra (2022). He enjoys playing chamber music, performing at local venues such as the Cameron Art Museum and the Wilmington Community Arts Center, as well as performing with an honors string quartet at the Haye’s School of Music this past summer. He has won multiple local competitions such as the 2019 Brooklyn Arts Academy Double Bach Concerto Competition and the 2019 Junior Division Richard R. Deas Young Artists Concerto Competition. At age 12, he made his solo debut with the Tallis Chamber Orchestra and since then has been featured as a concerto soloist with the UNCW CMA Summer Camp orchestra and Wilmington Symphony Youth Orchestra in addition to numerous solo recitals.
Guitare Le, piano (UNCW Division)
Guitare Le is an International Honors senior student double-majoring in Communication Studies and Music Performance. She had studied the keyboard at HCMC Conservatory of Music in Vietnam for 12 years. When she came to UNCW she decided to concentrate specifically on playing piano. As a music student, Guitare has made many achievements, including performing in several UNCW Departmental Seminars and Honors Recitals, and was awarded twice for receiving top scores in Honors Recital auditions. She is also a member of the UNCW concert choir under the direction of Dr. Aaron Peisner. During her time at UNCW, she studies piano and chamber music with Dr. Barry Salwen and as a Communications student, her field concentration is Integrated Marketing Communication.
Guitare Le is an International Honors senior student double-majoring in Communication Studies and Music Performance. She had studied the keyboard at HCMC Conservatory of Music in Vietnam for 12 years. When she came to UNCW she decided to concentrate specifically on playing piano. As a music student, Guitare has made many achievements, including performing in several UNCW Departmental Seminars and Honors Recitals, and was awarded twice for receiving top scores in Honors Recital auditions. She is also a member of the UNCW concert choir under the direction of Dr. Aaron Peisner. During her time at UNCW, she studies piano and chamber music with Dr. Barry Salwen and as a Communications student, her field concentration is Integrated Marketing Communication.
2022/2023 Premier Season Sponsors
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