Derryberry Competition winner solos with Bryan Symphony Orchestra Sunday

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Sara Rupe, who studies with TTU faculty member Anne Thurmond, is a recipient of TTU’s Jewel Nolan Scholarship and H.L. and M.F. Henderson Scholarship.
When former TTU first lady Joan Derryberry was studying music in her native England in the 1920s and ‘30s, she got the chance of a lifetime for budding musicians: She took her place onstage with a professional orchestra as a last-minute stand-in, performing the solo part of Tchaikovsky’s first piano concerto.

It was a testament to her talent and skill, of course, that put her in the wings for that performance in the first place. This Sunday’s performance is a testament to the talent and skill of young clarinetist Sara Rupe, who will perform Claude Debussy’s “Premiere Rhapsodie” during the first performance of 2010 by the Bryan Symphony Orchestra at Tennessee Tech University.

Set for 3 p.m., Sunday, Feb. 21, in Wattenbarger Auditorium, the concert will also include “The Unanswered Question” by American composer Charles Ives and Antonin Dvorak’s “Symphony No. 8.”

While reservations are limited, there will be tickets available at the box office several hours before the performance begins, thanks to season subscribers who release their seats to the reservation line over the weekend. Call the box office at 931-525-2633 to check on ticket availability or to be added to the standby list. Tickets are $28 for adults, $24 for seniors 65 and up, and $8 for students. The ticket window opens at noon on Sunday.

Rupe is this season’s winner of the Joan Derryberry Memorial Concerto Competition, TTU’s most rigorous test of select music majors. Derryberry, who taught piano and music history at TTU for many years and helped found the orchestra, said that the personal and artistic growth she experienced as a soloist inspired her to create a similar opportunity for TTU student musicians.

A National Merit Scholar from Bethpage, Rupe is a 2006 alumnus of the Tennessee Governor's School for the Arts and was a Tennessee All-State Musician in 2006 and 2007, serving as assistant principal with the Curb Youth Symphony of Nashville that season as well.

Now a music performance junior, Rupe has performed with the Bryan Symphony Orchestra since 2007 and has been assistant principal clarinetist since 2008. She also plays in the Tech Symphony Band and Wind Ensemble, serving as principal clarinetist. In 2007, Rupe won the Music Teachers National Association Solo Competition on the state level.

BSO Music Director Dan Allcott and Executive Director Gail Luna talk about Sunday’s performance during this month’s production of “BSO Backstage,” hosted by WCTE-TV President Becky Magura. The show airs on Ch. 22 (local cable channel 10) at 6:30 p.m., Saturday, Feb. 20.

Concert day, there are several events audience members are invited to attend, including a pre-concert lecture at 2 p.m., a post-concert reception in the lobby, and dinner at Mauricio’s Italian Restaurant, located near campus at 232 N. Peachtree Ave. Dinner reservations are required; call 931-525-2633.

Sunday’s performance is sponsored by Community Bank of the Cumberlands.

The Bryan Symphony Orchestra, a member of the League of American Orchestras, is the only professional symphony in a rural area of Tennessee. Wattenbarger Auditorium is the concert hall of the Bryan Fine Arts Building on the TTU campus. Learn more about the BSO’s programs here.

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