Free public concert offered at AFMC Convention

A free public concert will be held in conjunction with the Arkansas Federation of Music Clubs State Convention April 28-29 in Hot Springs.

The concert will take place on Friday, April 28th at 7pm at the Sanctuary of Westminster Presbyterian Church, 3819 Central Street. The reception will be held in the Fellowship Hall.

Guest performers include Paragould tenor Rhys Ruhl, who has been selected to appear at Opera in the Ozarks this summer with Aaron Copland’s “The Tender Land” and Jacques Offenbach’s “Orphée aux enfers” . He will also play the role of Nemorino in Gaetano Donizetti’s Elixir of Love.

Also joining the program is trombonist Austin Motley, who has performed with many notable ensembles, including the Cincinnati Symphony, Cincinnati Pops Orchestra, Indianapolis Symphony, Dayton Philharmonic, and Arkansas Symphony Orchestra. He is currently on his Baptist faculty at Ouachita. University,” the news release said.

The concert will also feature the husband-and-wife team of Carlos Ferrer on flute and Mary Chang on piano. A native of Brazil, Dr. Feller has performed as a soloist and chamber musician throughout the United States and internationally in Brazil, Mexico, Honduras, Dominican Republic, Colombia, Peru, and Costa Rica. He is France, Italy, Switzerland and Japan. He is also the director of the Hot Springs Flute Ensemble. ”

Jeong is from South Korea and has a Bachelor’s, Master’s and Ph.D. in Piano Performance. She is the piano department coordinator at OBU.

Student performers for Friday night’s concert include pianist Andrew Pierce, flutist Destiny Diaz, baritone Wesley Lamendra, and pianist Fischer Neufeld.

“The Arkansas Federation of Music Clubs was formed in 1915 and is affiliated with the National Federation of Music Clubs. The chairman is Hot Springs,” Release said.

Austin Motley – Photo submitted