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 In addition to being world class musicians, one of
these performers has a home town connection. Eleven-year-old Lauren
Welch is the daughter of Mark and Paulette Welch. Mark is a former
Lincoln resident, Carroll Catholic School and Lincoln Community High
School Alumni. Lauren is the niece of Carroll Catholic School
principal David Welch and the granddaughter of Mary and Tom Welch of
Lincoln.
The concert is being held as a fundraiser for Carroll Catholic
School. There will be no admission fee, just a free-will donation,
making this concert affordable for all.
Performers:
Wai Mizutani
Wai Mizutani is a world renown classical violinist virtuoso who
escaped China at age 14 by devoting his life to music and becoming
the youngest 1st violinist in the Hong Kong Philharmonic Orchestra.
At 17, Wai won an audition to study at the prestigious Juilliard
School of Music. He went on to receive his Master’s Degree at the
Manhattan School of Music, where he then attended Rutgers University
in pursuit of his Doctorate.
In addition to the Hong Kong Philharmonic, Wai has played in the
Vancouver Symphony. As a soloist he has performed for various
orchestras around the world such as the West Coast Symphony
Orchestra, Moscow Chamber Orchestra, Manhattan Symphony Orchestra,
Taipei Sinfonietta in Taiwan, and Puccini Sinfonietta in Italy.
Wai has been honored for his fine performances in front of thousands
at the famous Carnegie Hall, Hollywood Bowl, and Avery Fisher Hall,
as well as for securing top honors for the Taiwan International
Competition and Five Towns Violin Competition.
Wai is a recipient of the Music Teachers National Association Award.
He has performed with world class super stars from pop, classic rock
to operatic and classical including: Michael Jackson, Elton John,
Luciano Pavarotti, Andrea Bocelli and YoYo Ma.
Lauren Welch
Lauren Welch is an 11-year-old violinist who has always had an
extreme love for music. Nearly two years ago, Wai Mizutani invited
her to be his student and within a very short amount of time, Lauren
knew her violin and this new world of music was something she wanted
more of. She was Intrigued.
Every concert Mizutani performed, Lauren was there learning and
listening.
After six months this music was more than a curiosity it became her
passion, making it the forefront of her life. Lauren soon began
studying with Mizutani intensively in a study program through
Flathead Valley Community College in Montana, where she has taken
music theory classes, plays in the college orchestra and has
recently played first violin in the pit orchestra for the musical
Guys and Dolls.
Lauren was the youngest in the pit orchestra and is the youngest
ever to play the musical’s entirety of six performances. Lauren has
played in over 50 concerts and college events, and has a
professional level repertoire with a range of genres beyond her
years. It includes over 600 pieces ranging from classical concertos
and sonatas, jazz, pop, rock, Hollywood film music and church hymns.
Lauren said she uses her music to make people smile, especially God,
that is why she loves to play her violin in her church choir several
times a weekend.
Lauren practices anywhere from three to six hours a day. Over the
past year, Lauren’s love for music matured into a deep passion for
classical music with a great interest in learning about the many
composers from the different time periods.
Lauren enjoys piano, ballet, boat surfing with her
brothers, is an avid downhill skier and loves to go on bike rides
with her dad.
When people ask Lauren if she ever has time for fun, her response
is, “Playing my violin is fun!!!”
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Wei Pai
Born in Yilan, Taiwan, Wei Pai has been praised by critics,
teachers, fellow musicians alike as having a “virtuosic display” at
the piano. Wei received his Master’s Degree in music performance
from Northern Illinois University where he received a full
scholarship and served as a teaching assistant. He also received his
Doctoral Degree in piano performance from the University of
Minnesota where he was a Berneking Fellow.
Wei started playing the piano at age six. He studied piano for eight
years at Gnessin’s Academy of Music in Moscow. His teachers included
Boris Lvov, Maria Gambarian, Alexey Skavronsky, and Alexander
Braginsky.
In 2003, Wei received the second place prize from the International
Mendelssohn Chamber Music Competition in Moscow. Performances
continued in Russia, Germany, Taiwan and the United States.
In 2012, Wei won the Concerto Competition and performed with the NIU
Philharmonic Orchestra in Illinois.
As a music educator, Wei began his teaching career in Taiwan where
he taught piano students from the beginner to college level. With
over a decade’s teaching experience, Wei continues contributing his
passion for music to his students in an informative and intriguing
way. He has been invited to perform solo recitals this summer at the
Baroque Room in Saint Paul, Minnesota and also in Illinois.
Aside from teaching and music performance, Wei served as the music
director and vocal coach at the Theater of Ridiculous and Absurd for
the historical revival of Irving Berlin’s “Music Box Revue 1921” at
Masonic Heritage Center in Bloomington, Minnesota.
Tsai-Ying Li
Originally from Taiwan, Tsai-Ying Li has been playing the horn since
age fifteen. She received her Master’s Degree in music performance
in 2014 from Northern Illinois University where she received a full
scholarship. She also received her Doctoral Degree from the
University of Wisconsin-Madison, she studied horn with Daniel
Grabois and wind conducting with Scott Teeple.
Tsai-Ying has appeared as a soloist, chamber orchestra performer and
music educator in Taiwan and the United States.
In 2007, she won the first prize from the National Solo Horn
Competition in Taiwan. She has also played extensively with horn
choirs, wind ensembles, and orchestras. She has taught students in
Taiwan and the United States as a horn teacher.
Tsai-Ying performed on the stage of New York’s Carnegie Hall with
the UW Wind Ensemble in 2015. In addition, Tsai-Ying performed and
recorded in Madison with the Wisconsin Youth Symphony Orchestra in
2014. She also conducted University of Wisconsin Madison Horn Choir
at Chazen Museum and performed with Wisconsin College and Faculty
Brass Ensemble for Wisconsin State Conference in 2015. She performed
with Beloit Janesville Symphony Orchestra and taught horn at Patrick
Marsh Middle School in Sun Prairie, Wisconsin from 2015-2017.
Tsai-Ying has been on the music faculty of Dawson Community College
since 2017. In addition, she served as a judge for the 2018
Southeast Horn Workshop Competition in Atlanta and also will perform
a concert at the Baroque Room in Saint Paul, Minnesota.
[LDN with information provided by Mark Welch]
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