Press release

Four “gold medalist” Highline high-school students will be appearing with the Seattle Symphony Orchestra at a free community concert Tuesday, Jan. 17, 7:30 p.m., at the Highline Performing Arts Center, 401 S. 152nd St.

The four students are Martin Obrero, clarinet, Global Connections; Eden Ghirmai, flute, Mt. Rainier; Stephanie Anderson, trumpet, Highline; and Kirk Cieszkiewicz, French horn, Highline.

The Seattle symphony partners with local schools though its “Gold Medalist” program. For each community concert, local high-school instrumentalists who have achieved outstanding levels of proficiency are invited to perform with the orchestra.

They come to Benaroya Hall in downtown Seattle to rehearse with the orchestra and receive coaching by Seattle symphony musicians. Then, they sit among the orchestra members and perform during the actual concert.

These four students will play with the orchestra on the first piece of the program, Weber’s “Overture to Der Freischütz.”

The orchestra will also perform Beethoven’s “Symphony No. 7 in A major, Op. 92” under the direction of conductor Eric Garcia during the one-hour concert.

Free community concerts are supported in part by the National Endowment for the Arts. This support allows the Seattle Symphony to collaborate with the city of Seattle and local schools to provide cultural and educational opportunities for Puget Sound communities.