Symphony guest artist a Stevens graduate

By Journal staff | Saturday, March 08, 2008

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The featured guest artist at Saturday’s symphony performance is a Stevens High School graduate and a former member of the Black Hills Symphony Orchestra.

Michael Hill is currently principal bass of the Orlando Philharmonic and adjunct professor at Florida Southern College, Rollins College and University of Central Florida.

Hill was born in Rapid City and studied under Leona Merek, Elizabeth Benusis and Bruce Knowles.  

At the University of Minnesota, Hill studied with members of the Minnesota Orchestra. In 1988, he went to Philadelphia’s Curtis Institute of Music on a full scholarship. In 1992, he won his first international audition to join the Orquesta Sinfonica de Castilla y Leon in Valladolid, Spain. In 1994, Hill won his second international audition for a position as acting and co-principal bass of the Orquesta Sinfonica de Galicia.

He has performed widely, including at New York’s Carnegie Hall. He also has recorded with soloists such as Placido Domingo, Felix Ayo and Maria Bayo.

Two contemporary concertos have been written specifically for Hill by award-winning composers Charles Threatte and Robert Kerr. Kerr’s concerto will be performed with the Black Hills Symphony Orchestra in Rapid City.

Hill’s wife also will perform as a guest artist Saturday with the Black Hills Symphony Orchestra. Dawn Marie Edwards, a graduate of the Eastman School of Music and the St. Louis Conservatory, is an internationally renowned harpist.

She will perform “Conceierto de Aranjuez” by Joaquin Rodrigo in a version for harp and orchestra, a popular work that is generally known as a solo for guitar and orchestra.

Edwards began her orchestral career by winning an audition for substitute principal harp of the St. Louis Symphony. She also won positions in the National Repertory Orchestra and the Aspen Music Festival. She has recorded “The Mozart Flute and Harp Concerto” on the CineArt label. And has recorded and toured with artists such as Wynton Marsalis, James Galway and Aurora Ginestera.  

Since returning to the U.S., Edwards has held the post of principal harp of the Key West Symphony Orchestra, Miami City Ballet, Brevard Symphony Orchestra, Florida West Coast Orchestra, The Florida Orchestra and the Bach Festival Orchestra. She has performed as substitute principal harp of the Naples Philharmonic, Orlando Philharmonic, Jacksonville Symphony, the Savannah Symphony and the National Orchestra of the Dominican Republic. Her work has included an extensive list of Broadway shows, including “Beauty and the Beast” and “Cinderella.”

Her latest passion has been the formation of the Orlando Chamber Soloists, which allows her to perform some of the greatest chamber music ever written.