Music & More Summer Concert Series
2022 Season Finale Concert
Ashley Springer is an incoming freshman at the University of Wisconsin—Stevens Point where she will be double-majoring in Music Education and Violin Performance.
Ashley was accompanied on piano by Lynn Valdez.
Fumi Nishikiori-Nakayama earned her Bachelor of Music in Piano and Harpsichord degree from the Chicago Musical College of Roosevelt University, and Master of Music in Piano and Early Music/Harpsichord from Indiana University, where she was the recipient of numerous awards including the prestigious Rudolph Ganz Memorial Award, and Willi Apel Scholarship.
A graduate of the Juilliard School and Yale University, Ravenna Helson has performed throughout Europe, Japan, at the Casals Festival in Puerto Rico, the Costa Rica Music Festival and many festivals in the US. Currently, she is principal cello of the Milwaukee Ballet Orchestra.
Violinist Ravenna Lipchik made her debut with the Milwaukee Symphony at the age of eight playing the Bach Double Violin Concerto. Now a grammy-winning artist for her work with the Experiential Orchestra on Ethel Smyth's 'The Prison,' her chamber music career has taken her around the world.
Mark Paffrath is a pop/folk singer, songwriter and multi-instrumentalist. He has been charming audiences for over 30 years with his well-honed vocal and instrumental skills.
Alejandro Alumbreros - Born in Spain, Alejandro has performed as both a piano soloist and accompanist for singers and instrumentalists in Europe, the United States and South America. Thus far, he has collaborated with many companies as accompanist, vocal coach or conductor.
Dave Titus (Acoustic & Electric Bass; Vocals) has carried his virtuosity on the bass to a wide spectrum of musical genres. He performs regularly with the Corporate Downsizing Quartet™.
Randall K. Bush Youth Music Scholarship
Rev. Randy Bush started the Music & More Concert Series in 1994 as a way to showcase area talent—as well as the church and Downtown Racine—while raising money for worthwhile causes. Five free concerts were offered in the church’s historic sanctuary the first year. In 29 years, the series has grown and now features ten weekly noontime concerts with more than 100 musicians performing in a variety of musical styles and genres during the summer season. The series concludes mid-August with a grand finale evening concert.
Music & More’s tradition of helping those in need, through the audience’s donations to the freewill offerings, continues. Over the years, many thousands of dollars have been returned to the local community to support the work of various social service agencies. A youth music scholarship was established in his honor in 2013.
This year’s scholarship is awarded to:
Lydia Weaver, 17, is a Junior at Walden III High School. She started studying violin with Ellen Schmidt at the age of five and is currently taking violin lessons from Darlene Rivest.
Lydia was the Concertmaster for the MYSO Metropolitan Orchestra and the Principal 2nd in the MYSO Chamber Orchestra during the 2020-2021. As the 2020 RSO Young Artist Concerto Competition winner, she was the featured soloist with a reduced and socially distanced Racine Symphony Orchestra. Lydia has advanced to State WSMA Solo & Ensemble on violin, viola, and cello since 6th grade. She has participated in the WSMA State Honors Orchestra in 2016-2020 and 2022 and was the Concertmaster in 2019.
When Lydia is not practicing, she enjoys watching Two Set Violin and Hillary Hahn videos, being involved in her church youth group, reading, hiking, volleyball, cooking, anything Marvel or Star Wars, and napping. She plans on always making music a big part of her life.
Mearl Mahl Youth Music Scholarship
Mearl Mahl worked at SC Johnson for 32 years as a microbiologist. He was a very active volunteer at First Presbyterian and in the community. He served as a Deacon at First Presbyterian and also helped with the Music & More program for several years. Mearl was always willing to offer a hand wherever it was needed!
To honor his memory, the Deacon Board started the Mearl Mahl Youth Music Scholarship Fund. Checks may be made out to First Presbyterian Church, for Music & More/Mearl Mahl Youth Music Scholarship Fund.
This year’s scholarship is awarded to:
Alex Cope was the guest xylophonist performing with The Brass Knuckles on June 9. He is a 2022 graduate of Tremper High School in Kenosha. He was the top percussionist in the Tremper Wind Ensemble and also a member of the top Jazz group - BLUE JAZZ. A percussion student of Brian Ford, Alex was named to the State Honors Project twice: First in the Band and also as the drumset player in the Wisconsin Honors Project Jazz Ensemble. Alex received top honors at the WSMA solo and ensemble contest every year for both his solos and Percussion Ensembles. This year the BLUE JAZZ received the exemplary award at the State Solo Ensemble festival.
Alex graduated magna cum laude and was president of the student government. He also was captain of the Tremper hockey team. Alex plans to study Music Education and Jazz Studies at the University of Wisconsin-Madison in the fall.
Mia Guion Youth Music Scholarship
Mia Guion tragically lost her life as the result of an automobile accident on June 8, 2018. The youngest of three sisters, Mia was born on November 13, 1994, to Edward Guion and Camille “Kim” Jensen-Guion. She attended Jefferson Lighthouse and The Prairie School, graduating in 2013. While at Prairie, she was involved in track, cross country, theatre & music, and played the violin & viola. Mia earned her Bachelor of Arts in Advertising from Iowa State University with a minor in Business, graduating in 2017.
At Iowa State, Mia was active in Alpha Omicron Pi sorority. She was also a Washington Media Scholar and was awarded 1st Place in the 2017 Media Plan Case Competition, which took place in Washington, D.C. and was featured in the Washington Post. Outside of school and work, Mia enjoyed country music, spending time with her sisters, caring for her dog Rizzo, painting artwork, going for long runs, and being at the Burlington family cottage on Bohners Lake. Her warmth, bright smile, infectious laugh, gentleness, strength, sense of humor, and kind spirit will live on in all of the hearts and lives she touched. A youth music scholarship fund was set up in her memory in 2018. Donations can be made to First Presbyterian Church, for Music & More/Mia Guion Youth Music Scholarship Fund.
This year, two scholarship were awarded - one each to:
Gabriella Martinez is a 17-year-old cellist at Case High School. She has been playing cello since age seven. After playing with many local orchestras, such as Lakeshore Youth Philharmonic and Kiwanis, Martinez now plays with the UW-Parkside Community Orchestra. Gabriella received the Maestro Award in an international competition in New Orleans and an Exemplary awarded at WSMA State. Martinez played with the Worldstrides Youth Orchestra at Carnegie Hall in 2018.
She prides herself as being a full-IB Honors student and playing on the Girls’ Soccer team, as well as being the Blood Drive Executive for HOSA, a student-led medical organization through Case.
Ashley Springer is an incoming freshman at the University of Wisconsin—Stevens Point where she will be double-majoring in Music Education and Violin Performance. Ashley began violin lessons at the age of seven under the tutelage of Ms. Charlene Meltzer at Jefferson Lighthouse Elementary School, later continuing her studies with Miss Nancy Nosal and Mr. Stanley Nosal in Kenosha.
This past school year, Ashley served as the concertmaster for Tremper High School’s Concert, Symphonic, and Chamber Orchestras and was a strolling cluster leader for Tremper’s Golden Strings. Over the years, she participated in the Wisconsin School Music Association (WSMA) State Honors Orchestra, serving as the second violin principal in October 2019 and as the concertmaster in October 2021. She regularly competed in the WSMA District and State Solo and Ensemble competitions throughout high school as well, earning an exemplary performance award in 2022 for her performance of Beethoven’s “Romance No. 2 in F Major, Op. 50.” She also performed this piece with the Racine Symphony Orchestra (RSO) at their April 2022 Masterworks concert following a first-place win in the RSO Young Artists’ Competition.
2022 Grant Recipients
Admission is FREE for the Thursday concerts, though a free will offering is encouraged at each concert. All the money collected throughout the summer is then given to non-profit service agencies in Racine. This year, both agencies received a check for $2,000 - Thank You!
Health Care Network, Inc. began in 1987, in donated space in the basement of First Presbyterian Church. This agency provides free or low-cost health care to residents of Racine County who are medically uninsured and have limited income. Services are provided at the HCN office and throughout the county by 360 health care professionals who volunteer their time, offices, and skills. More than 225,000 appointments have been made and over 95,000 prescriptions have been filled. This represents a value of over $49 million! In the last fiscal year, 2,252 clients were served and 5,143 appointments were provided.
Services provided include medical & dental visits, diagnostic tests, pharmaceutical assistance, referrals to specialists and community health agencies, and Spanish language interpretation. HCN provides a critical safety net for low-income, uninsured residents in our community. Executive Director, Alison Sergio; 500 Wisconsin Ave., Racine 53403; phone (262) 632-2400; www.healthcarenetwork.org
HALO Inc. provides a pathway to self‐sufficiency for those experiencing homelessness in Racine County. HALO understands that each person that enters the shelter program comes with their own dreams, goals, and needs, and it is the goal to help them reach these goals safely.
The vision is that homeless individuals & families in Racine County will be provided emergency food, clothing, shelter, transitional, and permanent housing, and supportive services through a collaborative structure that effectively coordinates services, shares information, increases funding, and eliminates duplication and gaps in services.
Volunteers are needed for meal making, children's activities, tutoring, gardening, painting, and other areas of need. Executive Director, Holly Anderele; 2000 DeKoven Ave., Racine 53403; phone (262) 633-3235; www.haloinc.org
