Flute, harp soloists in orchestra’s season finale

Classical music takes center stage this month as the Merced Symphony is set to present its annual Spring Classical Concert at 7:30 p.m. April 25 at the Merced Theatre, 301 W. Main St.

The concert is the 57th season finale, which will include the “Egmont Overture” by Ludwig von Beethoven, Concerto for Harp and Flute by Amadeus Mozart and Symphony No. 4 by Johannes Brahms. Conductor Ming Luke will head up the orchestra, with performances featuring flautist Laurel Zucker and harpist Madeline Olson.

Tickets are $39 for adults and $14 for students younger than 25; they can be purchased at the Merced Theatre box office, 301 W. Main St., and online at www.mercedtheatre.org.

Featured on 49 albums by Cantilena Records, Zucker can be heard regularly on worldwide classical radio stations. She has performed in Carnegie Hall, the Kennedy Center, Alice Tully Hall, Avery Fisher Hall and Mondavi Center, to name a few.

As a concerto soloist she has been featured with the American Symphony Orchestra, InterHarmony Orchestra of Italy, Erkel Chamber Orchestra of Budapest, the Orchestra of New York, Gold Country Orchestra, Merced Symphony, Sacramento Philharmonic and Arlington Symphony.

Zucker has also been a professor at California State University, Sacramento, since 1988. She holds a master’s in music composition from New York University.

Olson, who is in her second year at the Juilliard School, has established herself on the international music scene. She took first place in the 2010 Young Artist’s International Harp Competition.

Last year, she was invited to perform in master classes with Susann McDonald and Sarah Bullen for harp-maker Lyon & Healy’s 150th anniversary celebration.

At the Juilliard School, studying under renowned harpist Nancy Allen, Olson was a recipient of the Hobin Harp Scholarship, the Robert Wayne Barlow Prize in Harp Performance and the Juilliard Alumni Scholarship.

She has performed with ensembles such as the San Francisco Symphony Youth Orchestra, the Modesto Symphony, the Juilliard Orchestra and the New Juilliard Ensemble, which focuses on the performance of contemporary music.

For more on the symphony, go to www.mercedsymphony.org.

This story was originally published April 9, 2015 at 11:16 AM with the headline "Flute, harp soloists in orchestra’s season finale."