2011 RISING STAR AWARD FINALISTS COMPETE FOR CASH PRIZE AT THE 14TH ANNUAL CELEBRATION OF THE ARTS IN HOWARD COUNTY GALA EVENT

2011 RISING STAR AWARD FINALISTS COMPETE FOR CASH PRIZE AT THE 14TH ANNUAL CELEBRATION OF THE ARTS IN HOWARD COUNTY GALA EVENT

Ellicott City, MD – The Howard County Arts Council, in its 30th year of service to the public of Howard County, presents the 14th Annual Celebration of the Arts in Howard County on Saturday, March 26, 2011 at the Jim Rouse Theatre at Wilde Lake High School in Columbia.  Richard Story, Chief Executive Officer of the Howard County Economic Development Authority will emcee the event.

The Celebration is a multi-faceted signature event, showcasing and promoting the arts and raising funds in support of the arts, artists and arts organizations in Howard County.  Ten finalists will compete for a cash prize of $5,000 in the 2011 Rising Star Emerging Performing Artist Award Competition, a highlight of the gala event.  In December, performing artists aged 18 to 35 years, currently or recently living, working, performing regularly, or receiving training in Howard County, auditioned before a panel of professionals in their discipline.  Review criteria included artistic merit, demonstrated experience in the arts, and commitment to a career in the arts. 

This year, in honor of the Arts Council’s 30th Anniversary and because of the support of an anonymous donor, the Arts Council will be able to give out three awards to support emerging performing artists: $1,000, $2,500 & $5,000! An audience of artists, arts patrons, business and political representatives and community members will select by popular vote, the winner will receive the award on stage that night! 

The ten finalists performing at the Celebration are: Stephanie Barnes (Opera), Heather Marie Beck (Musical Theatre), Charise Byers (Dance), David Fair (Opera), Jillian Finnamore (Opera), Thomas Hunter (Piano), Emma Jensen (Opera), Clare Kneebone (Musical Theatre), Robin Massie (Viola), Evan Sanderson (Theatre)

Stephanie Elizabeth Barnes (Opera), soprano, is from Columbia, MD.  She is a student of Carol Shuster Yunkunis.  She graduated from Wilde Lake High School and then from Goucher College, Phi Beta Kappa and summa cum laude, with degrees in voice performance, music theory/composition, and Spanish.  Ms. Barnes' musical career began with the Peabody's Children’s Chorus and she was last seen onstage as Gretel in Red Branch Theatre Company's production of Hansel and Gretel by Humperdink.  She plans to pursue a graduate degree in opera performance this fall and would use this award to assist in paying for higher education.

Heather Marie Beck (Musical Theatre) began performing around the same time she earned her degree in American Sign Language.  She has worked with deaf children in Howard County for 11 years and has recently begun teaching theatre to children with autism and other disabilities.  Heather would like to further her awareness of autism so that she may incorporate theatre into their lives as a means of connecting with others when connection is often difficult.  Communication through artistic expression is one of the most gratifying ways to communicate and Heather hopes to find the most effective ways of teaching these children the joy of this skill.

Charise T. Byers (Dance), a native of Philadelphia Pennsylvania, discovered her love for dance at The New Freedom Theatre at age seven.  She also trained and performed with Philadanco, Eleone Dance Theatre, Dallas Black Dance Theatre, Milwaukee Dance Connections, Walt Disney and Dishi-Bem and is a member of Shange Dance Productions.  She attended the Philadelphia School for Girls and received her BS in Electrical and Computer Engineering from Morgan State University.  She is the Assistant Director for the Modern Dance Ensemble and Dance Line Coordinator for the Marching Band at Morgan State University.

David Fair’s (Opera) association with Howard County began in middle school, when he started taking piano lessons at the Music and Arts Center (in what was then called Chatham Mall).  This has been followed with performing in Violet and Working with Shadow Block Productions, Joseph...Dreamcoat with Howard County Summer Theater, performing in Student Director's Showcase’s revue of On the Verge of Success at the Drama Learning Center the following winter, and taking a number of tap dancing classes at Slayton House.  As David is now getting his graduate diploma from the Cleveland Institute of Music, this award will most definitely assist him to afford coachings, voice lessons, air fare to auditions, audition attire, printing headshots, and all the expenses of any committed artist - who got his training in the best county in all of Maryland!

Born in Papua New Guinea and raised in French West Africa, soprano Jillian Finnamore (Opera) "has drama, musicianship, flair, and a gorgeous instrument."  She recently performed the Brahms Requiem soprano solo with Music from Maple View.  In fall 2009 she performed lieder and opera from 1920's and 30's German repertoire in Bernried, Germany, and New York City.  Also in 2009, Ms. Finnamore played the role of Helene in Victor Herbert's operetta Orange Blossoms.  Her opera performances include the title role in Lucia di Lammermoor, "Tourist A" in the world premiere of Lost in Translation, and Zemphira in Rachmaninoff's Aleko (cover).  She has performed as soprano soloist for Handel's Messiah, Faure's Requiem, Hayden's Little Organ Mass, Mozart's Exsulate Jubilate, Dyson's Hierusalem, and the Christmas Oratorio by Camille Saint-Saens, among others.  In competition, she has been a finalist in the Harold Haugh Comic Opera Competition (2008 and 2009) and the Rising Star Emerging Artist Award (2009).  In fall 2010, Jillian had a blast music directing Silhouette Stages' production of Disco Inferno!

Thomas Hunter (Piano) was born in Howard County and attended Howard County Public Schools until graduating from Reservoir High School.  Currently, he is a Masters of Music candidate at the University of Maryland where he studies with Bradford Gowen.  Past highlights include an appearance in the Uncommon Height Gala in Washington, D.C., an event co-chaired by Michele Obama.  After receiving the Charles F. Bruny Fellowship from the Garth Newel Music Center in the summer of 2010, he went on concert tours of Virginia and surrounding states.  As a bass in the University of Maryland Chamber Singers, he has collaborated with the National Symphony Orchestra.  Most recently, he played in a master class for Grammy winning pianist, Emanual Ax.

Emma Jensen (Opera) holds a Bachelor's degree in vocal performance from Peabody Conservatory.  She was a finalist in the 2005 and 2007 Howard County Rising Star competitions, and has performed for numerous Howard County Police Academy graduations.  Emma currently enjoys teaching privately at the Century School of Music in Columbia.  Her plans are to maintain her musical education and performing, which has allowed her the privilege to study with such singers as Ileana Cotrubas.  Receiving this award will allow her to continue her development of the arts and share that knowledge with future rising stars.

Clare Kneebone (Musical Theatre) began voice training in 2002 under Suzanne Chadwick in Howard County.  Miss Kneebone has been deeply involved in the Howard County theatre community where she has performed with the Howard County Summer Theatre, Howard County Players and Silhouette Stages.  She continued her theater training with the Columbia Center for Theatrical Arts Teen Professional Theatre earning consecutive lead roles in Evita and Phantom of the Opera.  Clare plans to pursue a career teaching theatre or music as well as performing in regional theater.  The Rising Star Performing Artist Award would allow her the means to pursue a career in the arts.

Robin Fay Massie (Viola) is a proud product of the Howard County School System.  Since completing her formal education, Ms. Massie has cultivated a multi-faceted career as an orchestral violist, chamber musician, soloist, and private instructor.  In January 2010, she co-founded Musicians of Mercy, a pending non-profit organization which raised $7000 for the victims of the Haitian earthquake disaster through free benefit concerts.  If selected as the next "Rising Star," Ms. Massie would use the prize money to fund the Musicians of Mercy project which seeks to bring healing to desperate communities through music.

Evan Sanderson’s (Theatre) passion for theatre began as an Atholton High School freshman.  He participated in every play, musical, and scene workshop that he could, leaping from one project to the next.  This love carried Evan into training at a conservatory in Boston and he intends to follow that theatrical spark for the rest of his life.  Evan considers himself a total theatre artist - an actor, a playwright, a designer, a director, and a collaborator.  He sees himself using creativity to address and enact real social change.  This award would give Evan the freedom to pursue his passion in using theatre to affect the national and global community.

Tickets to the 14th Annual Celebration of the Arts in Howard County are available online at www.hocoarts.org or by phone to the Howard County Arts Council, 410-313-2787. 

For photographs of the finalists or for more information, call 410-313-ARTS (2787) or send requests to deputydirector@hocoarts.org.

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The Howard County Center for the Arts is operated by the Howard County Arts Council, a non-profit organization whose mission is to serve the citizens of Howard County by fostering the arts, artists and arts organizations.  The Howard County Arts Council and the Howard County Center for the Arts receive major grants from Howard County and the Maryland State Arts Council and sustaining annual support from corporate, foundation and individual sponsors.  Howard County Arts Council offices are located at the Howard County Center for the Arts, 8510 High Ridge Road, Ellicott City, MD 21043.  The Howard County Center for the Arts is a handicapped accessible facility.  Full participation of individuals with disabilities is encouraged. 
For information, call 410-313-ARTS (2787), fax 410-313-2790, or email info@hocoarts.org.