Faith Wesley and Giea de los Reyes, both juniors at the Arkansas School for Mathematics, Sciences, and the Arts, have been selected to attend the Sewanee Summer Music Festival.
The Sewanee Summer Music Festival is an artistic training program that helps student musicians develop various aspects of musicianship, including musical technique, professional development and other personal skills in an artistic incubator where they work closely with professionals from around the world in an intense yet supportive environment.
Student musicians are selected for one of four programs: Orchestral and Chamber Music, Composition, Operafest and String Academy. It is held annually at Sewanee: The University of the South in Sewanee, Tenn. Participants are selected through a rigorous and highly selective application and audition process. This year’s festival is being held June 15-July 23.
Wesley of Hot Springs will participate in the Composition Program and have the opportunity to study with composers Jorge Variego and Ingrid Stölzel among others and compose for a wide variety of instruments and ensembles, attend masterclasses, study in applied lessons and have their music performed by skilled musicians.
De los Reyes of Hot Springs, who is a percussionist in ASMSA’s Wind Ensemble, will focus on instrumental performance at the program, having the opportunity to perform a professional-level with symphony conductors around the world, study in applied lessons with renowned percussion pedagogues, perform chamber music and study solo repertoire.
Both students said they chose to apply for the program because they are passionate about music and are considering future musical pursuits in both college and their careers.
“I chose music composition because it is the area I am most passionate about, that I felt the most confident about, and it was the one I felt like I could learn the most in,” said Wesley, who plays clarinet and also is a member of ASMSA’s choir. “I’m really looking forward to all of the masterclasses and the workshops. I believe they will be greatly informative. I really hope to get more experience with writing for more unique ensembles, and I hope to continue finding my voice as a composer.”
“Being selected to participate in this program is very important to me because I plan on pursuing a musical career,” de los Reyes said. “Most of my performance skills are secluded to local gigs and band, but this festival will further my experience in other musical fields! I’m excited to spend a month and a half solely dedicated to music alongside people as passionate as me.
“I wanted to participate in this program because I’ve always wanted to perform in an orchestral setting. There’s not a lot of opportunities to perform in orchestras in Hot Springs, but the two times I’ve had the pleasure of performing in one, I’ve always returned a better musician than before. I hope to learn challenging repertoire and really push my capabilities as a percussionist.”
Dr. Thomas Dempster, associate dean for arts and humanities at ASMSA as well serving as the school’s director of bands and as a music instructor, said that the festival accepts a low number of high schoolers overall and only a handful of high school-level compsosers. He said Wesley was awarded a scholarship to help pay for the program.
“This is an incredible opportunity for both, and I’m wildly excited for both of them,” he said in an email to campus.
Dempster, who has served as Wesley’s primary instructor, said the young composer has been one of the quickest-advancing student composers he has ever taught. “Faith has demonstrated a remarkable sense of circumspection and is eager to hear suggestions and constructive criticism,” Dempster said. “Faith has been a fantastic student composer, and one of the few whose maturation in musical ability, musical experimentation and technical sophistication has grown in real-time just based on our conversations in lessons.”
Dr. Nathan Groot, an ASMSA music instructor, was selected as a student musician for the festival in 2016, the second time he had applied. He said the experience had a large influence over his future music career.
“I was pushed to my limit at Sewanee as a musician and grew immensely as a musician,” Groot said. “Much of what I now play with professional symphonies were pieces that I first studied at SSMF. Many of the students and faculty I worked with then are important professional connections that I rely on now.
“It directly opened opportunities to graduate assistantships and fellowships in my master’s and doctoral programs, and I can point to major parts of my teaching and playing that I can trace back to my time there. I am very excited for Giea and Faith and think this educational experience will open many opportunities for them in their future careers.”
De los Reyes said she was “extremely thankful for the ASMSA Foundation for funding my tuition for the Sewanee Summer Music Festival! None of this would be possible without their generosity. ASMSA really strives to support its students in their pursuits, and I’m so glad I can contribute to this school’s passionate student body.”
