The Fort Bend Symphony Orchestra, under the baton of Dr. John Ricarte, will present a special performance Sunday, March 25, 2007 at 2:00 p.m., Katy Visual and Performing Arts Center,2501 S. Mason Road, Katy, Texas 77450.

Sean Gao and Millie Nishikawa, winners from the Houston Music Teachers Association/Houston Young Artist Concerto Competition (HMTA/HYAC) , will step into the spotlight. Members of the Fort Bend Symphony look forward to focusing attention on the importance of promoting music education in the community.

The Fort Bend Symphony will also perform Symphony No. 5, by Ludwig van Beethoven.

Sean Gao, a sophomore at Clements High School will perform the first movement of Grieg's Piano Concerto in A minor, Op. 16. He has been playing the piano for over 10 years and is currently studying under the direction of his teacher, Shu-Mei Shao. The straight A honors student also plays cello with the Clements school orchestra.

Sean enjoys school and finds science and math to be most interesting and entertaining as he is considering a career majoring in either; however, out of school he enjoys solving difficult puzzles and prefers games of the mind. He is very good with computers and technology and constantly programs and fixes electronics. Sean likes sports and is very interested in both basketball and tennis and frequently practices. In his spare time he spends time creating original flash animations and videos, but practicing piano most of the day hinders his hobbies. His other hobbies include chess, go, shogi, reading, writing, and playing video games. He can currently speak Chinese, Japanese, English, and a little French and has visited numerous countries in both Europe and Asia .

Millie Nishikawa, age 13, is a student in the 7th grade at the Kinkaid School in Houston. She also attends the Japanese School on Saturdays. She is fluent both in English and in Japanese. She has studied the piano for about 8 years. Her teacher is Mrs. Galina Lay. She has won various piano competitions including HMTA (Houston Music Teachers Association) Piano Contest, HMTA-Brook Mays Junior Piano Festival, and Blinn College Young Pianist Competition. She also plays the flute and is a member of the All State Band. Besides playing the piano and the flute, she enjoys cooking and baking. She also enjoys traveling overseas.

Millie will perform the third movement of Bach’s Konzert für Cembalo.

Tickets for the performance are $12 regular price, $7 for seniors and students, and children under 5 are free. For more information, please visit our website at www.fbso.org or contact the Fort Bend Symphony Hotline at 281-276-9642.

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