The Marshall Symphony Orchestra will return to the stage of the Baker Auditorium at East Texas Baptist University on Saturday evening, September 25, 2021 at 7 pm, kicking off its 70th season of music making. The Platinum Season, as it’s called, has dedicated the opening concert to the music of the great Romantic composer, Tchaikovsky. The orchestra will feature the outstanding piano prodigy Antonio (‘Nio) Ajero as soloist, as well as include favorites such as the Suite from Sleeping Beauty. The concert will be conducted by the MSO’s internationally renown music director, Kermit Poling.
Kermit Poling states about the concert, “This is such a joyous and wonderful way to start off our 70th year. And I’m particularly excited to include ‘Nio along with the orchestra. This amazing, award-winning pianist has made strides throughout the country and, indeed, the world. This is a terrific opportunity to hear unusual mastery, and I think everyone who knows a young person that might be interested in music, needs to bring that person to this concert. ‘Nio will perform Tchaikovksy’s monumental 1st piano concert, the same work that rocketed Van Cliburn to fame.”
Award-winning 17-year old pianist, Nio Ajero, is a three-time National Gold Medal Winner from The Royal Conservatory, earning the highest marks in the United States for their Level 9, Level 10, and ARCT Piano Exams. He was also selected as a Winner in the 2020 YoungArts Competition for excellence in the field of Classical Music – Piano. This past summer, he was invited to participate in The Gijon International Piano Festival in Spain, The Atlantic Music Festival in Maine, and the High School Piano Intensive at the Interlochen Arts Academy in Michigan. In 2018, Nio was awarded a scholarship grant from the Texas Commission of the Arts and Texas Cultural Fund under the Texas Young Masters Program. He has attended the Cremona International Music Festival where he studied with Derek Chiu and the Aspen Music Festival and School where he studied with Veda Kaplinsky. He has been a winner of numerous competitions including the Steinway Piano Competition in Dallas, the Baylor/Waco Piano Competition, Texas State University’s Young Artist Piano Competition, the Red River Radio Young Artists Competition, and the SMU Institute for Young Pianists Competition. Nio has performed twice on NPR’s From The Top and in masterclasses with artists such as Gary Graffman, Jerome Lowenthal, Julian Martin, Anton Nel, Vadym Kholodenko, Alexander Kobrin, Hung-Kuan Chen, Sean Chen, and Alexandre Moutouzkine.
Kermit Poling is a Centaur recording artist and his recording with the London Symphony Orchestra in 2017 won worldwide acclaim and a Global Music Award. Poling has been featured with orchestras such as the Orchestra Filarmonia Veneta in Italy, the Symphony Orchestra of the State of Mexico, the Moscow Ballet and the Shenzhen Symphony of China among others.
Tickets are $30 in advance or $35 at the door. Students under 12 can attend free of charge, and other student tickets are only $10. Tickets and Information about this concert, as well as other performances by the Marshall Symphony Orchestra are available at www.marshallsymphony.com. Attached are press photos of the Mr. Ajero and M. Poling.