24 Fall 2007 concert sponsor
Serena Lu, eight years old, is a fourth grader who began studying with Dr. Paul Wirth at age five. She won first in the St. Paul Conservatory of Music Piano competition, and received honors at the Upper Midwest Piano Festival, National federation of Music Club Piano Festival, MN State Fair talent contest, and Minneapolis Music Teachers Forum Mozart Piano Concerto Competition. As a soloist, she has been featured throughout the Midwest, most recently at the Twin Cities Schmitt Music Center, and at the Goshen, Indiana National Piano Teachers Workshop in July of 2006. In April of 2007, Serena has performed as a solo pianist with the St. Paul Chamber <strong>Orchestra</strong>. Also an actress and rhythmic gymnast, she appeared on "NBC's "American's Most Talented Kids" show and acted as " Sorrow" in the Minnesota Opera's production of Madame Butterfly. She is the level 5 rhythmic gymnastic Junior Olympic national champion and a member of the USA Rhythmic Gymnastics Future Star National Team. Colton Peltier turned heads 2 years ago, when he won the first "Minnesota Idol" competition and performed Beethoven's First Piano Concerto with the Minnesota <strong>Orchestra</strong>. He was 9 when he performed with the St. Paul Chamber <strong>Orchestra</strong>, making him the youngest musician ever to solo with the SPCO -- and he has soloed with the Minnesota Opera and VocalEssence. Colton has also appeared with the Minnesota <strong>Orchestra</strong> as a guest soloist for a Sommerfest family concert and for a subscription series <strong>program</strong> as well. His cultured tastes, which extend to crab legs, caviar and the music of Frank Sinatra, were evident before he Serena Lu & Colton Peltier with their teacher, Dr. Paul Wirth Guest Artists could ride a bike. Seemingly bored with his Kindermusik <strong>program</strong>, Colton was 3 when he started piano lessons under the play-by-ear Suzuki method. He giggles at the memory of his earliest lessons, when he tapped his fingers on a keyboard sketched on notebook paper. By 7, he had outgrown the <strong>program</strong>, and his teacher recommended private instruction. "It (piano) was just something for his brain. We didn't think anything would come of it," says Colton's mother, Amy Peltier. "His dad played pro baseball, and he's our first son -- he's supposed to be a sports kid, right? We have no idea where he got his genius." Colton, the eldest of three children, attends public school and has played sports. He enjoys playing in churches and nursing homes as much as professional concert halls. Dr. Paul Wirth is a prominent figure in the musical community of the Midwest. His unique combination of masterful performing and teaching, along with a sense of humor and unassuming personality have made him a much soughtafter featured artist in concerts, master classes, fund raisers, conventions, special events, and lecture series. Dr. Wirth received his Bachelor of Music in Piano Performance from Temple University, where he studied with the internationally known Polish pianist Maryan Filar, and his Master and Doctorate degrees in Piano Performance from Indiana University where he was the personal assistant to world renowned pianist Sidney Foster. He cofounded and is now the Artistic Director of the Central Minnesota Music School in St. Cloud, MN, a bustling music learning center with over 250 students taught by a faculty of twenty-two. As a featured artist, Paul Wirth has appeared with numerous orchestras, including the Gary Philharmonic, Wilkensburg <strong>Symphony</strong>, Indiana University Philharmonic, and twice each with the St. Cloud <strong>Symphony</strong> and Heartland <strong>Symphony</strong> orchestras in return engagements. His solo performing has taken him throughout the East and Midwest. A creative promoter of the art of piano performance, Wirth's energies have also extended to the writing and performance of The Magic Boot, a comical farce in which he impersonates Mozart; and The Age of Romanticism in which he transports his audience to the 19th century. 25