BPS musicians win "Fidelity FutureStage® at the Boston Pops" competition

BOSTON – Nine Boston Public Schools students have won the opportunity to perform with the Boston Pops at Symphony Hall. Fidelity Investments® and the Boston Pops recently announced the winners of “Fidelity FutureStage at the Boston Pops,” a citywide competition for Boston Public Schools student musicians.

The winners, including both soloists and small ensembles, represent a range of musical styles spanning classical, jazz, blues, and pop. In preparation of their Symphony Hall debut, the student musicians have worked directly with Keith Lockhart and musicians of the Boston Pops.

Winners of the “Fidelity FutureStage at the Boston Pops” contest are:

· AnJalique Perry of Dorchester, a soprano who is a junior at the Roland Hayes School of Music at Madison Park Technical-Vocational High School, performing Miss Celie’s Blues from the movie The Color Purple;

· Chris Middleton of Dorchester, a pianist and vocalist who is a junior at Boston Latin School, performing his own pop ballad, Can’t Be Gone Long;

· The Underground Trio from Boston Arts Academy, featuring Chris Juris (Fenway, senior, guitarist); Gustavo Hernadez (Roslindale, junior, percussionist); and Max Ridley (Jamaica Plain, sophomore, bassist), performing Windows by Chick Corea; and

· Grieg Quartet from Boston Latin School, featuring B. Kim (Boston, freshman, violin), Tadesh Inagaki (Jamaica Plain, junior, violin), Allyn Hayes McCourt (Jamaica Plain, junior, viola), and Christopher Nguyen (Roslindale, junior, cello), performing Edvard Grieg’s String Quartet No. 1 in G Minor.

Some of the winners performed at Symphony Hall on May 20. The performances by students from Boston Latin School, however, were rescheduled to June 10 when the school was closed because of influenza concerns.

Fidelity FutureStage was developed by Fidelity Investments in 2006 to support music and other arts education programs in local communities, with school-year programs now underway in five cities throughout the country.

“It’s absolutely inspiring to see these young students from the Boston Public Schools bring such passion and dedication to their music-making, and to witness the powerful effect music has had on their lives,” said Boston Pops Conductor Keith Lockhart. “Whether it is as performers or audience members, we hope their example, and wonderful programs like Fidelity FutureStage, will serve to inspire others to experience the endless pleasures the world of music has to offer.”

“The Fidelity FutureStage program was created to provide middle and high school students with unique experiences in the arts, including opportunities to learn from leading musicians and to showcase their own talents,” said Jennifer K. Brown, executive vice president at Fidelity.

Dr. Carol R. Johnson, Superintendent of the Boston Public Schools, said, “The arts are an essential part of every child’s education. We are so proud of these talented young musicians and delighted that they have the unique opportunity to perform at historic Symphony Hall with the remarkable Boston Pops.”

To select the four student acts, Fidelity Investments and the Boston Pops conducted a citywide search for Boston public high school musicians and vocalists. After a review of submitted audition tapes, finalists were called back to audition on stage at Symphony Hall before an expert panel of judges. Led by the Boston Pops and First Night, the judging panel included: Dennis Alves, Director of Artistic Planning, Boston Pops; Lois Roach, First Night, Boston; Joyce Kulhawik, veteran arts and entertainment news anchor; Alex Alvear, IBA Arts and Culture Program Manager; Pat Hollenbeck, musician and arranger, Boston Pops; Susan Davenny Wyner, soprano and conductor.

In addition to showcasing these talented student musicians, the May 20 “Fidelity FutureStage at the Boston Pops” concert was also a tribute to one of the orchestra’s most beloved conductors and a strong supporter of youth music, the late Harry Ellis Dickson. For 44 years, Mr. Dickson served as assistant and associate conductor of the Boston Pops under Arthur Fiedler and John Williams and associate conductor laureate under Keith Lockhart. Mr. Dickson was also responsible for bringing the tradition of the Youth Concerts back to Symphony Hall in 1959, after their initial introduction in the 1888-89 season; he continued conducting the concerts until 1995, when he was named Youth Concerts Conductor Laureate.

Fidelity FutureStage was developed by Fidelity Investments to support music and other arts education programs in local communities. The program grew from the company’s long-standing commitment to arts and culture including its support of many of the nation’s leading symphonies, Broadway productions and community arts organizations. In addition to Boston, Fidelity FutureStage music programs are underway in Chicago, Houston, Los Angeles and North Carolina. The program provides opportunities for public school students to experience music and explore their own talents, providing new instruments, instruction and performance opportunities.

For more information about Fidelity FutureStage and the “Fidelity FutureStage at the Boston Pops” student winners, visit www.futurestage.com/bostonpops.

About Fidelity Investments
Fidelity Investments is one of the world’s largest providers of financial services, with custodied assets of over $2.5 trillion, including managed assets of over $1.2 trillion as of March 31, 2009. Fidelity offers investment management, retirement planning, brokerage, and human resources and benefits outsourcing services to over 20 million individuals and institutions as well as through 5,000 financial intermediary firms. The firm is the largest mutual fund company in the United States, the No. 1 provider of workplace retirement savings plans, the largest mutual fund supermarket and a leading online brokerage firm. For more information about Fidelity Investments, visit www.fidelity.com.