Concert will benefit Franklin County Violin Program

A violin and piano concert to benefit the Franklin County Violin Program will be held at Trinity Ecumenical Parish on Sunday, May 20 at 4 p.m.

Smith Mountain Arts Council will present Uruguayan violinist Geronimo Oyenard and Romanian pianist Melia Garber in an afternoon of classical music.

Oyenard served as concertmaster for the National Youth Orchestra and was the youngest member of the National Symphony Orchestra in Uruguay. He has a master's in degree in performance from the North Carolina School of the Arts.

Oyenard was a member of the Charleston Symphony Orchestra, the North Carolina Symphony and the West Virginia Symphony before joining the violin section of the Roanoke Symphony in 2007. He is a violin instructor for Franklin County Public Schools.

Garber won the first prize in the International Piano Competition in San Bartholomeo, Italy, and the Concerto Competition while at the University of Tennessee. Currently, she is the choir director, pianist and organist at Virginia Heights Baptist Church in Roanoke and has taught piano at Hollins University since 2001.

At intermission, students who won the first SMAC songwriting contest will perform their winning entries.

Tickets are $15 for adults and $5 for students. Violin students will be admitted free. No reservations are necessary.

For additional information, contact Jim Mullens at jhmullens@yahoo.com or 721-4959.