IU students perform in D.C.

Five IU musicians received the rare opportunity to usher in the 2005 Conservatory Project Feb. 23 at the Kennedy Center. With their favorite classical and contemporary pieces on the program, these hand-selected musicians performed for audiences of fellow musicians and ensemble gurus. While other musical conservatories also sent their finest, IU's selected artists jump-started the event with seven individual pieces that consumed the Kennedy Center's intimate, 500-seat Terrace Theater.\n"I love playing for different people," said violinist Wen-Lei Gu. "You play to touch people. If you're going to play for yourself, you might as well play in the bathroom."\nAs both a solo and orchestra violinist, doctoral student Gu, 27, has played for audiences all around the world. Gu spent December touring with the Beijing Philharmonic in Italy. Gu, who began studying violin at age 5 in her native country, China, has since earned musical degrees from Mannes College of Music and Juilliard and received various performance awards. Gu chose her Conservatory Project piece, Pablo de Sarasate's "Carmen Fantasy," because the multi-faceted piece has "very melancholy" sections with faster, technical moments that can be "very virtuosic," she said.\nNext, Jessica Xylina Osborne took the stage to perform her two solo piano pieces: Frederic Chopin's "Nocturne Op. 9 No. 2" and Alexander Scriabin's "Sonata No. 4."\n"Before I start, I'm already absorbed in the music," Osborne said. "(As I walk on stage) I'm already thinking about what I want to get into the next few measures." \nOsborne, 25, has been caught up in music since she began studying piano with her mother at age 4. Osborne later attended both Julliard and IU for her undergraduate career and received her master's degree from Rice University's Shepherd School of Music. She's now working on her Artist Diploma at IU. \nHaving grown up in Washington, D.C., and performed at the Kennedy Center, Osborne said the Conservatory Project felt like going home. \nFor John Manganaro, the Conservatory Project marked his Kennedy Center debut.\n"(Playing at the Kennedy Center) definitely made it a bigger deal," Manganaro said. "It's not just another hall in another town."\nManganaro, 26, knows about other music halls. He is currently touring with the Venice Baroque Orchestra through Canada and along the East Coast. Manganaro first began playing the French horn at age 13. Since then, the San Diego native has played with various ensembles, including playing principle horn in the Columbus, Ind., Philharmonic. Now, he's studying toward his IU Artist's Diploma. After playing Dennis Gougeon's contemporary piece, "Six Thèmes Solaires," Manganaro discovered the usual Mozart-loving audience appreciated his contemporary style. \nDouble bassist Daxun Zhang, 23, followed Manganaro to close the night's performance. Zhang chose to play a personal favorite: a gypsy piece by Pablo de Sarasate, "Zigeunerweisen." The piece was originally written for violin, but Zhang plays on his about 6-foot-9-inch double bass, which towers above the musician's 5-foot-11-inch frame. \n"It's very sexy," Zhang said about the gypsy piece. "And I wanted to do something unique." \nZhang, 23, a native of Beijing, China, began playing the double bass when he was nine years old. Zhang has since enjoyed a vast career that has included performing at New York's Carnegie Hall and the Kravis Center in West Palm Beach, Fla. Currently working on an Artist's Diploma, Zhang will return to the Kennedy Center later this month for his own recital. He was excited to preview the hall before then, he said.\nAccompanist Chih-Yi Chen said she also was excited to perform at the Kennedy Center for IU.\n"The hall is a beautiful place, and it has such a history that all famous artists performed there," Chen said. "It was an honor that the five of us got to play there."\nTaiwan native Chen, 29, currently performs as an accompanist and a solo pianist and is an undergraduate instructor for piano accompaniment. She recently returned from a Chicago concert with "Violin Virtuosi," a group with which she toured other venues in Japan and France in past years. Chen began her career as a pianist at three years old. She started accompanying friends at age 10 and has since accompanied musicians internationally. Chen completed her bachelor's of music and master's from IU and is working on her doctorate in performance. \nThe live Internet feed of the concert can still be accessed from the Millennium Stage Broadcast Archive, www.kennedycenter.org.\n-- Contact Staff Writer Kathlyn Von Rohr at kvonrohr@indiana.edu.