Page 12 THE VILLADOM TIMES II • May 4, 2011 Ridgewood Symphony to end season with prodigy’s performance The Ridgewood Symphony Orchestra will conclude its 71st season with a concert featuring 15-year-old piano prodigy George Li in a performance of Rachmaninoff’s second piano concerto. The concert will take place on Friday, May 6, at 8 p.m. at Benjamin Franklin Middle School, located at East Glen and North Van Dien avenues in Ridgewood. Admission is $20 for adults, $15 for seniors, and $10 for students in advance; $23, $18, and $13 at the door. “We are thrilled to present a fantastic young piano virtuoso,” said Manny Sosinsky, president of the Ridgewood Symphony. “George Li is only in tenth grade, but he’s well on his way to becoming an internationally acclaimed concert artist. The orchestra will also perform Ravel’s ‘Bolero’ and Bizet’s ‘L’Arlesienne Suite.’ Please join us for a memorable evening.” Li, who resides in Lexington, Massachusetts, began studying the piano at the age of four. Two years later, he won first prize at the Massachusetts Music Teachers Association piano competition. Since the age of nine, Li has performed widely not only in solo and chamber music recitals, but also as guest soloist with major symphony orchestras, including the Cleveland Orchestra, Xiamen Philharmonic (China), Simon Bolivar Youth Symphony of Venezuela, Brooklyn Philharmonic, Nordic Chamber Orchestra Sweden, Miami Symphony, Princeton Symphony, I Solisti di Perugia (Spoleto, Italy), and many others. In 2010, Li won the Cooper International Competition, where his first prize included a four-year scholarship to Oberlin Conservatory and concert performances in Beijing and Shanghai. As 2010 winner of the Young Concert Artists International Auditions, Li has been invited to perform in Boston, New York, and Washington, D.C. He currently attends the Walnut Hill School in Natick, MA where he studies piano with Wha Kyung Byun at the New England Conservatory Preparatory School. The Ridgewood Symphony is among the largest volunteer symphonies in the country, with players from 48 different municipalities in Bergen, Passaic, and Rockland counties. The orchestra is directed by Arkady Leytush. This season’s programs have been made possible in part by funds from the New Jersey State Council on the Arts/ Department of State, a Partner Agency of the National Endowment for the Arts. For more information about programs, subscriptions, or advance ticket sales, call (201) 612-0118, or visit the orchestra’s website at www.ridgewoodsymphony.org. Piano soloist George Li will be featured in concert with the Ridgewood Symphony on Friday, May 6. Ridgewood parents donated to support a number of programs for Ridgewood youngsters, with technology at the Ridge School and the ice hockey program at Ridgewood High School receiving particular emphasis in the current round of donations. The Ridge Home & School Association donated $42,200 in two increments to purchase technology for Ridge School. The Ridgewood Ice Hockey Foundation Inc. donated $41,756 to be used for Ridgewood High School’s ice hockey program. The Ridgewood High School Home & School Associa- Donations support hockey, technology tion donated $4,104 for portable stage platforms at the high school, and the Ridgewood High School Student Congress donated two cordless microphones, wires, batteries, and stands, valued at $936 to be used for student activities. The Giordano family donated $2,000 to be used for the physical education program at the George Washington Middle School. The Alliance for Climate Education donated $200 to be used for the Students for Environmental Awareness projects, and the Grant McCarthy Group donated $100 to be used for the Ridgewood High School track program. J. KOSTER Break the Highway Trend! ...not your community’s back. Local businesses are the backbone of your community and the trend to shop the big guys on the highway hurts us all.Your local businesses have what you want... at the right price... and close to home. So, why hassle with the highways? Save Time! Save Gas! Save Money! SAVE YOUR COMMUNITY! We Need You SHOP LOCALLY. IT’S SMART. ...and besides, it’s so convenient!