Clark College Orchestra Winter Concert Features Ballet Music

For Immediate Release
February 10, 2025

VANCOUVER, Wash. — The award-winning Clark College Orchestra performs their Winter Concert, A Night at the Ballet, of the 2024-2025 Grand Finale season under the baton of Music Director/Conductor Dr. Donald Appert. The performance is on Sunday, March 9, 2025, 3:00pm at Skyview High School, 81300 NW 139th St. Vancouver, WA. The program features Vaughan Williams' "Job" and Prokofieff's "Romeo & Juliet." The admission is free and open to the public.

For complete information about all the Clark College Music Department concerts including the orchestra, concert band, jazz ensemble, and choirs, please visit the Clark College Music Events page.

About Donald Appert

Donald Appert has appeared as a guest conductor in Japan, Australia, Central America, and throughout Europe. In Italy La'ovadese wrote, "…the performance of the ‘Serenade in C Major' of Tchaikovsky, under the exceptional direction of Appert, was in such a style that it brought out the elegance and grace of the melodic lines with Mozartian inspiration. …The L'Orchestra Sinfonica Città di Grosseto… performed the Barber ‘Adagio' with rare effectiveness, emphasizing its intrinsically rich melody." Giornale di Sicilla praised his interpretation of Nielsen's First Symphony as "lyrical with an airy freshness," and his conducting as "precise, painstakingly accurate, and diligent." He has guest conducted orchestras in France, Spain, Italy, Portugal, Romania, Slovakia, Macedonia, Greece, Turkey, Bulgaria, Russia, El Salvador, and Japan. He currently serves as the Music Director/Conductor of the Oregon Sinfonietta and the Jewish Community Orchestra of Portland.

Dr. Appert was awarded the 2020 Winner of The American Prize in Orchestral Programming. He won this same award in 2011 and in 2015 was named an Honored Artist by The American Prize Competition. He is a recipient of the 2019 – 2020 Clark College Exceptional Faculty Awards, several ASCAPLUS Awards in recognition of his performances of his own compositions in Italy, Qatar, Europe, Central America, Japan, and the United States. In 2014, Dr. Appert received the Clark County Arts Commission Lifetime Achievement in the Arts Award, and in 2009, he received the Washington Community College Humanities Association Exemplary Status Award in recognition of his outstanding contributions to the Humanities. 2024-2025 marks Dr. Appert's 35th year of teaching at Clark College and of conducting the college orchestra. Under his leadership, the orchestra has grown from 15 to over 80 musicians and the orchestra library has grown from 100 titles to over 470.

About Clark College

Founded in 1933, Clark College provides residents of Southwest Washington with affordable, high-quality academic and technical education. It is a public community college offering more than 100 degree and certificate programs, including bachelor's and associate degrees; professional certificates; high school diplomas and GED preparation; and non-credit community and continuing education. Clark serves a wide range of students including high school students, displaced workers, veterans, parents, non-native English speakers, and mature learners.Approximately 45%of its students are in the first generation of their families to attend college.

For additional information: (media inquiries & photo requests):
Shelly Williams, Program Director
T: 360-992-2662 E: sjwilliams@clark.edu