VSA arts Panasonic 2005 Young Soloists Perform at The Kennedy Center May 16th

VSA arts Panasonic 2005 Young Soloists Perform at The Kennedy Center May 16th

Concert Features Fairfax, Va. Pianist

WHO: Pianist, Tomoko Endo of Fairfax, Virginia Pianist/vocalist, Patrick Hughes of Louisville, Kentucky Jazz vocalist, Jessie Ross, former Rosemary Kennedy International Young Soloists Awardee of London, Ontario Hosted by WBAL radio personality, Chip Franklin

WHEN: Monday, May 16, 2005 at 7:30 p.m.

WHERE: Terrace Theater, Roof Terrace Level The John F. Kennedy Center for the Performing Arts New Hampshire Ave. at Virginia Ave., NW Washington, D.C. 20566

Tomoko Endo and Patrick Hughes are the 2005 VSA arts Panasonic Young Soloists awardees and will perform at the Kennedy Center on May 16th.

Tomoko, 17, has been studying piano since the age of four. She has received numerous awards and recognitions for her piano performance. Tomoko placed first in the Northern Virginia Music Teachers Association's piano concerto competition and the Alexandria Performing Arts Association's third annual youth music competition in Alexandria, Virginia. She is an active chamber musician who has low vision. Tomoko is a senior at Robinson Secondary School and will attend Royal College of Music in London this September.

Patrick has been named the recipient of the VSA Arts of Kentucky Young Soloists Award since 2001. He is a junior at Atherton High School and participates in his school's concert band (on trumpet), jazz band, and chorus (as a tenor) recently performing in Quito and Esmeraldes, Ecuador. He is blind and uses a wheelchair. Patrick has been selected to perform in many All-State Band and Choral festivals and has received several distinguished awards for each.

The VSA Arts Young Soloists Award is sponsored by Panasonic and annually recognizes outstanding young musicians with disabilities ages 25 and under, who have exhibited exceptional talents as vocalists or instrumentalists. A committee of distinguished music professionals selects the award recipients, who receive monetary awards and the opportunity to perform at the Kennedy Center.

VSA arts is an international nonprofit organization founded in 1974 by Ambassador Jean Kennedy Smith to create a society where people with disabilities learn through, participate in and enjoy the arts. Today as a leader in arts-based teaching and learning, VSA arts' programs support key national education goals: literacy and school readiness, teacher training, and parental involvement in education. For more information or tickets please visit http://www.vsarts.org/ .

CONTACT: Marcia Rhodes of VSA arts, +1-202-628-2800 ext. 3883

PRNewswire -- April 28

Source: VSA arts

Web site: http://www.vsarts.org/

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