Hillsdale College Symphony Orchestra Performs Commencement Eve Concert
Sophia LaBonte and Samuel Jarzab, winners of the 2025 Student Concerto/Aria Competition, performed with the orchestra as soloists.
HILLSDALE, Mich. — The Hillsdale College Symphony Orchestra performed its Commencement Eve Concert in Christ Chapel on May 9. The concert featured solos by mezzo-soprano Sophia Labonte ’26 and clarinetist Samuel Jarzab ’26, two of the winners of the 2025 Student Concerto/Aria Competition.
“This concert was an exciting finale to our orchestra season and a special way to celebrate our graduating seniors.”
The orchestra performed Giuseppe Verdi’s Overture to “Nabucco,” Bach’s Passacaglia and Fugue in C Minor, and Paul Hindemith’s Symphonic Metamorphosis of Themes by Carl Maria von Weber.
“This concert was an exciting finale to our orchestra season and a special way to celebrate our graduating seniors,” said James Holleman, music director of choirs and orchestras. “I am looking forward to welcoming our students and audience members back in the fall.”
LaBonte, a voice student of Emily Douglass, performed in “Ô ma lyre immortelle” from “Sapho” by Charles Gounod. Jarzab, a clarinet student of Andrew Sprung, performed in “Allegro” from Franz Krommer’s Concerto for Clarinet and Orchestra in E-flat Major, op. 36.
“Sophia and Samuel’s performances were outstanding, and the orchestra did an excellent job accompanying them,” Holleman said. “It is rewarding to see how much the students have grown as musicians this season.’”