Cross country ski racing champion and concert pianist, Sage Bialuski, 15, will perform a solo during the Prince George Symphony Orchestra's Ode to Joy on Saturday at 7:30 p.m. at Vanier Hall.
Bialuski was the Integris Youth Concerto winner last year and as a reward will perform the second and third movements of Mozart's Piano Concerto No. 21, K. 467 during the concert.
"Well, it's my first time playing with the symphony so I'm really excited," said Bialuski, who has played piano since she was about three years old. "Playing with all those instruments should be a blast."
Right now, Bialuski, who practices piano for about three hours each day, is a Grade 10 student at the sports school at the University of Northern B.C. where she trains at the Sports Centre most afternoons. Her academic studies are through distributed learning and are mostly done online.
During the snow season, Bialuski trains with the Caledonia Nordic ski club at Otway Ski Centre. She's been a member of the race team since she was 11 and most recently won the B.C. cup for racing in the girls juvenile 7.5 km classic in Prince George in February 2013.
Bialuski divides her enthusiasm between skiing and piano.
"I'm planning to pursue music as a career," she said. "I love performing and music is just another way to express myself."
To learn Mozart's Piano Concerto No. 21, K. 467, was a bit of a challenge.
"I am doing the second and third movement and the second movement is really expressive," said Bialuski. "It's a slower, more beautiful movement and it was kind of a challenge to get the phrases flowing nicely. The third movement is scaly and really exciting. All the scaly parts were kind of hard to get down."
Ode to Joy, conducted by musical director Kevin Zakresky, is the PGSO's biggest show of the year, with a performance of Beethoven's Ninth Symphony, including soloists, an assembly of choirs, and orchestra with string musicians from Smithers.
Guest soloists include soprano Catherine Laub, mezzo soprano Fabiana Katz, tenor Will George, and baritone Andrew Greenwood who will join forces with the Prince George Cantata Singers, the Eclectica Community Choir from 100 Mile House, and the Smithers Festival Choir.
Tickets for the event are available online at Ticketmaster, at Studio 2880 or from the PGSO Office.
