The Wichita State University Symphony Orchestra, an acclaimed orchestra that has been invited to Spain later this spring, will showcase four student soloists in its annual Concerto-Aria Honors Concert at 7:30 p.m. Tuesday, Feb. 12, in Miller Concert Hall, Duerksen Fine Arts Center.

School of Music students Stephanie Patterson, bassoon; Hyung Gu Kim, piano; Jacob Ray-Alan, tenor; and Dixie Roberts, mezzo-soprano, are the student soloists.

The program, led by WSU director of orchestras Mark Laycock, will feature music by Tchaikovsky, Handel, Weber, Corigliano and Mackey. The concert will also be simulcast on WSU Internet Radio at http://wsuir.wichita.edu.

Gu Kim, a native of Seoul, South Korea, will play the first movement of Tchaikovsky’s Piano Concerto No. 1. Patterson, who is second bassoonist in the Wichita Symphony Orchestra, will perform Weber’s Bassoon Concerto in F Major. Ray-Alan, a first-prize winner in the 2006 National Association of Teachers of Singing regional competition, will sing Aria of the Worm from John Corigliano’s opera “The Ghosts of Versailles.” Roberts, who performed during summer 2007 in Opera in the Ozarks, will sing “Or la tromba (Sound the Trumpet)” from Handel’s opera “Rinaldo.”

“This concert is always a highlight of our season,” Laycock said. “These students are already accomplished performers, and they bring a tremendous vitality and technical polish to these pieces. It is a real testament to the caliber of teaching and learning at WSU.”

More than 80 members strong, the WSU Symphony Orchestra has recently accepted invitations to perform at the 2008 International Festival of Youth Orchestras in Zaragoza, Spain, and at the 2008 Kansas Music Educators Association In-Service Workshop.

For the honors concert, the WSU Symphony will also perform Tchaikovsky’s “Capriccio Italien,” a colorful, animated showpiece inspired by the composer’s visit to Italy in 1880. The program will begin with “Redline Tango” by the contemporary American composer John Mackey. Combining the excitement of high velocity with the sensuous appeal of a sultry dance, the work has been performed by orchestras around the world.

Gu Kim studies with associate professor Andrew Trechak as a full scholarship student majoring in piano performance. An active chamber musician, he is a member of the Sarang Piano Quartet. He has participated in master classes with Silvia Roederer, Jerome Lowenthal and the Chiara String Quartet. Last year, he was awarded first prize in the Music Teachers National Association Chamber Music Performance state competition and was named an Alternate in the MTNA Young Artist Performance solo division.

Patterson, a California native, is pursuing a Master of Music degree in bassoon performance at WSU. She graduated with high honors in Russian and music performance from Oberlin College and Conservatory. Her primary bassoon teachers have been George Sakakeeny and WSU assistant professor Nicolasa Kuster, though she has also dabbled in improvisation under the direction of renowned jazz bassoonist Paul Hansen. Last fall she commissioned “The Self-Referential Construction Set” by Christopher Gollmar and has premiered countless other pieces by young composers, including the award-winning “Plateaus” by Timothy Rosser.

Ray-Alan is a 22-year-old senior at WSU studying with Vernon Yenne. A transfer student from Simpson College in Des Moines, Iowa, he has had numerous performance opportunities in Wichita, most recently the role of Laurie in the WSU Opera Theatre production of “Little Women.” He has also appeared in several roles with Opera Kansas, including that of Alfredo in the parody “The Ring of the Fettuccines.”

A native of Hudson, Iowa, Roberts, 24, is a second-year graduate student in opera performance. She received a BFA in Musical Theatre from Viterbo University in La Crosse, Wis., where she studied with Jean Saladino. A student of WSU professor Vernon Yenne, she performs regularly with WSU Opera Theatre, most recently as Jo in “Little Women”” and last year in “Dialogues des Carmelites” (Mme. De Croissy) and “Eve’s Odd’s” (Bad Angel). In March, she will appear in the title role in Handel’s “Tamerlano.”

Laycock is an associate professor of music at WSU, where he holds the Ann Walenta Faculty of Distinction Endowed Professorship. He also teaches orchestral conducting at the graduate and undergraduate levels; in 2007 he was recognized with an Excellence in Teaching Award by the College of Fine Arts. An active guest conductor, he recently led the Alabama All-State Orchestra, South Central Kansas District Honor Orchestra, and Wichita All-City High School Honor Orchestra.