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People will have a chance to watch several musicians perform a free concert in Farmville next week.

The Longwood University Music Department will present a concert of music by Lauretta Werner (violin), Gabrielle Padilla (viola) and Manuel Molina (piano) on Wednesday, Sept. 7. Free and open to the public, the concert will take place in the Molnar Recital Hall of Wygal Music Building at 7:30 p.m., with doors open at 7 p.m. Parking for the event is available along Race Street, beside Greenwood Library and Bedford Hall.

Who are the performers?

Dr. Lauretta Werner teaches as the Assistant Professor of Strings at Longwood University and as a violin teacher at the Longwood Center for Community Music. She taught as the Lecturer of Violin at West Virginia University, as a Suzuki violin instructor at the Pittsburgh Music Academy and the Hope Academy of Music and the Arts and as a Quartet Teaching Fellow at Interlochen Summer Arts Camp. She currently performs with the Pastiche String Quartet and RVA Baroque, a Richmond-based period ensemble. In addition to performing, Werner researches the topic of mindfulness by reinterpreting mindfulness-based therapies and sport psychology models for musicians. She recently presented her research at the American String Teacher Association National Conference, the American Viola Society Festival and the International Symposium for Talent Education. Werner studied violin with Stephen Miahky, Solomiya Ivakhiv, Susan Waterbury and Mikylah Myers and completed long-term Suzuki violin pedagogy training with Carrie Reuning-Hummel at Ithaca College.

Tulsa, Oklahoma native Gabrielle Padilla, DMA, is a violist dedicated to teaching, performance, and chamber music. She recently served as interim viola faculty at Virginia Tech and the Interim Director of the Virginia Tech String Project. As a clinician and presenter, Dr. Padilla has national and international visibility. Examples of those activities are her recent performances and presentations at the 2021 American Viola Society Festival, 47th International Viola Congress, and 2022 National Flute Association Convention, as well as a masterclass guest artist for the 2021 Puerto Rico Summer Music Festival. She received her Bachelor of Arts degree from the University of Missouri-Kansas City Conservatory of Music and Dance and her Master’s degree from Ball State University with Dr. Katrin Meidell. She completed her Doctor of Musical Arts degree at West Virginia University and proudly served as the Graduate Teaching Assistant of Andrea Priester Houde. Gabrielle has taught and performed as a Viola Teaching Fellow and a Quartet Teaching Fellow at the Interlochen Arts Camp. She is a Board Member of the American Viola Society. You can hear her on Sutton Foster’s Take Me to the World album.

Peruvian pianist Manuel Molina is an active soloist, chamber musician, and educator. Recently, he was invited as a Collaborative Instrumental Pianist for the 2022 Interlochen Arts Camp and performed with the Interlochen Philharmonic. In 2017, he was invited by the Philharmonic Society of Lima to give a recital with his brother, Pedro Molina, as part of a concert series featuring Peruvian performers from abroad. Currently, he is a doctoral candidate at West Virginia University (WVU) under the tutelage of Dr. Peter Amstutz. At WVU, he served as a Graduate Teaching Assistant where he taught class piano and continues to collaborate extensively with other artists for degree recitals, competitions, and camps. He began his formal training at the National University of Music in Lima, Peru at the age of 10. Mr. Molina received his Bachelor of Music degree from Florida Gulf Coast University as a student of Dr. Michael Baron and holds a Master’s degree from Rice University under Brian Connelly.

The Longwood University Department of Music presents several concerts each semester. For more information about this concert, future concerts and access call the Longwood University Department of Music at (434) 395-2495 or (434) 395-2504.