NATCHITOCHES – The Natchitoches-Northwestern Symphony Orchestra will feature the winners of the annual NSU Concerto Contest on Tuesday, March 24 at 7:30 p.m. in Magale Recital Hall.
Douglas Bakenhus is the orchestra’s music director. Andrej Kurti is assistant conductor.
Tickets are $16.50 each and can be purchased online at https://nnssla.org/. There is an added charge for buying tickets online. For more information, email NSUsymphony@gmail.com.
Featured performers will be NSU Concerto Contest winners Parrel Appolis on flute, Walker Libbe on marimba, soprano Lhareen C. Lazo, tenor Douglas Flores and Ever Naun Galeas Antunez on trumpet.
The concert program is “Festive Overture,” by Dmitri Shostakovich, “Concerto for Trumpet in Eb major” by Johann Baptist Neruda featuring Galeas on trumpet, “Senza mamma” from “Suor Angelica” by Giacomo Puccini featuring Lazo and Appolis on “Concerto for Flute and Orchestra” by Aram Khachaturian.
The orchestra will also play “Concerto for Marimba and Strings” by Emmanuel Séjourné with Libbe on marimba, “E lucevan le Stelle” from “Tosca” by Puccini featuring Douglas Flores on tenor,
“Mother Goose Suite” by Maurice Ravel and “San Pelayo” by Victoriano Valencia.
Parrel Appolis is from Knoxville, Tennessee. He is a graduate assistant in the flute studio of Dr. Stephen Clark at Northwestern. He holds a bachelor’s degree in flute performance from the University of Tennessee. As a flute instructor, his students have achieved success across all levels of primary and secondary education and have placed in regional and state ensembles.
As a performer, he has played with many ensembles, including the Knoxville Opera, Knoxville Symphony, and the inaugural International Pride Orchestra in San Francisco. In 2022, he was named as a member of the NFA’s Young Artist Mentorship Program, under the mentorship of Brandon Patrick George of Imani Winds. Parrel is a recipient of the John Philip Sousa Band Award and the Gerald W. Barnes Woodwind Award. He is an active member of Sphinx, an organization dedicated to providing resources to Black and Latin-American musicians.
Flores began his studies at NSU in 2021, pursuing degrees in French horn and vocal performance. He studied horn with Dr. Alexis Sczepanik, voice with Dr. Robert Cardwell and worked with former NSU faculty members Dr. Kristine Coreil and Michael Rorex. During his time at Northwestern State, Flores has been an active and versatile performer, serving as principal horn in the Wind Symphony, tenor section leader in the NSU Chamber Choir, and a longtime member of the NSU Opera Theater with roles like Ferrando in “cosi fan tutte,” Frederick in “Pirates of Penzance,” and Leopold in “Im Weißen Rössl.”
As a horn player, Flores participated in the Midsouth Horn Workshop, where he received Honorable Mention as a soloist, and he regularly performs with regional orchestras across the southern United States. As a tenor, he is a two-time recipient of the Guillory Scholarship Award and earned second Place in the Graduate TBB Division at the 2022 Southern Regional NATS Conference. In 2023, he attended the International Performing Arts Institute (IPAI) in Kiefersfelden, Germany, where he was awarded Second Place in the institute’s vocal competition.
Libbe is a graduate assistant at Northwestern studying under Dr. Oliver Molina and Dr. Andrew Blair. At NSU, he has taught both the front ensemble and the drumline for The Spirit of Northwestern Marching Band as well as applied percussion lessons. He helps Dr. Molina instruct the percussion ensemble and percussion method courses. Libbe earned a bachelor’s degree in music studies at Texas A&M University.
As an active percussion performer, educator, and clinician, Libbe has performed at conventions such as PASIC, LMEA and various state Day of Percussion events. Libbe is also experienced in session recording and has been a part of many different recording projects ranging from percussion ensembles, solo pieces, metal and rock bands, as well as various local projects.
Galeas is originally from Honduras and began his musical studies at the age of 14 at the Victoriano López Music School. In 2018, he was invited to perform with the Nicaraguan Youth Symphony Orchestra and participated in the International Festival of Oaxaca, Mexico.
In the spring of 2023, he began his trumpet studies with Galindo Rodríguez at Northwestern where he has been a member of the Wind Symphony, Jazz Combo and Jazz Orchestra. Last year, he was selected as one of the winners of the MacCutcheon Honor Recital. He plans to continue his studies by pursuing a master’s degree in music performance.
Lazo is pursuing a master’s degree in vocal performance at Northwestern where she studies with Dr. Terrie Sanders. She earned her Bachelor of Music in Vocal Performance from the University of the Philippines in 2024. Passionate about classical singing and opera, her operatic roles include Mother in “Hansel and Gretel” by Engelbert Humperdinck, Suor Angelica in “Suor Angelica” by Giacomo Puccini, Laetitia in “The Old Maid and the Thief” by Gian Carlo Menotti, Cunegonde in “Candide” by Leonard Bernstein, and Maria in “A Feast in Time of Plague” by César Cui.
Her recent recognitions include prizes from the National Association of Teachers of Singing Student Auditions (2025), the Guillory Scholarship Competition (2025), and the Ninth International JSFest Competition (2021). Lazo is an active member of the NSU Opera Ensemble, NSU Chamber Choir, Lyrica, Cane River Singers and the Northwestern Choral Artists.