Symphony at Sunset

Michael Leckrone is the former Director of the Marching Band and Director of Bands at the University of Wisconsin. A native of Indiana, Mr. Leckrone received his Bachelor and Master of Music degrees from Butler University in Indianapolis and has continued his studies at the doctoral level at Indiana University. Before coming to Wisconsin he taught at his alma mater, where he developed one of the finest marching bands in the Midwest. He is in constant demand as a clinician, guest conductor and adjudicator for concert and marching bands throughout the United States and Canada, and his experience also includes considerable professional work as an arranger, composer and performer.

Amelia Zitoun, 17, was the winner of The Final Forte 2023. She is a scholarship Fellow at the Music Institute of Chicago’s Academy, a training center for advanced pre-college students. She has been a student there since 2019. She currently studies cello with Hans Jensen. In October of 2022, Amelia played the Barber Cello Concerto with the Milwaukee Symphony Orchestra on their Family Concert and Youth Performance Series. Earlier this year, Amelia was the winner of the Milwaukee Symphony Orchestra’s Stars of Tomorrow Competition. She was also a winner of the 2022 Civic Music Association of Milwaukee’s High School Competition. Amelia is also a finalist in NPR’s “From the Top”, a radio show that showcases the stories, music, and talents of young classical musicians. In 2021, Amelia won First Prize in the Schubert Club Competition. In 2020 she was a winner of the DePaul Concerto Competition, performing the Kabalevsky Concerto with the Oistrakh Symphony Orchestra.

Amelia is also an active chamber musician. In 2022, as a member of the Hermes Piano Trio, she competed in the Quarterfinals of the Fischoff National Chamber Music Competition. In 2020, as a member of the Aurora Piano Quartet, her group won First Prize in the Rembrandt Chamber Music Competition, as well as advancing to the Quarterfinals in the Fischoff National Chamber Music Competition.

This past summer Amelia attended the 2022 Heifetz International Music Institute, in Staunton, VA, as well as the Moulin d’Ande Cello Festival in France, where she studied with Jerome Pernoo (Paris Conservatory). In the summer of 2019 she attended the International Academy of Music in Nice, France, where she studied cello with Xavier Phillips, and chamber music with the Trio Wanderer.

Amelia has been featured on WFMT: Introductions, as a member of both the Aurora Piano Quartet, and the Celeste String Quartet. Before studying with Mr. Jensen, Amelia studied with Horacio Contreras for four years. Amelia has had the honor of playing for David Finckel, Lluis Claret, Richard Aaron, Steven Doane, Clara Kim, Astrid Schween, Julian Schwarz, Amir Eldan, Brandon Vamos, Vladimir Perlin, Anthony Elliot, Jesús Castro-Balbi, Yvan Chiffoleau, Tanya Carey, and Marie-Françoise Bloch.

Leotha (Lee) and Tamera Stanley are the directors of the Mt Zion Gospel Choir, known for its ability to infuse traditional gospel harmonies with vigor, joy, and inspiration. With a reputation as one of the best gospel choirs in Wisconsin, the Mt. Zion Gospel Choir have wowed Madison residents for decades with their vocal precision and exuberant style. The choir has been a beloved featured guest of the Madison Symphony Orchestra’s Christmas concerts for 17 years. The choir has also appeared recently with the UW-Madison Marching Band, in a concert for Archbishop Desmond Tutu, and in tours in both Germany and France. They have sung with music legends Michael Bolton, Yolanda Adams, Lyle Lovett, and the Blind Boys of Alabama. Leotha began playing piano and drums at age five and became the pianist at his neighborhood church in Milwaukee at age thirteen. Lee graduated from the University of Wisconsin in 1978 with a degree in education, where he started a gospel choir and released an album of original songs several years later.