The Hoag Concert Series will present the DeKalb Symphony Orchestra April 3 at 8:00 p.m. in the Hilda D. Glenn Auditorium.  Under the direction of Fyodor Cherniavsky, the performance is sure to delight music lovers of all ages.  Featured soloist will be pianist David Watkins.  The performance is free of admission and open to the public.

Watkins is a member of the piano faculty of Kennesaw State University, just outside of Atlanta. He has also served on the summer artist faculty of the Eastern Music Festival. He earned the Bachelor of Music and Master of Music degrees from the New England Conservatory of Music in Boston. He has studied and coached with many renowned artists including Lucille Monaghan, Veronica Jochum, Miklos Schwalb, Robert Helps, Seymour Bernstein, Gary Wolf, Ivan Davis and Lorin Hollander. Mr. Watkins is certified as a master teacher by the Music Teachers National Association. He was President of the American Matthay Association 1994-1998, and was president of Georgia Music Teachers Association from 1994-1996.

Director Fyodor Cherniavsky has directed the Gainesville Symphony Orchestra, the Central Florida Symphony Orchestra and the Georgia Senior High All-State Orchestra in Savannah, to name but a few. He has held positions as Music Director and Conductor of Capitol City Opera, the Atlanta Community Orchestra, the Atlanta Contemporary Chamber Ensemble, the Atlanta Meistersingers and the Sandy Springs Chorale.  Born into a musical family, Mr. Cherniavsky is the great-grandson of Avrum Cherniavsky, a conductor of youth orchestras in the Ukraine during the end of the nineteenth century. 

The DeKalb Symphony is brought to Young Harris College through the Fay Harmon Clegg Hoag '33 Concert Series.  This endowed fund was established in 1975 by alumni of Young Harris College to honor Fay Harmon Clegg Hoag, an alumna of the College, wife of a College president, and secretary of the Alumni Association.  The endowment funds an annual concert each year. The concert is also partially funded by a grant from the Georgia Council for the Arts through the appropriations from the Georgia General Assembly.  GCA is a Partner Agency of the National Endowment for the Arts.