Arts Council Concert

The West Bountiful Arts Council will bring Violinist Alexis Proksch, Cellist Jessica Ericksen, and Pianist Mary Jefferson to its concert series stage Friday, April 8 at 7:00 p.m. The concert is free and will be held at the West Bountiful City Hall on 550 North 800 West.

 Alexis and Mary both began their musical journey to excellence at an early age and now both perform, accompany, and teach in their own studios.

 Of her musical journey, Alexis said, “I first heard the violin at age 7 at a church meeting and was immediately compelled to have it as part of my life.” Thanks to her grandparents, a violin and lessons followed.  By age 11, she was selected to be one of 4 competitors accepted to perform as soloist with an orchestra. Later, Alexis studied with a professor at Indiana University’s renowned Jacob School of Music where practicing 8-10 hours a day put her on the path of musical excellence as a performer and teacher today. Concertgoers will be moved and inspired by an emotional, rich performance, quickly noting she connects deeply to her violin and the music.

 Mary told us she began playing the piano at age 4 with her Mother as her teacher. The audience will be amazed when they hear her play, noting that her performance is “exciting,” “clean,” “beautiful, and melodic.” After undergoing 2 hand surgeries in high school to fix a torn tendon, Mary said, “I realized, during recovery, how much I missed playing the piano and this led me to get a Bachelors of Music in piano performance.” Mary has competed and received various awards within the National Federation of Music Teachers, the Music Teacher’s National Association, Summer Arts, and was a University of Utah piano departmental scholarship recipient for four years. She has performed piano concertos with two different orchestras and can often be found soloing, playing at weddings, teaching and accompanying others, as she will do for Alexis in our April concert.

 Alexis said she and Mary would be joined by a couple of her brothers and by her sister, Cellist Jessica Ericksen, whose musical journey also began at a young age. It was at age 4 when she fell in love with the cello and then she said, “I have been in love with the cello ever since.” Jessica studied at Nevada school of the arts, Indianapolis Jacob’s school of Music, The Gifted Music School, and Utah Valley University. She began teaching the cello at age 14 and continues her teaching at her studio today.

 “Those who attend this concert will be treated to a range instruments, musical genres, and styles. It will be a musical trip around the world performed by musicians extraordinaire!” said Dianne Smith of the Arts Council.