Homeschooled senior and dual-enrolled, full-time IVCC student Elliot Butler will be performing his solo, Élégie by Gabriel Fauré, with the Illinois Valley Youth Symphony Orchestra on April 30. He competed for the honor and was selected to perform by a panel of judges.

Butler is excited to perform the piece: “I like [the Élégie] because of its very sonorous melody, great orchestration, and how well it is laid out for the instrument.”

Graduating high school this summer, Butler will attend Western Illinois University this fall as a composition major. He was selected as a Centennial Honors scholar in recognition of his academic success in high school.

Butler has taken lessons from IVCC instructor Delle Vercimak since 2013. He will be continuing his cello studies at WIU under Dr. Moises Molina.

Butler has played in the IVYSO since the fall of 2013, and has been the principal cellist since 2014. After so much time in the group, he says it will be hard leaving: “I have enjoyed every rehearsal I’ve been a part of, and I love everyone in the group. I will miss playing with the youth symphony and all the great players I have had the opportunity to make music with.”

“He is a cellist’s cellist,” music professor, cellist, and mentor Michael Pecherek says of Butler, “When he plays, the person, the instrument and the music all become one.”

Tickets are available at the door and are $7 for students. This concert is accepted as an option for MUS 1001 and HFA 1000 reviews.