NEW YORK, NY (December 19, 2003) – Andrew Norman, the son of an Evangelical Covenant Church pastor, composed an orchestral work for the New York Youth Symphony after winning a contest recently.
Norman is a 24-year-old graduate student at the University of Southern California (USC), majoring in composing. He earned his undergraduate degree at USC. His newly composed work was featured during a recent World Premier concert at Carnegie Hall.
According to his father, Jeff, an associate pastor at Modesto Covenant Church in Modesto, California, Andrew has been composing orchestral work since the ninth grade. He grew up at First Covenant Church in Grand Rapids, Michigan, and First Covenant Church in Rockford, Illinois.
The New York Symphony has been performing at Carnegie Hall for 41 years. Founded in 1963, it is the current holder of the Leonard Bernstein Award for Educational Programming.
Norman is one of numerous Covenanters making their marks throughout North America. The following listing of some of these accomplishments, gleaned from church newsletters received by the Department of Communication, is grouped by conference and region.
CENTRAL
- Oak Lawn, Illinois: Trinity Covenant Church’s Becky Moran is on the roster of the University of Illinois-Chicago softball team as a utility player after a strong high school career at Chicago’s Mother McAuley High School. A three-year letter winner and a two-time All-Conference outfielder, she led the Mighty Macs to 57 wins in her last two seasons, including the program’s first sectional and regional titles in school history. Moran batted .313 with 21 runs batted in and was 10 for 10 stolen bases in 2003.
- Naperville, Illinois: Erika Nyberg of Naperville Evangelical Covenant Church participated in the Illinois State Tennis Championships for Naperville North High School. Meanwhile, two other high school students, Adriana Herrera of Waubonsie Valley High and Eleanor Good, were selected to be part of the Illinois Music Educators Association District festival. Adriana played violin in the orchestra while Eleanor played oboe in the concert band.
- Iron River, Michigan: Grace Covenant Church teens Ryan Shamion, Anders Lindwall, Jessica Aho, Katie Pratt, Linzi Saigh, Karla Van Wagner and Joel Frasier were named to National Honor Society at their high schools. Frasier was also named to the All-Conference first team in football as a kicker.
- Iron Mountain, Michigan: Krysta Erickson was chosen to be “Lucia” at North Park University’s annual Santa Lucia Festival on December 6. Krysta is a senior at North Park with a double major in Scandinavian Studies and Business. Sister Joanna, a freshman at the school, sang in the chorus for the festival. Their father Peter is the new pastor at First Covenant Church.
EAST COAST
- Waltham, Massachusetts: Covenant Congregational Church’s Tim LeBlanc recently finished eighth in the New England Regional Figure Skating Championships in Boxborough, Massachusetts. LeBlanc, who skates for the Skating Club of Boston, competed in the Novice Men’s division.
GREAT LAKES
- Jamestown, New York: Kaitlyn Illingworth of First Covenant Church recently was inducted into the National Honor Society for her academic and leadership efforts at Southwestern High School. Another teen at the church, Natalie Johnson, competed at the New York Public High School Athletic Association Swimming Championships for the second consecutive year.
ECCAK
- Eagle River, Alaska: Eddie Jackson, who attends Community Covenant Church, recently was named to the National Honor Society for his high school.
MIDWEST
- Topeka, Kansas: Brookwood Covenant Church’s Abbey Martin finished her volleyball season at Rugters University in New Jersey, leading her team in assists with 1,154 for the 11-17 Scarlet Knights. Martin, a setter, started 26 matches (104 games in all) and averaged 11 assists per game.
NORTHWEST
- Richfield, Minnesota: Thirteen-year-old Kristi Holmberg teamed up with her grandmother, Virginia Vining of Bethany Covenant Church, to win a school-sponsored doubles tennis tournament this fall.
- Rochester, Minnesota: Rochester Covenant Church’s youth choir was part of a Discovery Health Channel series segment on the world renowned Mayo Clinic. The beginning of the series was November 14 and the segment featuring the youth choir’s performance (along with Erik Hester) aired December 5 and 7.
PACIFIC SOUTHWEST
- El Cajon, California: Megan Long of Community Covenant Church, a senior at Wheaton College, is averaging 14 minutes and 2.6 points for the 6-2 Thunder’s women’s basketball team. She is second on her team in assists with 23.
- Santa Barbara, California: Montecito Covenant Church’s Kelsey O’Hara and Olivia Shove are performing at Santa Barbara’s Lobero Theater in “The Night Before Christmas,” an original production of the Montecito School of Ballet. Kelsey, who is 15, has been studying ballet for six years. Olivia, who is 10 years old, has studied ballet for five years.
ELSEWHERE
- Japan: Miles Peterson, son of missionaries Jim and Hydi Peterson, recently combined with another boy to win a 14 and under tennis tournament in his region. Miles is just 12 years old, playing against kids nearly two years older than he and his partner, according to his parents.
To keep abreast of the various activities of Covenant youth around the world, regularly visit www.covchurch.org. To submit information to be considered for publication in this online Covenant news report, email it to newsdesk@covchurch.org. To telephone information to Covenant Communications, call 773-478-4676, extension 117.
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