Both musicians will perform with the Lakewood Symphony on April 5, 7:30 p.m. at the Lakewood Cultural Center. Mark Simpson, will perform Wolfgang Amadeus Mozart's Concerto for Clarinet, K. 622, and Katie Marble will perform Samuel Barber's Violin Concerto, Op. 14.Tickets are $14 and can be purchased by calling 303.987.7845, online at www.lakewood.org or at the Lakewood Cultural Center, 470 South Allison Parkway (Alameda and Wadsworth). Senior, student and group discounts are also available.

Mark Simpson is principal clarinet in the National Youth Orchestra of Great Britain, the British Broadcasting Corporation's (BBC's) Young Musician of the Year, and is the only person in the Liverpool Festival's 80 year history to win both young instrumentalist and pianist of the year. He also composes his own music and is the first person to hold the honor of being both BBC's Young Musician of the Year and Young Composer of the Year.

Katie Marble has held the honor of performing with some of the most prestigious youth orchestras, including the Western States Honor Orchestra, Colorado All State Orchestra and the Denver Young Artists Orchestra. She has been concertmaster with the Jefferson County All County Orchestra and the Front Range Youth Symphony. In addition to her performance with the Lakewood Symphony, Katie will perform a recital at the Lakewood Cultural Center later this spring.

Serving as a family host for the past four years has personally been an inspiring experience and I look forward to our fifth year of family hosting this April. The Chester music scholars have not only graced my family with their amazing musical talent and ability but they have become a part of our family enriching us with their charming customs, unique personalities, and of course, those enchanting British accents!

The first scholar to stay with us was Lindsey Ellis, a flautist and a college student in Scotland. At first, she was quite shy and practiced many hours beginning early every morning. It was blissful to wake up to the sound of this heavenly flute music and I could only hope it would inspire my children to practice their instruments more! I learned piano accompaniments for several of Lindsey's flute pieces and it was a joy for me as we practiced together each day. We enjoyed activities each day such as going to the museums, concerts, the zoo, the Botanical Gardens, and a trip to the mountains. There were performances for the Lakewood Rotary Club, the Lakewood City Council, Mayor Steve Burkholder's tour of the city and luncheon, and rehearsals and a special performance with the Lakewood Symphony. We also traveled to several Jefferson County schools and one visit in particular was quite memorable. Early that morning, we drove in a snowstorm toElk Creekelementary school in Conifer where Lindsey performed in a gymnasium lined with teachers, staff and children. After the performance, the children were permitted to ask her questions. I was amazed with Lindsey's poise, patience and humor in answering all of these questions - one question in particular comes to mind, "What language do you speak in England?" to which she replied, "Why Russian, of course!" and the gymnasium reverberated with laughter.

Adam Newman, an accomplished viola player and college student at the Royal Academy, stayed with us the following year. He was not shy at all and informed us that he had come musically well-prepared. He said he didn't come to practice but rather to see Colorado and have fun. We did our best to give him a taste of both the beauty and culture of our magnificent state. One of Adam's favorite activities was shopping for viola music and he was thrilled when the Rockley Music store gave him a $25.00 gift certificate to spend in the store. We spent many hours in the store going through an assortment of viola music. Liane Rockley was a former Sister Cities music scholar winner representing Lakewood, and has generously given each music scholar a gift certificate to spend in the Rockley Music Store. Adam convinced my daughter, Joanna, a principal trumpet player at Lakewood High School, to audition for the Denver Young Artists Orchestra. She succeeded in becoming a part of this prestigious orchestra and achieved one of the greatest musical experiences of her life. It made me realize how sharing our lives with these extraordinary young people brings back so many rewards to our own family.

By our third year of family hosting, we felt like pros. Simon Vlies, a talented and charming violinist, related to us how everyone in his family were doctors and that he had taken the lonesome and losing road of being a musician. We told him that he was a true winner in his family sharing his talent and beautiful music with the world. Our daughter, Jessica, had studied violin and we remembered the discipline and many hours she had devoted to violin practice. One of the highlights of Simon's stay was our visit to the Brighton Gardens Senior Assisted Living Home. My son, Josh, and I had been entertaining there every Wednesday for years. Josh played piano and clarinet each week and I accompanied him on the piano. We also did special holiday and birthday concerts. Josh and I brought Simon along with us on the Wednesday of the week he was staying with us. I accompanied Simon on the piano and we also performed a trio I had arranged for violin, clarinet and piano. When the residents heard Simon play the violin, they were completely taken with him and his amazing talent. They asked Simon many questions about his life in Chester and didn't want to let him leave but luckily we had a good excuse - he had to get to a rehearsal with Lakewood Symphony. As with the previous music scholars, I created a beautiful photo album for Simon recording all of his wonderful Colorado experiences to share with his family and friends.

Last year, our family hosted Alex Dee, an accomplished jazz saxophone player. We were so excited about meeting him at the arrival area of Denver International Airport. Now experienced greeters, we stood behind the roped area near the escalators, holding up a colorful hand-painted sign with the name, " ALEX DEE," frantically searching for anyone holding a musical instrument. Even though you have never met these young adults before, when they approach you and acknowledge the sign you're holding with their name on it, you feel like it is your long-lost child returning to you from years of space travel. Aside from the many scheduled yearly activities we did withthe other musicians, we managed to take Alex skiing in Loveland and to his first American baseball game. He loved the Rockies and we bought him a Rockies hat that he never seemed to take off - we even thought he slept in it!

We happily anticipate the visit of this year's music scholar, Mark Simpson. Two of our children, Jaimie and Josh, studied clarinet so this is an instrument well represented and loved in our family. We are grateful for the many enriching and gratifying experiences we have enjoyed over the past four years. Another great benefit was the friendships we formed with the other host families, the Youngs and the Hills which permitted us to do activities together throughout the two weeks. The Chester music scholars have added so much to our lives and we thank the Sister Cities and all of the organizations involved in their tremendous efforts to share great music with our community.