MOUNT VERNON — On Saturday, July 4th at 7:30 p.m., four of America’s most exciting up-and-coming musicians will perform a free concert in the Mount Vernon Community Center on Minnehonk Lake in Mt. Vernon.

These four alumni musicians, who have been featured on NPR’s From the Top, the most popular weekly classical radio show on NPR, will present an exciting concert of classical and popular music on flute, bass, violin and piano. Following the concert, there will be a fireworks display over Minnehonk Lake. Seating in the hall is on a first come, first serve basis. Guests are also encouraged to bring blankets or chairs and sit outside on the lawn to listen.

Donations will be accepted in support of the 30 Mile River Watershed Association and the Parker Pond Association. FMI: www.30mileriver.org or www.parkerpond.org.

Performers:

Bassist Michael Thurber, a Julliard graduate and New York City-based composer and performer, has created scores for clients such as Vanity Fair and BBC America and most recently, the music for the Royal Shakespeare Company’s and the Public Theater of New York’s production of Antony and Cleopatra. His musical, Goddess, was accepted into The Eugene O’Neill Musical Theater Conference.

Michael is a co-founder and music-director of CDZA, one of YouTube’s most globally viewed music channels. As a bassist, Michael has performed on PBS’s From The Top: Live From Carnegie Hall. www.michaelt.org/

Pianist Christopher Staknys from Falmouth, Maine is currently in his first year at Julliard. A former student of Robert Poli at New England Conservatory, he has won numerous competitions, including the Bagaduce Young Composers, Music Without Limits Concerto, Bangor Symphony Concerto and the Solo International Competition in Lithuania.

This summer, he is attending the acclaimed Bowdoin International Music Festival. His original composition, Congo, was premiered by the Portland Symphony Orchestra in 2012. Christopher performed on From the Top at the New England Music Camp in June 2014.

Flutist Emi Ferguson performed on From the Top in 2005, at age 16. Emi’s unique approach to the flute can be heard in performances that alternate between the silver flute, historical flutes, and auxiliary flutes, playing repertoire that stretches from the Renaissance to today.

A faculty member at Julliard, she has performed as concerto soloist in concerts and festivals around the world and was a featured performer alongside Yo-Yo Ma, Paul Simon, and James Taylor at the 10th Anniversary Memorial Ceremony of 9/11 at Ground Zero, where her performance of Amazing Grace was televised worldwide. Emi is the 1st prize winner of several awards, including the Juilliard Concerto Competition and the J.C. Arriaga Chamber Music Competition and was a recipient of the 2014 Salon de Virtuosi grant. www.emiferguson.com/

Violinist Tessa Lark has appeared three times on NPR’s From the Top, most recently at a recording with the Starling Chamber Orchestra in Cincinnati, Ohio. As a soloist, she has performed concerti with orchestras worldwide and has given many solo recitals, including her Carnegie Hall debut recital in Weill Hall. Tessa has collaborated with a long list of renowned artists, including Itzhak Perlman and Ralph Kirshbaum.

She is a recipient of a career grant from the Leonore Annenberg Fellowship Fund for the Performing and Visual Arts and has received many other awards including the Naumburg International Violin Award, in addition to being named the Silver Medalist of the prestigious 2014 International Violin Competition of Indianapolis. A passionate and accomplished chamber musician, Tessa also enjoys playing bluegrass and Appalachian music.