The competition was open to music students in grades 9-12 from Pennsylvania and eight surrounding states. The initial field of contestants was narrowed down to 30 musicians who competed in the semifinal on Friday, Jan. 19. Semifinal competitors hailed from Maryland, New York, New Jersey, Ohio, Pennsylvania, and Virginia.
Eight teens advanced to the final round on Saturday, held at the Climenhaga Fine Arts Center at Messiah College. Musicians were categorized into four divisions: strings, keyboard, brass and percussion, and woodwinds. The semifinal round was judged by faculty of Messiah College and chaired by Timothy Dixon, director of Orchestral Studies.
The final audition committee, composed of members of the Harrisburg Symphony and chaired by Maestro Stuart Malina, chose Konrad Binienda, a senior from Akron, Ohio, as the Grand Prize winner. Binienda performed "Concerto No. 1 in E Minor"Â by Frederic Chopin.
Binienda receives a Sawatsky Music Scholarship to attend Messiah College, valued at more than $50,000, as well as a $750 cash prize. He will perform the Chopin concerto with the Harrisburg Symphony in January of 2008, under the baton of Malina.
Three musicians were awarded Second Place honors based on their respective instrument division. Each received a cash prize of $100. The winners are:
"¢ Woodwind: Leasha Folk, Dallastown, Pa., flute ("Flute Concerto" by Jacques Ibert)
"¢ String: Joseph Gotoff, Lewisburg, Pa., cello ("Concerto in E Minor, Op. 85" by Edward Elgar)
"¢ Brass: Grant Piccerillo, New Market, Md., tuba ("Concerto for Bass Tuba" by Ralph Vaughan Williams)
The remaining finalists were:
"¢ Katrina Bobbs, Pepper Pike, Ohio, piano
"¢ Kevin Sweer, Mechanicsburg, Pa., saxophone
"¢ Zane Biddle, Glenville, Pa., French horn
"¢ Erin Phelps, Frederick, Md., violin
Student musicians from Pennsylvania, Delaware, New Jersey, New York, Ohio, West Virginia, Virginia, Maryland and the District of Columbia were eligible to submit an individual recording of their own performance of any major concerto written for their instrument. The Rising Stars application deadline for initial entries was Nov. 15, 2006.
The submitted recordings were judged by professional musicians who specialize in each individual instrument, without any information about the contestant's identity.
The final eight finalists, two contestants from each of the four musical instrument divisions, were judged in the final round of competition by four members of the Harrisburg Symphony:
"¢ Stuart Malina, Music Director
"¢ Peter Sirotin, Associate Concertmaster
"¢ David DiGiacobbe, Principal Flutist
"¢ Eric Henry, Principal Tuba
The competition is named for the late Dr. Rodney Sawatsky, former president of Messiah College. He and his wife Lorna were passionate supporters of the arts in central Pennsylvania. Lorna Sawatsky assisted with the Rising Stars award presentations. Rodney Sawatsky was also a member of the Harrisburg Symphony's Board of Directors. -- www.harrisburgsymphony.org
Posted January 30th, 2007 by ruzik_tuzik
