Announcing the Winners of the
30th Annual Young Artist Concerto Competition
We are pleased to announce that two Winners have been named in the Prometheus Symphony Orchestra’s 2018-2019 Young Artist Concerto Competition. Cellist Jacob Reed will perform Prokofiev’s Sinfonia concertante, on January 27, 2019, and cellist Sarah Chong plays Tchaikovsky’s Variations on a Rococo Theme on May 19, 2019.
(See Main Page for concert information and click on the winner’s links to read their bios.)
We were once more honored with an impressive array of youthful Bay Area musicians (8 to 17 years of age) who participated in the highly competitive auditions in November 2018. Selecting a winner is always difficult. But the depth of this season’s field prompted Music Director Eric Hansen to choose two Co-Winners. In addition to the opportunity to perform in concert with a symphony orchestra, each will be granted a monetary award and receive a professional recording of their performance.
About the Concerto Competition
This season marks the 30th consecutive annual Young Artist Concerto Competition, sponsored by the Prometheus Symphony since 1989. See the side-bar for our story. The Competition is open to Bay Area string, woodwind, brass, harp and percussion players, 18 years of age or younger. Remarkable young musicians audition each year for the rare opportunity to perform a concerto with a symphony orchestra. The audition itself provides an important educational experience for aspiring young musicians.
Inviting applications for the 2019-2020 Competition
Each season gifted young musicians audition, seeking the exceptional opportunity to perform with a full symphony orchestra before a live and appreciative audience. The Competition winner, who must be able to perform January 27, 2019 in Oakland near Lake Merritt, will gain the valuable experience of working with our Music Director, Eric Hansen. The winner will be featured on Prometheus Symphony’s website and in concert publicity, such as by KDFC and other listings. The winner also receives a professional recording of the performance, a framed certificate, and a $200 award. The audition itself is a valuable educational experience for all who apply, as auditioning will be a significant aspect of aspiring musicians’ future careers.
Auditions for next season will be held in early November 2019. Application forms, with the date and location of auditions, will be posted here as soon as the audition date is confirmed. Application forms will be downloadable from the website at that time. Contact us at ConcertoCompetition@PrometheusSymphony.org with questions or to request email notification of the audition date.
Competition Rules in brief: Auditioners must (1) be 18 years of age or younger; (2) be prepared to play from memory at the audition a complete concerto or work for solo instrument and orchestra for which orchestra parts are readily available; and (3) bring a piano accompanist to the audition. To be eligible to win, contestants must be able to perform with the Prometheus Symphony on a specified concert date in January 2020. That date will be set when auditions are announced.
Where are they now?
We are faced with the challenge of naming just one of the gifted auditioners as our Competition Winner. Last season, the brilliant 16-year-old cellist Davis You was our winner, joining our panoply of amazing young artists. We proudly follow our past winners’ careers as leading musicians throughout the U.S. and in Europe. Click this link Previous Winners to read about Davis and all of our 29 years of winners.
