concerto_2013.htm

The Concerto Competition
2013 Winners

Emily Bartz has been playing flute for seven years, four and a half of which she has participated in BYSO, often playing first flute or principal chair. She received A+’s (97-100) on all of her flute, piccolo, and piano NYSSMA solos throughout high school, as well as receiving second place in the Empire State Youth Competition, HS Division in Ithaca (2011) and Rochester (2012). She placed first in the HS division of STMTA’s spring competition in both 2011 and 2012, and was honored to perform a solo concerto accompanied by the Binghamton Community Orchestra in the following spring.

Emily enjoyed the New York State Summer Music Festival at SUNY Oneonta in summers 2011 and 2012, and was awarded a scholarship and principal chair in the Chamber Orchestra. She played flute and piccolo in the pit orchestras for the community musical My Fair Lady and the high school production of Beauty and the Beast, and also offers private flute lessons to several students. Outside of music, Emily has completed almost 30 college credits, played soccer, participated in several home school dramatic productions, enjoys art, and loves hanging out with friends. In college, she hopes to pursue music and academics. Emily is honored and excited to perform her duet concerto with BYSO this spring. She would like to especially thank Barry Peters, her flute teacher Nina Stutzman, her family (particularly her parents), and all her amazing friends for all of their musical inspiration, love, and support.

Brooke Bart is a senior at Maine Endwell Senior High School. She has played the flute for the past nine years, seven of them being with the Binghamton Youth Symphony. She has studied flute privately with Nina Stutzman since January of the fourth grade. At Maine Endwell she plays with the Symphonic Band, Wind Ensemble, and sings with the Mixed Chorus and Women’s Chorus. She also studies piano and voice privately with Pat Kriebal. She has been selected for numerous Broome All County Bands, Area All State Bands and Orchestra, principal flute for the 2011 All State Symphonic Band and first flute for the 2012 All State Orchestra. This year, she placed first in the high school winds division of the STMTA competition. Brooke also plays with the Binghamton Community Orchestra. Brooke attended the Music Horizons Summer Program at the Eastman School of Music in Rochester in the summers of 2011 and 2012.

For plans after graduation, Brooke recently received the honor of making it into the United States Marine Corps Band which is what she will be doing this coming fall. She would like to thank everyone who has helped her become who she is today as both a musician and a person. This includes Mr. Perfetti, who sparked her interest in flute, Mrs. Stutzman, who has helped her consistently improve and reach new goals, Ms. Hibbard and Ms. Kovacs, her middle school band teachers, Mr. Linaberry, her high school band director who has been encouraging and helpful throughout high school, Staff Sergeant Meyers, who presented the opportunity of joining the Marine Corps Band to her, and last but not least, her parents, who have always been supportive of her aspirations.

Alex Miller, 17, is a senior at Vestal High School. Music has been a part of his life for as long as he can remember, and he has been taking trumpet lessons under Barry Peters since he was in 6th grade. In addition to playing trumpet in his high school concert band, jazz band, and marching band, Alex plays violin in the Vestal school orchestra and sings tenor in the Vestal Voices. He also plays piano and sings tenor for the Vestal jazz choir.
Outside of school he participates in the Teen jazz Project and will be touring Europe for a second time this summer as the principal trumpet of the American Music Abroad Red Tour Concert Band. Alex has been a frequent participant in county

and regional honor bands and jazz bands throughout his high school career. Most recently, he was recognized as the Vestal High School recipient of the “Semper Fidelis” award for Musical Excellence.
Alex will be attending Ithaca College in the fall majoring in Music Education and Performance, and wants to thank all of his teachers and family for their support and encouragement over the years.

Miranda Werner, age thirteen, has been homeschooled all her life and decided that she wanted to play the violin when she was six. After asking her parents for a year, they let her begin lessons when she was seven years old with Mrs. Cynthia Gabriel, a Juilliard-trained musician. She has never regretted the decision because she has loved playing ever since. Miranda has participated in and received awards in a few competitions, including the BYSO Concerto Competition and the STMTA’s first Middle School Competition, for which she won first place in her category. She has also participated in the NYSSMA music festival for the past four years.

In the future, Miranda would like to attend Juilliard School of Music, continue to play in quartets and orchestras, and be a solo violin performer. Besides playing the violin, Miranda’s other favorite pastimes are writing, playing with her two cats, and reading.
Miranda would like to thank Mr. Peters for choosing challenging pieces that force her to practice at a higher level, teaching her how to play within an orchestra, and for being a good conductor. She would also like to thank the Binghamton Harmony Club for giving her the opportunity to perform. Miranda would like to thank her dad for always accompanying her at home, her sister for playing duets with her, and her mom for spending hours practicing with her and supporting her. Miranda feels lucky to have had Mrs. Gabriel as her teacher for the last six years because of all the funny stories she has told her, and for all the advice and encouragement she has given her. Finally, she would also like to thank Mr. Todd Snover-O’huigin for making her beautiful violin, for fixing all of the problems she has had with her violins over the years, and for always being encouraging.

Congratulations!

A Little History...

Years ago, the Binghamton Youth Symphony regularly invited guest soloists to play in their concerts. However, it became increasingly difficult to find good soloists at a cost the Youth Symphony could afford. Conductor Emeritus Bernard Shifrin and the Board of Directors concurred that our own musicians should be offered the opportunity to solo. So began the yearly audition process to select one or more talented musicians. Being selected as a soloist has been both a goal for our musicians to work toward, and a reward for their quality and dedication.

The Competition...

The Binghamton Youth Symphony conducts an annual competition to choose soloists to perform with the Symphony Orchestra at the annual Winter Concert held in January of each year. The soloists must be members of the Binghamton Youth Symphony Orchestra. The concerto soloists are chosen by audition in an annual competition held within several weeks of the beginning of rehearsals in September of every year. The musicians participating in the competition should have prepared a piece of music and have piano accompaniment for the audition. The piece should be suitable for use as a concerto solo with orchestral accompaniment. Musicians should bring an original copy of the score / part for the judges to use while listening to the audition.

Frequently Asked Questions...

I just joined the orchestra this year. Am I eligible to participate?

Yes. There is no minimum tenure requirement.

I am only in ninth grade. Can I audition?

Yes. There is no minimum age requirement.

The instrument that I play was used in a concerto last year. When will my instrument be eligible again?

There is no instrument rotation. The judges choose the musicians with the best performances on the day of the competition. Please audition when you are ready to perform.

I play multiple instruments. Can I audition on an instrument that I do not play in the Orchestra?

Yes. You do not have to audition on the instrument you play in the Orchestra.

How many judges are there?

Three, each with different expertise. We select judges who are unfamiliar with Orchestra students.