Results of the 7th Toronto Sinfonietta Concerto Competition 2012/2013
The Jury of Toronto Sinfonietta Concerto Competition, composed of prominent educators, musicians, soloists and members of Toronto Sinfonietta, auditioned 29 competitors on December 16, 2012.
Jury of the Seventh Toronto Sinfonietta Concerto Competition
Alexander Kats, pianist, teacher
Lydia Wong, pianist, member, Faculty of Music, University of Toronto Professor
Annalee Patipatanakoon, violin, University of Toronto Professor
Janusz Borowiec, first cello, Toronto Sinfonietta, teacher
Milan Brunner, first flute, Toronto Sinfonietta, teacher
Matthew Jaskiewicz, Music Director, Toronto Sinfonietta
Our selection criteria included not just technical precision and skill, but the interpretation and emotional expressiveness of the performance. Our jurors were given a difficult task, and after much deliberation, we are very pleased to announce the winners of our competition:
Woodwinds, under 19 years
Winners (ex aequo):
– Minah Lee, flute – Carl Philipp Emanuel Bach, Flute Concerto in D minor, 3rd movement
– Emerald Sun, clarinet – Wolfgang Amadeus Mozart, Clarinet Concerto in A major, 1st movement
Violin, under 16 years
Winner
– Joanna Gorska – Henryk Wieniawski, Violin Concerto #2 in D minor, Op. 22, 1st movement
Runner Up
– Julia Pandolfo – Niccolò Paganini, Violin Concerto #1 in D major, Op. 6, 1st movement
Violin 16 - 19 years
Winner
– Sophia Anna Szokolay – Peter Ilyich Tchaikowsky, Violin Concerto in D major, 1st movement
Runner Up
– Ji Soo Choi – Ernest Chausson, Poème, Op. 25
Cello, under 19 years
Winner
– Jacqueline Rogers – Joseph Haydn, Cello Concerto in D major, 1st movement
Runner Up
– Joanne Yesol Choi – Victor Herbert, Cello Concerto #2 in E minor, Op. 30, 1st movement
Piano under 16 years
Winner
– Jerry (Xue Hao) Chen – Sergei Rachmaninoff, Piano Concerto #2, 1st movement
Runner Up
– Marko Pejanovic – Ludwig van Beethoven, Piano Concerto #3 in C minor, Op. 37, 1st movement
Piano 16 - 19 years
Winner
– Vicky (Jui-Chi) Kuo – Edvard Grieg – Piano Concerto in A minor, Op. 16, 1st movement
Runner Up
– Hannah Shen – Franz Liszt – Piano Concerto #1
Gala Concert of the Winners
All seven winners will perform with the Toronto Sinfonietta at our Gala Concert on February 23, 2013 at St Michael College School, Center for the Arts, 1515 Bathurst St, Toronto.
Matthew Jaskiewicz, Toronto Sinfonietta Music Director is also inviting the runner ups to participate in the concert. They will perform a solo work, some of them may play with the orchestra.
All of you – musicians, teachers, and parents – are invited to attend this concert. We will present the competition awards at that time, and all those who took part in the competition will receive Certificates of Participation.
We wish to express our sincere appreciation to all the teachers and parents. We know that you came with high hopes for your children and students, and you have our admiration and respect for working so hard to help them aspire to such high artistic standards.
Many thanks also to our committee and volunteers for putting on the competition. We also wish to thank RBC Foundation, Hampton Securities, Jason Wang for generously sponsoring our gala.
The Toronto Sinfonietta is committed to giving young musicians the chance to perform in public with a professional orchestra, and we hope that you will continue to work with us toward this goal. We invite you to participate in future events, and we welcome your comments on how we can make the Toronto Sinfonietta Concerto Competition even better.
Once again, our sincere thanks to everyone for making this year’s competition a great success.
Sincerely yours,
Vera Mraz, Toronto Sinfonietta President
Matthew Jaskiewicz, Music Director
Hoan Nguyen-Quang, Competition Secretary