MUSIC

The Houston Symphony League hosts the 2010 Ima Hogg Young Artist Competition Thursday, June 3 and Saturday, June 5, in Stude Concert Hall on the Rice University campus.

Since 1976, the Houston Symphony has offered the opportunity for aspiring musicians to compete for cash awards and solo appearances with the Houston Symphony through the Ima Hogg Young Artist Competition. The prestigious competition is open to musicians ages 16-29 and is one of few competitions that include all standard orchestral instruments. Inspired by the vision of Miss Ima Hogg, a founder of the Houston Symphony, the competition fosters talent through identifying excellence in young musicians who are pursuing a musical career.

The 2010 event will take place at Stude Concert Hall at the Shepherd School of Music at Rice University. For the semifinal round on Thursday, June 3, approximately 10 musicians will each perform 2 concertos with piano accompaniment. The semifinal round is free and open to the public. At its conclusion, four finalists are selected to perform one concerto with the Houston Symphony on Saturday, June 5, at 7 pm. Come to Rice in June to see tomorrow's stars in-the-making.

2010 Semi-Finalists:

Dmitri Atapine, from Spain, graduated from Yale School of Music and is currently pursuing his DMA there. He won the Carlos Prieto Cello Competition and took top prize at the Spanish National Cello Competition. He has appeared as soloist and in string quartets and chamber orchestras in recitals and festivals throughout the world.

Bronwyn Banerdt, cello, graduated from the University of Southern California and is currently enrolled at The Curtis Institute of Music. She has won several grand prizes in competitions across the country, and soloed with a number of symphonies, including the Los Angeles Philharmonic in 2002.

Mary Bowden is a graduate of The Curtis Institute of Music and Yale School of Music. She is currently a member of the Richmond Symphony and on the trumpet faculty at Virginia Commonwealth University. Miss Bowden has performed numerous recitals and soloed with several orchestras, and won the Public Prize at the 2009 Perre
noud Foundation Competition.

Clarinetist Stanislav Golovin attended Interlochen Arts Academy and graduated from the Cleveland Institute of Music. He is now working on his MM at the Cleveland Institute. He won 1st Prize at the Darius Milhaud, Cleveland Institute, and Tuesday Musical Club Competitions, and at the National Woodwind Competition in his native Uzbekistan.

Elias Goldstein is in the second year of his DMA in viola at the University of Wisconsin after having received BM and MM degrees at DePaul University. He has performed recitals and with orchestras in Russia, Norway, Korea, Australia, Mexico, England, and the US, and is currently a member of the Advent Chamber Orchestra.

Esther Kim currently studies at the Jacobs School of Music at Indiana University, having graduated from Juilliard and the University of Vienna. She has participated in many violin competitions here and abroad, and has performed with orchestras in Japan, Korea, Germany, and the United States.

Angela Park graduated from The Curtis Institute of Music and now attends the New England Conservatory. A cellist, she has won an array of awards and competitions, and has performed in many recitals in the US, Austria, and Korea. She has appeared in solo performances with the Philadelphia Orchestra, the NEC Chamber Orchestra, and the Seoul Philharmonic, to name a few..

Pianist Sun-A Park is a MM candidate at The Juilliard School. She attended the Juilliard Pre-College Division and received her BM there as well. She has performed at Lincoln Center, Carnegie Hall, and Steinway Hall, among others, as well as in South Korea. She has appeared as guest artist with orchestras in New Jersey, New York, and Colorado.

Russian-American pianist Konstantin Soukhovetski received BM, MM, and AD degrees from The Juilliard School. He has won multiple awards in competitions and festivals and recently completed a 7-concert tour of South Africa. He has performed as soloist and guest artist at famous venues on several continents.

Cellist Matthew Zalkind earned his BM from Juilliard and will receive his MM from there this year. He won 1st prize in the Juilliard competition in 2009, among other awards, and had solo performances with the Juilliard Symphony, Utah Symphony, Music Academy Festival Orchestra, and at the Tongyeong International Music Festival in South Korea.

Click here for the Ima Hogg Competition repertoire.