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17th annual Young Artists Debut! Concerto Concert Competition

Concert will be April 12th, 2011 at the Newmark Theatre Located inside Antoinette Hatfield Hall, 7:30pm.

MetroArts Inc is holding the 17th annual Young Artists Debut! Concerto Concert Competition to promote the performance of classical music by young people in our region. Today through November 26, 2010, we are asking young classical instrumentalists and vocalists to enter our contest. Winners will be coached by Maestro Niel DePonte of the Oregon Ballet Theatre for three months, and perform at a gala concert on the Newmark Stage on April 12, 2011.

Download Application.
The postmark deadline for the application is November 26th, 2010

Meet the nine winning young artist concerto soloists for 2010. Bios to the right.

Valerie Ding of Portland, OR
Maria Shim of Corvallis, OR
J.J. Guo of Camas, WA
Joel Whang of Beaverton, OR
Joshua Melander of Portland, OR
Michael Kepler Meo of Portland, OR
Auna Selberg of Portland, OR
Kristin Qian of West Linn, OR
Yurie Farnsworth of Tigard, OR

Four other young musicians were chosen for a new program called The Emerging Artists, a collaboration with Oregon Ballet Theatre and Portland Opera. These musicians will perform chamber music on a joint concert by all three organizations on April 20th at 7:00 PM at the Newmark Theater. They are:

Midori Samson of Portland, OR is a 17 year old bassoonist and studies with Evan Kuhlman. Midori is a senior at Grant High School and will perform with Kevin Wang.

Kevin Wang of Happy Valley, OR is a 15 year old pianist and studies with Jean-David Coen. Kevin is a sophomore at Clackamas High School.

Michael Siess of Vancouver, WA is a 14 year old violinist and studies with Carol Sindell. Michael is a freshman at Skyview High School and will perform with Alex Zhu.

Alex Zhu of Portland, OR is a 14 year old pianist and studies with Kelli Stephens. Alex is a freshman at Westview High School.

After this year's competition, DePonte, who is also music director and conductor for Oregon Ballet Theatre and who has been nominated for a Grammy Award as a concerto soloist himself said, “This year, we not only chose nine concerto soloists, but were also able to select four other artists to appear at a new concert for emerging artists to be announced soon! This is a banner year for MetroArts as we reach out to more aspiring musicians and have them interface with and perform for not only the general public, but also school children for whom they can act as role models, demonstrating the value of dedication and hard work.”

Meet the 2010 Winners of the 16th Annual Young Artist Debut! Competition

Valerie Ding of Portland, OR is a 12-year-old pianist and studies with Dorothy Fahlman. Valerie is a 7th grader at Summa Academy at Meadow Park Middle School and will perform the first movement of Beethoven’s Concerto for Piano, no. 2, op. 19, in Bb Major.

Maria Shim of Corvallis, OR is a 15-year-old cellist and studies with Steven Pologe. Maria is a sophomore at Corvallis High School and will perform the fourth movement of Elgar’s Concerto for Cello, op. 85, in E minor.

J.J. Guo of Camas, WA is a 13-year-old pianist and studies with Dorothy Fahlman. J.J. is a 7th grader at Camas Skyridge Middle School and will perform the first movement of Mozart’s Concerto for Piano, no.13, K.415 (387b), in C Major.

Joel Whang of Beaverton, OR is a 14-year-old pianist and studies with Dorothy Fahlman. Joel is a freshman at Southridge High School and will perform the first movement of Prokofiev’s Concerto for Piano, no. 3, op. 26, in C Major.

Joshua Melander of Portland, OR is a 17-year-old violinist and studies with Kathryn Gray. This is Joshua’s second appearance at the Young Artists Debut! Concert having performed previously at the 2007 concert. Joshua is a senior at Grant High School and will perform the first movement of Prokofiev’s Concerto for Violin, no. 2, op. 63, in G minor.

Michael Kepler Meo of Portland, OR is an 11-year-old treble vocalist who performs with David York’s Portland Boychoir and is currently performing with the Houston Grand Opera in the role of Miles in “The Turn of the Screw.” Mike is a home schooled 5th grader and will sing a solo yet to be announced.

Auna Selberg of Beaverton, OR is an 18 year old harpist and studies with Jennifer Ironsides and Rita Costanzi. Auna is home schooled and will perform Marcel Samuel-Rousseau’s Variations Patorales sur un vieux Noel.

Kristin Qian of West Linn, OR is a 12-year-old violinist and studies with Carol Sindell. Kristin is an 8th grader at Oregon Episcopal School and will perform the first movement of Mozart’s Concerto for Violin, no. 5, K.219, in A Major, (Turkish).

Yurie Farnsworth of Tigard, OR is a 15-year-old pianist and studies with Dr. Julia Hwakyu Lee. Yurie is a sophomore at Tualatin High School and will perform the third movement of Grieg’s Concerto for Piano, op. 16, in A minor.