Announcing the 2023 winners!

Daniel García
Clarinet
Student of Dr. Anthony Taylor and Dr. Andy Hudson
Honduran clarinetist and composer Daniel Garcia began his musical study at the age of 11 at the National Music School of Honduras. He has performed with orchestras in Latin America and the US, and in 2022 joined North Carolina’s Western Piedmont Symphony as 2nd Clarinet. Daniel won the 2015 MasterWorks Festival Concerto Competition and made his Carnegie Hall debut in 2021 as First Prize winner of the Golden Classical Music awards. He has won other top prizes in the Charleston International Music Competition, the BTHVN Wien Competition, and the UNCG Student Artist Competition. Daniel’s compositional voice takes a tonal approach, with melody as the main pillar and it is influenced by modernism and some of the most known composers of the twentieth century. His works have been performed by Susan Hoskins, Jorge Diez & Ryan Johnson among others. Daniel is currently a Graduate Teaching Assistant and MM Candidate at UNC Greensboro, where he studies clarinet with Andy Hudson and Anthony Taylor and composition with Alejandro Rutty and Mark Engebretson. He previously earned his BM in Clarinet Performance from Columbus State University in 2022, where he was a Woodruff Scholar and studied clarinet with Lisa Oberlander and composition with James Ogburn.

Tyler Reece
Double Bass
Student of Prof. Craig Brown
About the Competition
The UNCG School of Music Student Artist Competition provides an annual forum for exceptional student performers to audition for the opportunity to appear in concert with the University Symphony Orchestra. Preliminary rounds typically take place in December, with a final round in January that awards performances on concerts scheduled between the following spring and fall semesters. Two students are normally selected for this honor.
Auditioning
The competition will occur in two rounds:
- A Preliminary Round, scheduled and administered by performance area (keyboard, voice, woodwind, brass, percussion, and string). Students should talk to their studio teacher and/or area coordinator about specific area requirements.
- A Final Round, administered by the area of conducting and ensembles, on January 17, 2023 beginning at 5:30 p.m. in Tew Recital Hall. Up to 15 total auditionees, selected during preliminaries, will advance to perform in the final round. The finals are open to the public.
COMPETITION PHILOSOPHY AND FORMAT
The philosophy of the Student Artist Competition is:
- To offer students the opportunity to appear as soloists with orchestra in the performance of full or partial concerti, arias and other short works on regularly scheduled concerts of the University Symphony Orchestra.
- To present outstanding School of Music students to the public.
The competition will occur in two rounds:
- The Preliminary Round, scheduled and administered by the keyboard, woodwind, voice, brass and percussion, and strings areas. Students should talk to their studio teacher and/or area coordinator about specific area requirements.
- The Final Round, on January 17, 2023, beginning at 5:30 p.m. Up to 15 total auditionees, selected during the preliminary round, will advance to perform in the finals.
PRELIMINARY ROUND
- Scheduled by individual areas (keyboard, voice, woodwind, brass/percussion, string), must be completed no later than December 9, 2022.
- Memorization is at the discretion of each individual area.
- Performance proficiency requirement is at the discretion of each individual area.
- No more that 3 students from any area will be advanced to the finals.
3 Keyboard 3 Voice
3 Woodwind 3 Brass and Percussion 3 Strings
- The format for the preliminary round and criteria for advancing students to the final round is at the discretion of each individual area.
- Each area will independently determine if they desire a balance between graduate and undergraduate representatives in the final round.
FINAL ROUND
- Tuesday, January 17, 2023, beginning at 5:30 p.m. in Tew Recital Hall
- Advertised and open to the public
- Students will perform for up to 15 minutes in order to present complete works or movements, or samples of multiple movements.
- Limited to a total of 15 participating students, representing their respective areas.
FINAL ROUND GUIDELINES, RULES, AND INFORMATION
- The audition order will be determined at random, so finalists must be available for the entire block of time. Exceptions may be made due to extenuating circumstances. Special requests for times must be communicated to the conductor by the application deadline.
- If available in the UNCG music library, an orchestral score should be provided.
- Each performer and accompanist should report to the audition site at least 15 minutes prior to the scheduled audition time. Performers should dress appropriately.
- If a soloist or accompanist is late the audition will be cancelled and the next performer will be called. Rescheduling the audition is at the discretion of the audition committee.
- If the chosen work is longer than the audition time allows, the finalist may select to perform a portion of the work as a whole, or excerpts from the entire piece.
- Vocalists may choose repertoire from either literature designed for concert performance with orchestra, or operatic arias. Selection of repertoire should be done in consultation with the studio professor.
- A soloist may win a performing slot only once during his/her career at UNCG.
- An impartial committee will serve as adjudicators. The conductor of the University Symphony Orchestra will serve as an advisor to the committee.
REPERTOIRE SELECTION
Questions about the viability of repertoire choices must be brought to the conductor in advance of the preliminary round. If a student wins a performance slot with a piece that is impractical for the orchestra to perform, or that has been performed by the orchestra within the past 3 years, he/she may be asked to perform an alternate work. Due to programming considerations, winners may be asked to perform more or less of a given work (i.e. one movement of a multi-movement work). Pieces may not be more than 20 minutes in duration. The conductor of the work may or may not be the faculty conductor of the orchestra. The conductor, in consultation with the student and studio teacher, will make final programming decisions.
PERFORMANCE SCHEDULING
A total of two winners will be selected from the Final Round. In an effort to maximize the educational experience for students enrolled in the Orchestra and competition winners, one performance will be scheduled for April 2022 and the other during Fall 2022. Graduating students will be given scheduling preference for the April concert.
ORCHESTRA REHEARSALS
Monday/Wednesday: 2:00–3:40 p.m., Room 111
APRIL CONCERT
Dress rehearsal: April 24, 2:00–3:40 p.m.
Concert: April 24, 7:30 p.m., UNCG Auditorium
2022
Lucas Gianini, clarinet
Zare – Bennu’s Fire
Student of Drs. Anthony Taylor and Andy Hudson
Clare Griffin, soprano
Handel – “Da tempeste il legno infranto” from Giulio Cesare
Student of Dr. Carla LeFevre
Kyrese Washington
Nielsen – Concerto for Flute and Orchestra, FS 119
Student of Dr. Erika Boysen
2020
Suzanne Polak, piano
Shostakovich – Piano Concerto No. 2 in F Major, op. 102
Student of Dr. James Douglass
Sydney Scherer, flute
Daugherty – Trail of Tears
Student of Dr. Erika Boysen
2019
Lilla Keith, sropano
Debussy – “Azaël! Azaël! Pourquoi m’as-tu quitte” from L’enfant prodigue
Student of Dr. Carla LeFevre
Akiko Yamazaki, piano
Saint-Saëns – Piano Concerto No. 2 in G minor, Op. 22
Student of Dr. John Salmon
2018
Alex Whitehead, clarinet
Debussy – Premiere Rhapsodie
Student of Dr. Anthony Taylor
Jacob Warren, saxophone
Creston – Concerto for Alto Saxophone
Student of Dr. Steven Stusek
2017
Ekin Ustunel, piano (MM)
Rachmaninoff – Piano Concerto No. 2 in C minor, mvt. 1
Student of Dr. Andrew Willis
Isaac Pyatt, marimba (junior)
Abe – Prism Rhapsody
Student of Dr. Eric Willie
2016
Elena Flores, soprano (MM)
Grand Prize Winner
Donizetti – “O Luce di Quest’anima” from Linda di Chamoanix
Student of Prof. Clara O’Brien
Emily Loboda, saxophone (DMA)
Creston – Concerto for Alto Saxophone
Student of Dr. Steven Stusek
Colin McDearman, piano (MM)
Mendelssohn – Capriccio Brillant
Student of Dr. Andrew Willis
2015
Kelsey Paquin, clarinet (MM)
Grand Prize Winner
McAllister – Black Dog
Student of Dr. Anthony Taylor and Dr. Kelly Burke
Lydia Pion, soprano (senior)
Dvorák – “Song to the Moon” from Rusalka
Student of Clara O’Brien
Mengfei Xu, piano (DMA)
Rachmaninoff – Rhapsody on a Theme by Paganini
Student of Dr. Andrew Willis
2014
William Hueholt, piano (sophomore)
Grand Prize Winner
Prokofiev – Piano Concerto No. 2 in G minor, op. 16
Student of Dr. Joseph DiPiazza
Justin Worley, tuba (DMA)
Strauss – Concerto No. 1 in E-flat, op. 11
Student of Dr. Dennis AsKew
Jessica Johnson, mezzo-soprano (MM)
Ravel – “Asie” from Shéhérazade
Student of Dr. Robert Bracey
2013
Mark Cramer, clarinet (DMA)
Grand Prize Winner
Debussy – Premiere Rhapsodie
student of Dr. Anthony Taylor
Jeremy Harris, piano (senior)
Rachmaninoff – Piano Concerto No. 2 in C minor, Mvt. I
Student of Dr. John Salmon
Jourdan Laine Howell, soprano (MM)
Weber – “Eist traumte menier sel’gen Base” from Der Freischutz
student of Dr. Robert Wells
2012
Anna Darnell, clarinet (junior)
Grand Prize Winner
Ticheli – Clarinet Concerto
Student of Dr. Anthony Taylor
Xin Gao, saxophone (DMA)
Peck – The Upward Stream
Student of Dr. Steven Stusek
Ryan Silvestri, violin (MM)
Tchaikovsky – Violin Concerto
Student of Prof. Marjorie Bagley
2011
Jason Wallace, saxophone (DMA)
Grand Prize Winner
Williams – Escapades for Saxophone and Orchestra
Student of Dr. Steven Stusek
Michelle Ayres, soprano (DMA)
Beethoven – “Ah! Perfido”
Student of Prof. Clara O’Brien
Stephanie Greco, violin (MM)
Shostakovich – Violin Concerto
Student of Prof. Marjorie Bagley
2010
Wei Jiao, piano – (DMA)
Grand Prize Winner
Tchaikovsky – Piano Concerto No. 1
Student of Dr. Andrew Willis
Joann Martinson, soprano (MM)
Bernstein – “Glitter and Be Gay” from Candide
Student of Dr. Robert Bracey
Julie Smith, flute (MM)
Nielsen – Flute Concerto
Student of Dr. Deborah Egekvist
Cicilia Yudha, piano (DMA)
Ravel – Piano Concerto in G
Student of Dr. John Salmon