National Philharmonic Announces Concerto Competition Winners, Soloists to Perform at Strathmore This Month (PHOTO)

The National Philharmonic recently sponsored a concerto competition for high school musicians.

The winners are:  saxophonist Jacob Tycko, clarinetist Jason Hong, cellist Mairead Flory, and violinist Julia Angelov.

Each of the winners will appear at the Music Center at Strathmore with the National Philharmonic, conducted by Music Director and Conductor Piotr Gajewski, in two of the eight performances (at 10:45 am and 12:25 pm) for nearly 15,000 second grade students from Montgomery County Public Schools (MCPS) on November 15 – 18.

Saxophonist Jacob Tycko will perform the first movement of Jacques Ibert’s Concertino da Camera pour Saxophone Alto et Onze Instruments at the concerts on Nov. 15. Tycko is a senior in the APEX Scholars program at Walter Johnson High School, where he is a member of the Walter Johnson Jazz Ensemble. He studies classical alto saxophone with Jason McFeaters, who has been his teacher since 2009. Tycko has been selected for all-county and all-state bands for the past five years. He played in the Young Artists Wind Ensemble and saxophone quartet of the Boston University Tanglewood Institute in the summer of 2015. He has also participated in saxophone workshops at the Interlochen Center for the Arts in 2015 and 2016. In addition to his musical activities, he is a captain of the Walter Johnson High School Debate Team.

Clarinetist Jason Hong, also a winner of the 2015 Philharmonic Concerto Competition, will perform the first movement of Carl Nielson’s Clarinet Concerto, Op. 57 at the concerts on Nov. 16. Hong, who lives in Maryland, has studied clarinet for a total of nine years. He made his solo debut at the Kennedy Center as a winner of the Asian American Music Society’s International Competition at the age of 10. He made his orchestral debut with the National Philharmonic and the Londontowne Symphony Orchestra at age 15. He has been the recipient of many awards including the finalist of the Navy Band Concerto Competition, the Music Teacher’s National Association, the Duquesne Young Artist National Competition, and the Grand prize for the Korean Concert Society Competition. Hong has performed as a principal clarinetist with the American Youth Philharmonic Orchestra, Maryland Classic Youth Orchestra and the Maryland All-State band and orchestra. Aside from music, he likes to participate in his school mock trial team at Richard Montgomery High School in the International Baccalaureate magnet program.

Mairead Flory, a homeschooled 12th grader from Virginia, will perform the first movement of Dmitir Shostakovich’s Cello Concerto No. 1in E-flat Major, Op. 107 at the concerts on Nov. 17. Flory, 17, started the cello when she was 4-years-old. She has won first prize in the Feuer Memorial String Competition, the Gaithersburg Young Artist Award, the Piedmont Symphony Competition, the Richmond Symphony Competition and the Gretchen Hood Competition. She has soloed with the Piedmont and Richmond Symphony Orchestras. She is also a regular performer for the Friday Morning Music Club. Flory studies with Hans Jorgen Jensen.

Violinist Julia Angelov, who attends the National Cathedral School, will perform the 3rd movement of Pyotr Tchaikovsky’s Concerto in D Major, Op. 35 at the concerts on Nov. 18. Angelov, who is 15-years-old, studies with National Symphony Orchestra concert master Nurit Bar-Josef and Olga Khroulevitch. She is a fellow at the National Symphony Orchestra (NSO) Youth Fellowship Program and is the Milka Violin Scholar by the Markow-Totevy Foundation from 2015-2016. She has won numerous competitions, including the Music Teachers National Association (MTNA) Junior Strings Competition National Finals sponsored by the Yamaha Corporations of America, which were held in San Antonio, Texas. In the summer of 2015, Angelov was invited by the International Spivakov Foundation to perform in two venues in Moscow: the Alexander Shilov Art Gallery and the Beethoven Hall at the Bolshoi Theatre. This summer, she traveled to Russia to perform as soloist for a concert tour with the Kostroma Symphony Orchestra.

The November 15-18 student concerts are co-presented by MCPS, the National Philharmonic and the Music Center at Strathmore. Many of the students experience classical music for the very first time at these performances.

Students will also learn about the four families of instruments that make up the orchestra through these multimedia concerts. The concerts include video and images of instruments projected onto a large screen as the music is performed.

About Staff Writer

View all posts by Staff Writer