Community Orchestra conducting concerto/aria contest

MIDDLETOWN — From now through Dec. 6, the SUNY Orange Community Orchestra will be accepting applications for the ensemble’s 12th annual Concerto/Aria Competition, which provides a solo opportunity for talented young local musicians and vocalists from within Orange County.

Winners selected from this year’s applicant pool will perform with the orchestra during its annual winter concert scheduled for 7:30 p.m., Saturday, Feb. 22, 2014 in Middletown’s historic Paramount Theatre.

SUNY Orange students, as well as Orange County high school students, are invited to enter the contest.

Auditions Jan. 11
A panel comprised of music faculty from SUNY Orange, as well as professional musicians from the Hudson Valley, will judge auditions for the instrumentalists and vocalists in the College’s Orange Hall Theatre from 9 a.m. to 1 p.m., Saturday, Jan. 11, 2014.

Apply by Dec. 6
The application deadline is Dec. 6.

Interested musicians may acquire applications and information from their high school band, orchestra or chorus teacher, by contacting the College’s Arts and Communication Department at 845-341-4787, or via e-mail from Dr. Hilarie Clark Moore, SUNY Orange Community Orchestra conductor (hilarie.moore@sunyorange.edu).

Instrumentalists may perform a single movement from a concerto or multiple movements. Vocalists may prepare an aria or multiple arias. The length of the performance piece should be approximately 10 to 20 minutes.

Music composed by the 1850s will be accepted as long as it has a published and available orchestral accompaniment. Literature composed after the 1850s will also be considered, but needs prior approval by Moore.

Applicants are expected to provide their own accompanist.

Previous winners
Last year, winner Julia Rupp, who at the time was a senior at Warwick Valley High School, performed Camille Saint-Saëns’ “Cello Concerto No. 1 in A Minor, Op. 33.”

Other past winners of the contest include:

Sarah Tusch
Valentina Ponochovnaya

George Courtsunis
Radhika Shah
Lucie Jaronowski

Tim Takagi
Clare Herceg
Emily Moore

Rachel Conklin
James Rose
Stephen Gorgone

Justin Randolph
Kaitlyn Mesic
Erica Moore

Ashley Heilweil
Audrey Zybura
Eric Bjorkman

Michael Kolb