Winners of the 2010 competition were:
First Prize: Zachary Spontak Violin
Second Prize: Kate Liu Piano
Honorable Mention: Paul Feeny Clarinet
Zachary will perform with the Skokie Valley Symphony Orchestra at the opening concert of its 49th season on October 31, 2010 and Kate will perform at the second concert of the season on December 12, 2010. Short bios of the winners are below.
Judges for the final competition were: William Buchman (Chicago Symphony Orchestra’s assistant principal bassoon), conductor and violinist Pasquale Laurino, and Gene Pokorny (Chicago Symphony Orchestra’s principal tuba).
The competition was funded, in part, by the Daniel F. and Ada L. Rice Foundation and fees raised by the Association.
“We are pleased to be able to celebrate the hard work of these young artists and provide a forum for them in which to compete” stated Dr. Lee Malmed, President of the Association. “These young people join a distinguished list of past winners who have gone on to fine musical careers: Gary Stucka, the first winner of the competition and presently cellist in the CSO, Frank Rosenwein, principal oboe with the Cleveland Orchestra and Elisa Barston, principal second violin of the Seattle Symphony – to name a few.
The Skokie Valley Symphony Orchestra (SVSO) is a non-profit, community based orchestra founded in 1962. It performs at the North Shore Center for the Performing Arts in Skokie during its regular season of October through May of each year. The SVSO also performs a free concert for area school children in grades 3 through 5. Tickets for the season or individual performances are available through the North Shore Center’s box office, (847-673-6300).
BIOS OF THE WINNERS:
Zachary Spontak is a 17-year-old violinist from Fairbanks, Alaska. He studies with Almita and Roland Vamos through the Music Institute of Chicago, and is a composer in the Composer’s Lab instructed by Mischa Zupko. Zach is a violinist in the esteemed Quartet Danae, which was awarded a bronze medal at the 2009 International Fischoff Competition. For the past two years, he won the concertmaster position for Alaska All-State Honors Orchestra, and is a three-time winner of the Fairbanks Symphony Association’s Concerto Competition. He has played in masterclasses for Elisa Barston, Paul Rosenthal, Midori, Pamela Frank, Giora Schmidt, and David Kim. In January 2009, as a finalist, he won second prize in the Coeur D’Alene Symphony Concerto Competition. He has spent the past four summers in New York studying with some of the foremost violin teachers in the United States. He has performed recitals in Minneapolis, Chicago, Germany, and New York where he played in the stage of the prestigious Meadowmount School of Music. Zach has earned a black belt in Shudokan karate and enjoys running, reading, and composing in his spare time. Future plans include pursuing a career in music – violin performance and composition.
Born in Singapore, 15-year-old Kate Liu is a scholarship recipient and member of the Music Institute of Chicago’s Academy program for gifted pre-college musicians where she studies privately with MIC artist faculty member Mr. Alan Chow. She performed at the Young Steinway Concert Series in 2007. She won the state round of the 2007 and 2008 junior Baldwin MTNA and both the junior and senior divisions of the Chicago Steinway Competition. In the summer of 2008, she won honors in the International Institute of Young Musicians (IIYM) International Piano Competition, and near the end of 2008, Kate placed first in the junior division of the Confucius Fine Arts Society Competition. In November of 2008, she performed a duet with Lang Lang in two concerts at Symphony Center in Chicago, and had a master class with him. She also won the junior division of the Louisiana International Piano Competition in October of 2009. Kate is a sophomore at New Trier High School in Wilmette, IL. Aside from music, Kate enjoys drawing and reading books.
Paul Feeny is a native of Lake Oswego, Oregon, where he originally sought to study saxophone, but quickly found clarinet to be his passion. For the past 4 years, he has been studying at Lawrence University and will graduating this spring with a Bachelor of Music in Performance from the studio of David Bell. Having thoroughly enjoyed the Midwest, Paul will be continuing his studies at University of Michigan, where he will pursue a Master of Music in Performance.