2019 Youth Concerto Winners | Clear Lake Symphony

The Clear Lake Symphony held a competition on Saturday, January 12, 2019 and Sunday, January 13, 2019 for young artists from Houston Metro area high schools, junior highs, and elementary schools. The Youth Concerto Competition winners will be provided with a scholarship and perform as a featured soloist with the Clear Lake Symphony at the Friday, March 22, 2019 concert at Gloria Dei Lutheran Church at 18220 Upper Bay Road, in Nassau Bay. A total of forty three (43) participants participated in this year’s competition.

Caroline Lawson (Flute) Winner, Junior Wind Division Carl Stamitz – Concerto in G Major, mvt 1. Caroline, age 14, is in the 8^thgrade at Westbury Christian School. She is the daughter of Curtis and Amy Lawson. She has studied the flute for three and a half years with Ema Armanious and Mike and Linda Smith. Outside of music, Caroline enjoys ballet, reading and is part of the Westbury Christian School robotics team.

Musical Achievements:

Region Band – 1^st chair Concert Band (2017), 1^st chair Symphonic Band (2018)
Superior rating in Denise-Jennings Solo Competition (2018)
Solo & Ensemble Superior rating (2016, 2017, 2018)

No Honorable Mention

Roberto Campa (Alto Saxophone) Winner, Senior Wind Division, Ibert – Concertino da Camera.

Roberto, age 18 in his senior year at Dobie High School, is the son of Leticia and Gilberto Campa. He has studied saxophone for 6 years under Can Gelok and Adam Blakey. Roberto’s hobbies are playing board games with friends, cooking, and reading. His ambitions are to get both music performance and education degrees with the hope of teaching at the collegiate level.

Musical Achievements:

1^st Chair 6A Alto Sax TMEA All-State (2017)
Runner-up Houston Underground Sax Competition (2017)
Member of the World Youth Wind Symphony (2019)

Honorable Mention: Jack McBurnett (bassoon), “Concerto for Bassoon & Strings, 1st mvt.” by Gordon Jacob. Music teacher: Jan Cutting

_____________________________________________________

Humphrey Xu (piano) Winner, Junior Piano Division Shostakovich – Piano Concerto No. 2, mvt 3
Humphrey, son of Hai Xu and Hong Xu, is an eighth grader at Memorial Middle School. He has studied piano since he was six years old with Dr. Matthew Loudermilk and Katarina Loudermilk. His other interests outside of music include tennis, programming, reading, and playing video games.

Musical Achievements:

Finalist for the TMTA State Performance Contest (2018)
2^nd Place at the HMTA Concerto Competition (2018)
Performed in winner’s recital of the Sonatina and Sonata competition in Carnegie Hall (2018)1^st Place with Honors at the Sonatina and Sonata Competition in Corpus Christi (2018)
Performed at the Hobby Center to celebrate International Music Academy’s 10^th anniversary (2017)
Finalist for the first Kawai SNG piano competition (2015)

No Honorable Mention

Randy Tan (piano) Winner, Senior Piano Division, Shostakovich – Piano Concerto No. 2, mvt 1.
Age 16 in 11^th grade at Clements High School, Randy is the son of Jiasen Tan and Kun Wang. He has studied piano for 10 years with John Weems, and violin for 9 years under Henry Rubin. Randy enjoys practicing both piano and violin, and hopes to further advance his musical career through college.

Musical Achievements:

HYAC (2018-2019)
TMTA State Convention finalist (2018)
TMEA All-State violinist

No Honorable Mention

_____________________________________________________

Timothy Feng (Violin) Winner, Junior String Division. Wieniawski – Concerto No. 2 in D minor, mvt. 1
Timothy is 14 years old, in the 9^th grade at Dulles High School. The son of Chen Feng and Karen Luu, he has studied the violin for five years with Yong Chun Li. Apart from playing the violin, Timothy enjoys reading science fiction, coding, and listening to music. He hopes to double major in computer science and music, continuing to bring joy to others with his playing.

Musical Achievements:

M.S. Region 13 Symphony Orchestra (2016, 2017, 2018)
H.S. Region 13 Symphony Orchestra (2018)
CLS Youth Concerto Competition Honorable Mention (2018)

Honorable Mention: Isaac Pan (violin), “Concerto in A minor, mvt 1.” by Accolay. Music teacher: Elizabeth Hope

Andres Ayerbe (Cello) Winner, Senior String Division, Shostakovich – Concerto in E-flat Major, mvt. 1
Andres is 16 years old and in the 11^th grade at Klein High school and is the son of Olga Moreno and Juan Ayerbe. He has studied the cello for 9 years, with Daniel Saenz and Creston Herron. Outside of music, Andres has interests in chemistry, math, and musical theatre. He hopes to be an engineer with a degree in music performance as well.

Musical Achievements:

Fort Bend Concerto Competition, 1^stPlace (2019)
TMEA All-State (2017, 2018, 2019)
HYS Concerto Competition Honorable Mention

Honorable Mention: Kevin Chan (violin), “Violin Concerto No. 2, mvt 1.” by Prokofiev. Music teacher: Lisa Shihoten

Honorable Mention: Lauren Mathews cello), “Concerto in D minor, mvt 1.” by Laio, Music teacher: Brinton Smith

Note: Honorable Mention will not be performing with the Symphony.

RETURN TO TOP OF PAGE

_____________________________________________________

Thank You Becky Merritt !

Many thanks go to Competition Coordinator, Becky Merritt, for her tireless work to put this competition and concert together. A big thank you also goes to their committee who helped during the competition and the judges on January 12, 2019 and January 13, 2019.
.A fine job was done by the competition Judges. This year's judges are the following: