Lansing Symphony Orchestra (LSO) held their annual Youth Competition on Saturday, May 7 from 2 p.m. to 5 p.m. at Lansing Community College’s Dart Auditorium. This annual competition is open to student instrumentalists, grades 9 through 12. Students travel from all over Michigan to compete for the first place title, resulting in a cash prize and personalized comments from professional musicians. Winner of the 2016 competition was pianist Catherina Lu from Northville, performing “Concerto in D Minor Op. 40” by Mendelssohn.
The competition requires that students perform a selection from a composition available for orchestra and solo instrument. First through third place winners receive a cash prize and trophy. The panel of judges, which is comprised of LSO musicians, provide the students with valuable feedback on their competition piece. This year the LSO judges were oboist Gretchen Morse, violinist Lauren Hansen and bass trombonist Bryan Pokorney.
Competition Winners:
1st Place: Catherina Lu, Piano – Northville High School – Daughter of Sandy Shi & Jianbo Lu,
Teacher – Catherine Rollin, City – Northville, Age – 15, Grade – 9
2nd Place: Katie Sesi, Violin – Ann Arbor Huron High School – Daughter of Joe & Yvonne Sesi,
Teacher – Timothy Krohn & Judy Blank, City – Ann Arbor, Age – 15, Grade – 10
3rd Place: Gucci Fan, Violin – Okemos High School – Daughter of Yu Qiu & Xudong Fan, Teacher – Joel Schut & Tigran Shiganyan, City – Okemos, Age – 17, Grade – 12
