Looking for a new leader
The Coeur d’Alene Symphony will present, as part of its year-long conductor search, its fourth artistic director candidate, Jorge Luis Uzcategui, who will conduct the winners of the symphony’s National Young Artist Competition.
The seven winners of the annual competition, that attracts young musicians from throughout the U.S., will perform a concert Friday, March 16 at 7:30 p.m. and Saturday, March 17 at 2 p.m. at the Salvation Army Kroc Center, 1765 Golf Course Road, Coeur d’Alene.
Uzcátegui, who was born in Venezuela, is the assistant conductor of the Spokane Symphony, chief conductor of the Seraphim Symphony and music director of Buddha’s Light Youth Symphony Orchestras. He led the Seraphim Symphony during its 2014 and 2017 concert tours in France, its 2016 concert tour in Austria and Germany, and will lead Seraphim Symphony in its 2018 concert tour to Italy. Uzcátegui also led Buddha’s Light Youth Symphony Orchestra’s 2016 concert tour in Taiwan and will lead them in their 2019 concert tour to Europe. He is also music director of Music Innovates, a collaboration between the Spokane Symphony and Spokane Public Schools designed to change kids’ lives through music.
The 2018 National Young Artists Competition took place in January at Whitworth University, with seven winners in six different categories. The performers all went through a rigorous audition process and went to Whitworth for the finals, where they performed for a panel of judges in their division. The High School Division had two 15-year-old first-place winners: Jenna Tu, piano from Vancouver; and Tabitha Mason, violin from Seattle. They will be playing Rachmaninoff Piano Concerto No. 2 (Allegro Scherzando) and Vieuxtemps Violin Concerto No. 5 (Adagio and Allegro con Fuoco) respectively.
The college division winners are Cornelia Sommer, bassoon from the Julliard School playing the Mozart Bassoon Concerto; Chris Gokelman, viola from Oberlin Conservatory playing the first movement of Bartok’s Concerto for Viola; Inyoung Kim, piano from Cincinnati Conservatory playing the first movement of the Grieg Piano Concerto; and Rebecca Parkinson, mezzo soprano from Southern Utah University performing Smanie Implacabili from Mozart’s “Cosi fan tutte” and Va! Lesse couler mes larmes from Massenet’s “Werther.”
The professional vocal division winner, Colleen Cole will be performing Bizet’s Je dis que rien ne m’épouvante from “Carmen” and Marietta’s Lied from Korngold’s “Die Tote Stadt”.
Ticket prices are $20/adults, $15/65-plus, $10/youth and students with ID.
Tickets are available from the Symphony Office or at www.cdasymphony.org
For information call the office at 208-765-3833.