Students in West Virginia University’s School of Music will compete for solo spots and cash prizes at the annual Young Artist Competition on Saturday, Jan. 16.

Twenty-one students will audition between 9 a.m. and 3 p.m. in Bloch Learning and Performance Hall, 200A Creative Arts Center. Adjudicators will take a lunch break from 11:24 a.m. to 12:12 p.m.

“The purpose of the competition is to afford outstanding students in the School of Music the opportunity to compete for an appearance as a soloist with a large instrumental organization such as an orchestra or band,” said Keith Jackson, director of the School of Music. “Those selected will get that rarest of opportunities, being a featured soloist with a major ensemble in front of a live audience. For many it is a once in a lifetime occurrence and in the School of Music we realize it is a time to feature our most talented students.”

The competition is limited to full-time junior or senior music majors or full-time graduate students in music. Judges represent the School’s varied programs, including voice, keyboard, strings, woodwinds, brass-percussion, music education, music history, and musicology.

This year’s roster of competitors includes bassoonists, flutists, trumpeters, violists, pianists, voice students, and more. The competition is free and open to the public.

The winning students will receive a solo appearance at the annual Young Artists’ Concert Wednesday, March 16.

“As a result of WVU’s yearlong celebration of the 50th anniversary of the National Endowment for the Arts and National Endowment for the Humanities, there will be cash prizes for the winning students,” Jackson added. The prizes will be funded by the Office of the Provost.

-WVU-

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CONTACT: David Welsh, WVU College of Creative Arts
304-293-3397; David.Welsh@mail.wvu.edu

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