43rd Annual Young Artists Competition (YAC)
Piano and Winds, Brass & Percussion
Saturday January 29, 2011 at Whittier College, Whittier, CA
Michelle Tseng, 42nd Annual YAC Strings Category Winner
The contest is limited to the first 25 eligible students. Musicians through age 26 at the time of the competition are eligible. All contestants must be either California residents or out-of-state students attending a California university, college or school or studying with a private California music teacher.
Contestants must prepare a full concerto or concert piece with orchestral accompaniment and a solo piece of contrasting style. Selections are to be performed from memory unless prior arrangements are made with the Young Artists Competition chairman.
Applicants must provide their own accompanist and bring original scores of their music for the judges.
Categories for the 2011 contest will be pianists and wind, brass & percussion players. Entry fee is $50 and you may fill out the Young Artists Competition Application here on our website. The application deadine is January 7, 2011.
The two top winners will perform as soloists at the orchestra’s final concert April 10, 2011. Each will also receive a $1,000 cash prize.
Musicians placing second in each category will receive $500 cash prizes.
For more information, please call Robert Orpin at (972) 939-1970. You can also email him at rorpin@verizon.net.
Winners of the 42nd Annual YAC!
Jacquelynne Fontaine, 42nd Annual YAC Vocal Category Winner
Two talented young musicians, a violinist and a soprano, were the winners of the Rio Hondo Symphony Association’s 42nd Young Artists Competition held February 6, 2010, at Whittier College.
Taking top honors among the strings was 18-year-old violinist Michelle Tseng from Huntington Beach. Jacquelynne Fontaine, 27-year-old soprano from Los Angeles placed first in the vocal division.
Michelle Tseng, 18-year-old violinist from Huntington Beach, placed first among the string contestants in the Young Artists Competition. Currently she is studying on a full scholarship with Professor Alice Schoenfeld at USC's Thornton School of Music.
In 2009 Tseng won the prestigious Spotlight Award at the Los Angeles Music Center where her passionate performance was enthusiastically received. In 2008 she won the concerto competition of the Orange County High School of the Arts. That year she also performed in Sydney, Australia as a soloist with the Orange County High School Symphony Orchestra.
Tseng was the featured soloist at the opening concert of the Torrance Symphony in 2008. During the summer the charismatic Tseng performed at the Killington Music Festival. Some performances were broadcast on Vermont radio and TV stations. The young violinist also won the string competition of the Greater Los Angeles ASTA string competition and was selected to compete nationally.
Tseng has received scholarships from the Fe Bland Foundation, the Cerritos Performing Arts Center and the Orange County Performing Arts Center. The latter named her "Tomorrow's Star."
This summer she will attend the Aspen Music Festival on a full scholarship.
Jacquelynne Fontaine, 27-year-old soprano from L.A., placed first among the vocalists in the Young Artists Competition. Currently she is a doctoral student of Gary Glaze at the Thornton School of Music.
A Southern California native, Fontaine has performed with orchestras ranging from the South West Symphony, to the Glendale Symphony to the Conejo Pops and the Tuscia Operafestival in Italy, and more.
She has won numerous prestigious awards. In 2009 she was a finalist in the Metropolitan Opera National Council Auditions. She was also a finalist in the Palm Springs Opera Guild Competition and was named "Singer of the Year" by the National Association of Teachers of Singing. L.A.
In 2007 the young soprano was crowned Miss California. She also placed in the top 10 at the 2007 Miss America Pageant. She won the talent award for her performance of Puccini's "Vissi d'arte." Fontaine spent the year traveling California speaking to children and adults on the importance of Diabetes Awareness.
Among her operatic lead roles she is found most performing Mozart heroines, including Pamina in The Magic Flute, Donna Anna and Donna Elvira in Don Giovanni and Ilia in Idomeneo. At home on both the operatic and concert stage, the emerging soprano was called "a soprano new to us and all the more wondrous for that" in a review of the Jacaranda Concert Series debut. She was hailed in Viterbo, Italy, as "elegantissimo...full of passion" for her portrayal of Donna Anna in Don Giovanni.