Seven Finalists Compete in Bard’s Concerto Competition
On Sunday, Feb 17, seven students at Bard College competed in the final round of the Concerto Competition. All seven students are undergraduates at Bard’s Conservatory of Music, and the competition took place in the Fisher Center for Performing Arts on their campus.
They are competing for a solo position with the Bard College Conservatory Orchestra, The Orchestra Now, and the American Symphony Orchestra. According to Jesika, the house manager at the Fisher Center and current student at Bard, “the students are competing for a solo with our graduate orchestra, which is a really intense thing. Some of these students have been preparing for this competition since their freshman year.” The instruments of the competitors ranged from voice to oboe, but a common factor was their intense and obvious passion for the craft.
Each competitor had 15 minutes in front of a panel of four judges to prove their talent. The night began with a oboist named Amy Cassiere. She performed a three part concerto from composer Eugene Goossens.
Next, a soprano named AddieRose Forstman, performed five short songs in French.
Following her, a clarinetist named Jingyu Mao performed an especially passionate three part concerto from Carl Maria von Weber, featuring many difficult and quick progressions.
The final competitor before the intermission was a violinist named Bahan Li, who performed a concerto by Sergei Prokofiev. She was a master of the higher register on the violin.
All four competitors are members of the class of 2019.
After the intermission, the competition featured a mezzo-soprano, a violinist, and another soprano.
According to Cemre, the assistant house manager and current student at Bard, “the judges are big names in our community. I can’t imagine how nervous the performers must be.” The first judge is Leon Botstein, who is the current president of Bard College and music director of the Bard College Conservatory Orchestra, the American Symphony Orchestra, and The Orchestra Now. He has conducted major symphonies all over the world.
The second judge is Todd Crow, a widely acclaimed pianist. The Times of London has called his playing “spine-chilling” and “exhilarating.” The third judge is Drew Minter, a countertenor who has also performed globally in countless operas. He is currently a full-time professor of music at Vassar College. The fourth and final judge is Susan Wadsworth. She is the director of Young Concert Artists, Inc., a non-profit “dedicated to discovering and launching the careers of gifted musicians from all over the world,” according to the program for the competition.
