Bard College Conservatory of Music Announces Winners of the Fifth Annual Concerto Competition

ANNANDALE-ON-HUDSON, N.Y.—The fifth annual Concerto Competition, presented by The Bard College Conservatory of Music, took place at Bard College with a preliminary round on Saturday, December 12, and the final round on Sunday, December 14. The eight finalists performed in the Sosnoff Theater of the Richard B. Fisher Center for the Performing Arts.

The winners of the competition are soprano Mary Bonhag from New Hampshire, a student of Edith Bers in the Graduate Vocal Arts Program; pianist Chi-Hui Yen from Taiwan, a student of Melvin Chen; and trumpeter Tamas Palfalvi from Hungary, a student of Carl Albach. The alternate is flutist Adrienn Kantor from Hungary, a Bitó Scholar and student of Tara O’Connor. All three of the winners will perform in the 2010–11 season as soloists with the American Symphony Orchestra conducted by Leon Botstein.
 
“I’m deeply grateful to Maestro Botstein for giving our students the honor of performing as soloists with the American Symphony Orchestra,” says Robert Martin, director of the Conservatory. “And I’m so proud of our students for making this an occasion not so much for competitiveness as for supporting their fellow students and celebrating the wonderful accomplishments of all.”

Each year, more than 20 musicians from the Conservatory and the Graduate Vocal Arts Program participate in the competition. This year’s judges for the final round included Clive Greensmith, cellist with the Tokyo String Quartet and faculty member at the Manhattan School of Music and New York University; Seth Knopp, pianist and founding member of the Peabody Trio, teacher at Peabody Conservatory, and artistic director of the Yellow Barn Music School and Festival; Kevin Cobb, trumpeter with the American Brass Quintet, co-principal trumpeter with the Aspen Festival Orchestra, and teacher at The Juilliard School, SUNY Stony Brook, and the Hartt School; and Leon Botstein, president of Bard College and music director and principal conductor of both the American Symphony Orchestra in New York and the Jerusalem Symphony Orchestra, the radio orchestra of Israel.
 
ABOUT THE BARD COLLEGE CONSERVATORY OF MUSIC
Building on its distinguished history in the arts and education, Bard College launched The Bard College Conservatory of Music, which welcomed its first class in August 2005. This innovative, double-degree program is guided by the principle that musicians should be broadly educated in the liberal arts and sciences to achieve their greatest potential. While training and studying for the bachelor of music degree with world-class musicians and teachers and performing in state-of-the art facilities, such as the Frank Gehry–designed Richard B. Fisher Center for the Performing Arts, Conservatory students also pursue a bachelor of arts degree at Bard, one of the nation’s leading liberal arts colleges. Robert Martin serves as director of the Conservatory, Melvin Chen as associate director.

For further information about The Bard College Conservatory of Music, please call 845-758-7196.

This event was last updated on 12-15-2009

Back to Top