For more than two decades I have had the honor of documenting the Concert of Finalists that concludes the annual YOUNG TEXAS ARTISTS Music Competition, as it showcases the finest young college and university musicians in the Lone Star State. Many contestants would be native born Texans, while others would be students from other parts of the country that have come to Texas to continue their music education. It all came together last Saturday night in Conroe’s elegant Crighton Theater.
It would be a night full of exciting surprises, the first of which was the raging spring thunderstorm that would arrive in town just as events were getting underway. Some of the arriving audience had to wait in their parked cars for half an hour until the violent downpour thankfully gave way to a dry, delightful and much cooler evening.
As is the case each year under the watchful eye of YTA’s hardworking President and C.E.O. Susie Pokorski, the festivities began with the fund-raising Bach, Beethoven & Barbecue celebration held under the huge catering tent erected across the entire street directly in front of the theater. Titled “The Stars at Night,” this gala 40th Anniversary Party, emceed by country music legend, Ray Benson (Asleep at the Wheel), would feature both dinner and dancing to the music of the Highway 105 band, along with an exciting silent auction.
Then it would be time to move across the street to the theater for the performances of the eight finalists in this week-long competition, supervised by YTA Artistic Director, Emelyne Bingham. The distinguished panel of judges included renowned pianist and teacher, Mark Anderson, Mezzo-soprano, Katherine Ciesinski, Julliard School faculty member, Miyoko Lotto, Nashville Symphony member, cellist, Bradley Mansell, and well-known flutist and piccoloist, Diane Boyd Schultz. Orchestral accompaniments (on piano) for each performer would be skillfully performed by collaborative pianists, Eliza Ching, Shannon Hesse, Neal Kurz, Jiapeng Xu, and Tingting Yao.
With his resonant voice and amusing occasional touches of humor, Master of Ceremonies, Mr. Benson, began by introducing the first finalist, William Suh, who performed the Andante from Prokofiev’s “Sinfonia Concertante, Op.125” for cello. As he lovingly embraced his gleaming and polished instrument, his gentle bowing motion and dancing fingers seemed to smoothly guide the audience through the full, rich range of his instrument. His fine performance would win him the evening’s Silver Medal in the Strings Category. [Each Silver medalist would receive a $3,000 prize, while each Gold medalist would be awarded $5,000.]
Next up was soprano, Elizabeth Marlow, with a fierce and passionate performance of Juliette’s “Poison Aria” (Amour, ranime mon courage) from Gounod’s opera, “Roméo et Juliette.” With outstretched arms and the piercing power of her voice, it would seem at one moment like a rousing national anthem, but in the next an almost conversational whisper of desperation. Her performance would capture the Gold medal in the Voice category. Mr. Benson would then capture audience laughter when he followed her by quipping, “I don’t sing that high!”
The next performance came from pianist, Zhengyi Huang with Rachmaninoff’s Allegro vivace from the “Piano Concerto No.1.” The thunderous and explosive opening then begins weaving ripples of piano magic as Huang goes racing onward with consummate skill until the electrifying, high-speed pyrotechnics of this tour-de-force performance were rewarded with the Piano category’s Gold Medal. Next, it was on to the stellar performance of violinist, Fiona Shea, with Tchaikovsky’s Finale from the “Violin Concerto in D Major.” Wearing a strapless and elegant black gown, as soon as she lifted the violin, it was off to the races immediately with her athletic skill and virtuosity setting a galloping pace that seemed to barely allow her time to come up for air during a brilliant performance that would win her not only the Violin category’s Gold Medal, but also the additional $5,000 Grand Prize.
Following the Intermission, a beautiful golden harp had taken center stage and was quickly joined by Maria de Jesus Contreras who performed the very beautiful Liberamente capriccioso – Vivace from the “Harp Concerto” of Alberto Ginastera. Dressed in a rich, emerald green satin gown, her strong fingers brought great delicacy to the teasing opening notes of the beautiful piece, and moved on to gentle passages that seemed almost like passing spring breezes. Her mastery of the work’s many unexpected variations would garner her the Silver Medal in the category encompassing, “Wind, Brass, Percussion, Harp and Guitar.”
Next, adorned in a vivid green gown with a sparkling jeweled bodice, was the equally sparkling performance of soprano, Hannah Moreno, beautifully singing, Mi tradi (He betrayed me) from Mozart’s opera, “Don Giovanni.” Looking heavenward, and superbly navigating the ever-escalating aria, Moreno would be rewarded with the Silver Medal in the Voice category. Then the audience was treated to a sample of the unusual soprano saxophone, which at first looked a bit more like a clarinet. Jacob Feldman came to the stage to perform two movements of Nigel Westlake’s 2016 “Spirit of the Wild” saxophone concerto. With dazzling high-speed fingering, the artist seemed to musically suggest a fluttering flock of birds, all the while displaying an almost other worldly skill that must require unimaginable years of hard work to master. That hard work earned him the evening’s Gold Medal for the “Wind, Brass, Percussion, Harp and Guitar” category. I then overheard a nearby audience member remarking to a friend, “He’s my favorite, and he’s having fun with it.”
The final contestant was pianist Szuyu Su performing the Finale: Alla breve from Rachmaninoff’s “Piano Concerto No. 3.” Her deceptively slender arms gave no hint of the extraordinary power that was about to be unleashed as her hands would now sail up and down the keyboard with apparent ease. In those very talented hands, this piece seemed at times to reveal itself as a living, breathing organism. We could only watch in amazement at her high-speed precision in tackling such a complex work.
The judges awarded her the Silver Medal in the Piano category, and the voting audience was equally impressed as she also received the Audience Choice Award with its additional $3,000 prize.
A final word must be said, and that word is BRAVO! Bravo to all the countless people who worked so hard to make this YTA 40th Anniversary Celebration so special, and a special Bravo to Susie Pokorski for her many years of hard work spearheading such a life-changing and worthy organization!
A member of both The Lambs Club Inc. and The American Theatre Critics Association (ATCA), the columns of DAVID DOW BENTLEY III have appeared on Broadway websites, in newspapers from the East Coast to the Gulf Coast, and may be viewed online at the website: www.ThePeoplesCritic.com . E-mail may be directed to ThePeoplesCritic3@gmail.com.
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