Kristo Young Artist Competition
The 2012 finalists are:
Angela Coyle, Eau Claire, Alto Saxophone
Glazunov: Saxophone Concerto, op. 109
Gina Cruciani, Eau Claire, Soprano
Massenet: Frere! Voyez! Du gai soliel from Werther,
Arditi: II Bacio
Oliva Langby, Eau Claire, Violin
Lalo: Symphonie espagnole, mvt. I
Kaitlyn Witherspoon, Monona, Cello
Saint-Saens: Cello Concerto no. 1, mvt. I
Congratulations to Angela, Gina, Oliva, and Kaitlyn for being selected as the 2012 finalists! Each finalist will compete in a solo performance with piano accompaniment in Phillips Recital Hall at the Haas Fine Arts Center of the UWEC campus starting at 2:00 pm on January 22, 2012. The performances are free and open to the public. The winner will be featured as a guest artist with the Chippewa Valley Symphony Orchestra at their March 10, 2012 concert, which begins at 7:30 pm at The State Regional Arts Center. Good luck to each of the finalists!
Open to young musicians, this competition is sponsored by the Chippewa Valley Symphony Orchestra, the University of Wisconsin - Eau Claire Department of Music, and Kristo Orthodontics.
Meet the 2011 Kristo YAC winner, Al Valmadrid
Al Valmadrid, a senior at Madison West High School, started playing the
violin when he was 4 1/2 years old. He currently studies with Eugene Purdue,
and his previous teachers include Maria-Rosa Germain and Alanna Chong. Al
enjoys playing the violin and viola in the Aeon String Quartet with friends
Jeremy Goodman (violin/viola), Tony Oliva (violin/viola), and Kaity Slotten
(cello). In the Wisconsin Symphony Orchestra's Youth Orchestra, he performss
under the baton of conductor James Smith. He plays with the Our Lady Queen
of Peace Mass Choir on Sundays, and during the summer he performs with his
brother and friends at the Dane County Farmer's Market. He was also a member
of Sonora Strings, the tour group of the Suzuki Strings of Madison.
This year, Al received an Honorable Mention in the Madison Symphony Orchestra's Bolz Young Artist Competition, 2nd Runner-Up in the Concord Chamber Orchestra's Dorothy J. Oestreich Concerto Competition, Finalist standing in the Milwaukee Symphony Orchestra's Young Artist Auditions, and the University of Wisconsin-Madison Summer Music Clinic Tuition Waiver Award. He has also been named a Finalist in the National Merit Scholarship Program.
Aside from playing music, Al enjoys thinking, eating his dad's delicious food, and playing ping-pong. In college, he plans to study neuroscience or biology. He's determined to keep performing, improving, and having fun with music. Above all, he would like to thank his teachers, friends, and family for their patience, encouragement, and support.