The Metropolitan Youth Orchestra of New York
13 Myrtle Street, 2nd Floor
Manhasset, NY 11030
www.myo.org

FOR IMMEDIATE RELEASE

DATE
January 10, 2019
CONTACT
Anthea Jackson, Executive Director
Phone: 516-365-6961
Email: ajackson@myo.org

FREE CONCERT FEATURING LONG ISLAND TEENS

The Metropolitan Youth Orchestra of New York (MYO) is proud to present the top sixteen finalists (out of 74 applicants) of the 2018-2019 Concerto and Vocal Competition in a concert on Wednesday, February 6, 2019 at 7:00 PM in the Congregational Church of Huntington, 30 Washington Drive, Centerport, NY 11721. The concert is free and open to the public.

The featured performers are all Long Island-based musicians and MYO members:

Instrumental Finalists Division I (grades 4-8)
Emma Hong, violin, age 12, South Woods Middle School
Theresa Jiao, violin, age 13, P.J. Gelinas Junior High School
Carolyn Lau, flute, age 13, Herricks Middle School
Alice Wang, viola, age 13, West Hollow Middle School

Vocal Finalists Division I (grades 4-8)
Natalie Ceonzo, soprano, age 12, Trinity Regional School
Maria Gaztanaga, soprano, age 12, Garden City Middle School
Avani Schwartz, soprano, age 13, Manhasset Middle School
Jade Silverstein, soprano, age 13, Harbor Country Day School

Instrumental Finalists Division II (grades 9-12)
Aaron Ichel, violin, age 16, Half Hollow Hills High School East
Rebecca Nelsen, oboe, age 16, Eastport South Manor Jr/Sr High School
Donald Schweikert, bassoon, age 17, Sayville High School
Ju Young Yi, clarinet, age 17, Herricks High School

Vocal Finalists Division II (grades 9-12)
Maria Leonardi, soprano, age 17, Massapequa High School
Isabella Panag, soprano, age 14, Mount Sinai High School
Rachel Schlesinger, soprano, age 16, North Shore Hebrew Academy
Kayla Sorensen, soprano, age 17, North Shore High School

The finalists will perform their competition piece in the Congregational Church of Huntington and the winners will be chosen by an esteemed jury, including: Dr. David Fryling, Director of Choral Studies at Hofstra University; Professor Maureen Hynes, Director of Orchestra and String Studies at LIU Post; and North Merrick School Music Teacher Margaret Rakas. The 1st place winners of the competition, one instrumentalist and one vocalist from each of the Divisions, will win a cash award in the amount of $500 each and may be able to perform as a soloist with their MYO ensemble during the spring 2019 or fall 2019 concerts. There will also be cash awards for the 2nd ($200) and 3rd ($100) place winners, in each of the Instrumental and Vocal categories.

The Metropolitan Youth Orchestra of New York (MYO) is committed to fostering a community of talented young musicians from Long Island and providing them with an opportunity to rehearse and perform choral and orchestral masterworks at the highest possible level with recognized leaders in music education and performance. Founded in the fall of 1993 by John C. McNeur, MYO has grown from one orchestra of fifteen members to seven orchestras and seven choral ensembles, serving almost 1,000 young musicians between the ages of 8 and 18. For more information, please visit www.myo.org or call (516) 365-6961.

MYO FINALIST PHOTOS AVAILABLE UPON REQUEST

ATTACHED IMAGE features the winning design from our 2018-2019 MYO T-Shirt Design Contest, created by MYO member Kristi Dale.