The three gold-medal winners who rose to the top of the Vancouver Symphony Orchestra’s 23rd annual Young Artists competition are all local kids.
Trevor Natiuk, a pianist from Battle Ground; Symphony Koss, a violinist from Vancouver; and Ashley Teng, a flutist from Camas, were chosen as top finishers in the contest after live performances on Jan. 15 at Trinity Lutheran Church in Vancouver. Each one earns a $1,000 scholarship as well as a stellar performance opportunity: stepping into the “guest artist” slot with the Vancouver Symphony Orchestra, under the direction of Maestro Salvador Brotons, on April 22 and 23 at Skyview Concert Hall.
Dozens of young music students from all around the region entered the contest via audition recordings that were judged “blindly” by a panel of professional musicians. The panel chose eight finalists for the January concert. The Master of Ceremonies was Edmund Stone of All Classical Portland Radio.
Silver medalists in the competition, winning $500 in scholarship money, were Christopher Yoon, Hanami Froom and Isabelle Zheng, all of Portland; bronze medalists, earning $250, were Sara Seulbee of Vancouver and Emily Park of Sammamish.
