Washington -- Six very talented young musicians from across the country will convene at John Philip Sousa Band Hall on Saturday, Feb. 19, to compete in the final round of the Marine Band’s 2022 Concerto Competition. The winner will receive a $2,500 scholarship courtesy of the Marine Corps Heritage Foundation and perform on stage with the Marine Chamber Orchestra on April 3. Second and third place winners will receive $1,000 and $500 scholarships respectively.
For the first time ever, high school musicians who play strings, piano and harp were eligible to compete - the event will now alternate years with wind/percussion instruments. This year’s pool of applicants were of exceptional ability, which made selecting the finalists all the more difficult.
Learn more about the Concerto Competition for High School Musicians
In this public performance, the students will play their prepared concertos before a panel of judges consisting of Marine Band Director Col. Jason K. Fettig, Assistant Directors Maj. Ryan J. Nowlin and 1st Lt. Darren Y. Lin, and guest adjudicator Joseph Young - Music Director of the Berkeley Symphony, Artistic Director of Ensembles for the Peabody Conservatory, and Resident Conductor of the National Youth Orchestra-USA at Carnegie Hall.
This 2 p.m. (EST) performance is free and open to the public and will be livestreamed. For those attending the concert, please note that seating is limited and masks, as well as COVID vaccination or negative COVID test within 72 hours, are required.
The performances will take place at the Marine Barracks Annex at 1053 7th Street, SE, Washington, DC 20003. Free parking is available in the gated lot under the I-695 overpass. Please allow extra time for ID checks at the gate.
Program
Let’s meet the musicians:
Henry Auxenfans is a freshman at the University of Chicago Laboratory Schools and has played violin for 10 years. Henry is currently the Chicago Youth Symphony Orchestra concertmaster. At age 12 Henry was the youngest national finalist (Junior, Strings Category) of the 2019-2020 Music Teachers National Association (MTNA) Competition and the youngest string prize winner of the 2020 Chicago Symphony Young Artist Competition. Also during 2020, he placed second in the International Arthur Grumiaux Violin Competition for Young Violinists in Brussels, Belgium. In 2021 he was featured on Chicago classical music radio station WFMT in an hour-long broadcast, performing alongside his brother, Louis, a clarinetist and pianist. That same year, he was one of only 12 violinists worldwide selected to attend the Morningside Music Bridge Camp. Henry was again named a finalist in the MTNA Competition for 2021-2022, and in 2022 won the Lakeview Orchestra Young Artist Concerto Competition. He will perform the Allegro molto appassionato from Felix Mendelsohn’s Violin Concerto in E minor, Opus 64.
Nicholas Boettcher is a senior at Naperville North High School in Illinois and has played double bass for 7 years. In 2021, Nicholas was the winner of several competitions and awards: the International Society of Bassists’ Solo Music Competition (ages 15-18), the Louisiana Bass Fest Young Bassist Competition (18 and under), and the National Federation of Music Clubs Mary Alice Cox Award. In 2020 and 2021, he was named a YoungArts Foundation winner. He was also a 2020 finalist of the Chicago Symphony Orchestra Young Artist Competition, and soloed with the Civic Orchestra of Chicago. Other competitions he has won include the Chicago Youth Symphony Orchestra Concerto Competition, DuPage Symphony Young Artists Concerto Competition, and Northern Illinois University Sinfonia Concerto Competition. Nicholas is also the founder of The No Repeats Project, a student-led mentorship program which offers incarcerated teens the opportunity to learn instruments and experience the transformative power of music. He was recognized as the Illinois Department of Juvenile Justice Volunteer of the year for his work with the teens. Nicholas will perform Serge Koussevitzky’s Concerto in F-sharp minor for Contrabass and Orchestra, Opus 3; Mvts. I & II.
Claire Lee is a sophomore at Newton South High School in Massachusetts and has played violin for 9 years. Outside of school, she participates in the Boston Philharmonic Youth Orchestra and The Rivers School Conservatory Honors ChamberMusicLab. In 2021 Claire won first place in the Bay State Strings Contest; second place in the Brockton Symphony Orchestra’s Dr. Carol Vasconcellos Youth Concerto Competition and the Korean-American Music Supporters’ Association Competition; and was a finalist in the Sejong Cultural Society Music Competition. In addition, she has placed second in the Music Teachers National Association’s State Performance Competition (junior division) and the American Fine Arts Festival International Competition. She also actively volunteers at the Boston Youth Shape of Harmony and the Haven Chamber Orchestra where she plays music for nursing facilities and communities. Claire will perform the Allegro moderato from Sergei Prokofiev’s Violin Concerto No. 2 in G minor, Opus 63.
Kwanchi Loo is a sophomore at Cherry Hill High School East in New Jersey and has played cello for 6 years. He is currently the Philadelphia Youth Orchestra’s principal cellist and an artist with the Philadelphia Music Alliance for Youth. Kwanchi also performed as principal cellist for the All South Jersey String Orchestra 2019-2020, and as associate principal cellist 2018-2019. In addition, he was the 2020-2021 Philadelphia Young Artists Orchestra Annual Concerto Competition second runner-up. Kwanchi will perform the Allegro non troppo (plus 3rd mvt. Coda) from Camille Saint-Säens’ Cello Concerto No. 1 in A minor, Op. 33.
Aimee Okagawa is a sophomore at the ‘Iolani School in Honolulu, and has played piano for 12 years. In 2020 she won first place in the Kamuela Philharmonic Youth Concerto Competition and the American Protégé International Music Talent Competition. Aimee was also selected as 2020 state alternate for the Hawai’i Music Teachers National Association Senior Competition. She will perform the Allegro molto moderato from Edvard Grieg’s Piano Concerto in A minor, Op. 16.
Olivia Tilley is a junior at Saint John Paul the Great Catholic High School in Dumfries, Va., and has played harp for 9 years. She is currently a member of the National Symphony Orchestra's Youth Fellowship Program, which she joined in 2020. Olivia has also performed as a symphonic harpist for the American Youth Philharmonic Orchestra (AYPO) since 2018 and been a member of AYPO’s Harp Ensemble since 2015. In 2020 she was chosen as first alternate for the American Youth Symphonic Orchestra Solo Competition. Olivia was also a participant in Project 440's Instruments for Success Program, which teaches student musicians to use music as a tool for creating opportunities for themselves and to give back to their communities. Olivia will perform Harp Concerto in A by Karl Ditters von Dittersdorf.