The Hampton Roads Philharmonic would like to announce the results of its 9th annual Young Artist Competition. Our judges awarded a Grand Prize, Second Place, Third Place, and four Honorable Mentions. This year’s competition was adjudicated by Dr. Tyler Austin, director of bands at the Diehn School of Music at Old Dominion University, Dr. Ben Corbin, director of keyboard studies at Christopher Newport University, and HRP Music Director Steven Brindle.
We’re proud to attract the best young soloists that our community has to offer, and for the past nine years, the level of performance has continued to rise. Hearing these polished and beautiful performances is nothing short of inspirational. Our only regret is that in a competition with so many well-qualified soloists, we cannot give a performance opportunity to every deserving player. In particular, awards were presented to soloists who, in addition to their technical preparation, could command a performance by playing with intention, emotion, and finesse. Bravo to all who performed, and we eagerly invite you to participate again next year.
Congratulations to the following soloists!
Placements
Grand Prize
Award: $500
Holden Burroughs
Beethoven’s 3rd Piano Concerto
Second Place
Award: $150
Benjamina Bolger
Ravel’s Tzigane
Third Place
Award: $100
Joseph Varnovitsky
Tchaikovsky’s Piano Concerto
Honorable Mentions
Kevin Nguyen
Haydn Cello Concerto in D
Jonathan Martin
Grieg’s Piano Concerto
Katie Yu
Chaminade’s Flute Concertino
Joshua Kang
Lalo’s Cello Concerto
Congratulations! Thank You to all who participated!
2025 Competition
Exact details regarding the 10th annual 2025 competition will be published as soon as they are available, but the orchestra is anticipated to continue to host this competition again in the first or second week of November.
We are working to build this event into what we hope will be a well-regarded opportunity for young soloists in our music community. In particular, we are working to increase our competition budget which, among other things, will allow us to increase award amounts and, in the future, allow us to program rental works that are outside of the public domain.
About the Competition
To foster musical talent in our community and give young musicians the valuable opportunity to perform as a soloist with an orchestra, the Hampton Roads Philharmonic is opening a portion of its season to feature a young soloist. Decided by an adjudicated competition, the winner will perform with the Hampton Roads Philharmonic as a featured soloist in March’s annual Young Artist Competition Showcase performance. This competition is open to instrumentalists up to age 21.