2024-2025 Young Soloist Competition

presented by oregon mozart players

YSC 2020 Prizewinners with Artistic Director Kelly Kuo.

YSC 2020 Prizewinners with Artistic Director Kelly Kuo.

Open to young musicians residing or taking lessons in Oregon, our Young Soloist Competition provides an opportunity for young musicians to perform as soloists with Oregon Mozart Players during our exciting Da Capo concert in May 2025.

The final found will be on Sunday, February 2nd, beginning at 9 am at Beall Concert Hall.

Prizes

Thanks to the Trudy Rumple Prizes, we are offering the following this year in awards to competition winners:

  • $2,000 | First Prize | Senior Category

  • $750 | Second Prize | Senior Category

  • $1,500 | First Prize | Junior Category

  • $750 | Second Prize | Junior Category

Important Dates & information

The 24/25 Young Soloist Competition Guidelines can be found here and the application is now open.

Applications are due January 3, 2025.

Winners will perform with OMP at our final performance, Da Capo on May 17, 2025.

Please find a list of previously accepted repertoire for the competition here. If your piece is not listed, please contact Rebecca at outreach@oregonmozartplayers.org for confirmation of your selected repertoire.


Guidelines

YSC 2019 Soloists with Artistic Director Kelly Kuo after the May 2019 “Youthful Exuberance” concert.

YSC 2019 Soloists with Artistic Director Kelly Kuo after the May 2019 “Youthful Exuberance” concert.

Instrumental applicants must be 18 years of age or under on the day of the final round of the competition, must not have completed high school, and must be residents of the state of Oregon.

Vocal applicants must be 16–22 years of age or under on the day of the competition, and must be residents of the state of Oregon. Out-of-state residents taking lessons with an instructor in the state of Oregon will be accepted in the competition.

Standard orchestral instruments, including piano, harp, saxophone, and percussion are eligible to enter. 

Repertoire must consist of one or more memorized movements of a standard work for a solo instrument and chamber orchesra — orchestration includes 2 flutes, 2 oboes, 2 clarinets, 2 bassoons, 2 horns, 2 trumpets, timpani, harp, keyboard, and strings. Other works outside of this orchestration must be approved by the Artistic Director and Competition Coordinator in order to be considered.

The complete guidelines for the 24/25 Young Soloist Competition can be found here.

Application Fee

Our $30 application fee can be paid in any of the following ways:

  1. You can pay online on our donations page here. Please make a note of your YSC application when making your payment.

  2. You can mail a check to our office, located at 174 E 16th Ave Suite 142, Eugene OR 97401. Your check must be received in our office before the application deadline to be considered.

The Trudy Rumple Prizes

The Trudy Rumple Prizes were established in her memory by her husband Bill in 2017. The Rumples lived in Eugene for more than 25 years and enthusiastically supported the arts, especially the Oregon Mozart Players.


2024 Winners perform with omp

First Place winners Leo Trajano (Senior) and Sawa Yamaguchi (Junior) performed with Oregon Mozart Players on Saturday, May 11th at 7:30pm in Beall Concert Hall at the University of Oregon School of Music and Dance.

Sawa Yamaguchi during the dress rehearsal with Oregon Mozart Players on Saturday, May 11, 2024.

Leo Trajano during the dress rehearsal with Oregon Mozart Players on Saturday, May 11, 2024.


2023/2024 YSC Winners with judges, Kelly Kuo, Sharon Schuman, Jenny Jonak and Tyler Abbot

2024 Winners:

Senior Division:

First Place: Leo Trajano, Violin: Wolfgang Amadeus Mozart Violin Concerto No. 5

Second Place: Kristen Kim, Cello: Pytor Tchaikovsky Variation on a Rococo Theme

Junior Division:

First Place: Sawa Yamaguchi, Violin: Felix Mendelssohn Violin Concerto in E Minor

Second Place: Ellie Liu, Cello: David Popper Hungarian Rhapsody

Leo Trajano

Kristen Kim

Sawa Yamaguchi

Ellie Liu


Past Young Soloist Competition Winners

2023

Noah Carr, Violin | Senior Division | First Place Mozart: Violin Concerto No. 1 in G Major, I. Allegro

Asher Lewis, Violin | Junior Division | First Place Sarasate: Zigeunerweisen Op. 20

Hanu Nahm, Violin | Senior Division | Second Place Sibelius: Violin Concerto in D Minor, I. Allegro moderato

Jason Han, Cello | Junior Division | Second Place Saint-Saëns: Cello Concerto No. 1, I. Allegro non troppo

2022

Derek Choi, Violin | Senior Division | First Place Barber: Violin Concerto Op. 14, I. Allegro

Kristen Kim, cello | Junior Division | First Place Saint Saëns: Cello Concerto in A Minor, III. Tempo primo

Ellie Kim, violin | Senior Division | Second Place Saint Saëns: Introduction and Rondo Capriccioso

Shuhan Li, piano | Junior Division | Second Place Beethoven: Piano Concerto No. 1 in C Major, Op. 15, I. Allegro con Brio

2020

Ian Song, violin | Senior Division | First Place
Sibelius: Violin Concerto in D Minor, Op. 47, I. Allegro moderato

Maggie Carter, double bass | Junior Division | First Place
Proto: A Carmen Fantasy for Double Bass and Orchestra, Mvts. I-III

Teddy Zhang, bassoon | Senior Division | Second Place
Weber: Concerto for Bassoon in F Major, Op. 75, I. Allegro ma non troppo

Katie Liu, violin | Junior Division | Second Place
Bruch: Violin Concerto No. 1 in G Minor, Op. 26, I. Vorspiel: Allegro moderato

2019

Morgan Paige, soprano | Senior Division | First Place
Offenbach: “Les oiseaux dans la charmille” from Les contes d’Hoffmann
Bernstein: “Glitter and Be Gay” from Candide

Angela Rose Padula, cello | Junior Division | First Place
Boccherini: Cello Concerto in B-Flat Major, I. Allegro moderato

Trinity Goff, piano | Senior Division | Second Place
Beethoven: Piano Concerto No. 5, Op. 73, I. Allegro

Sadie Wang, cello | Junior Division | Second Place
Haydn: Cello Concerto No. 1 in C Major, III. Allegro molto

2018

Nicholas Dill, violin | Senior Division | First Place
Mendelssohn: Violin Concerto in E Minor, Op. 64, I. Allegro molto appassionato

Ian Song, violin | Junior Division | First Place
Mendelssohn: Violin Concerto in E Minor, Op. 64, I. Allegro molto appassionato

Annie Zhang, cello | Senior Division | Second Place
Tchaikovsky: Variations on a Rococo Theme, Op. 33

Jude Dow-Hygelund, piano | Junior Division | Second Place
Mendelssohn: Piano Concerto No. 1 in G Minor, I. Molto allegro con fuoco

2017

Avery Hsieh, piano | Senior Division | First Place
Weber: Konzertstuck in F Minor, Op. 79, I. Larghetto: Affettuoso

Claire Ku, piano | Junior Division | First Place
Beethoven: Piano Concerto No. 2, Op. 19, I. Allegro con brio

Victor Rudkowsky, piano | Senior Division | Second Place
Shostakovich: Piano Concerto No. 2, Op. 102, I. Allegro

Jude Dow-Hygelund, piano | Junior Division | Second Place
Beethoven: Piano Concerto No. 2, Op. 18, I. Allegro con brio

2016

Grace Rosier, violin | Senior Division | First Place
Ravel: Tzigane, M. 76

Michael Gu, piano | Junior Division | First Place (tie)
Mendelssohn: Piano Concerto No. 1 in G Minor, Op. 25, I. Molto allegro con fuoco

Adrian Hsieh, cello | Junior Division | First Place (tie)
Saint-Säens: Cello Concerto No. 1 in A Minor, Op. 33, III. Molto allegro

Catherine Youn, piano | Senior Division | Second Place
Schumann: Piano Concerto in A Minor, Op. 54, I. Allegro affettuoso

Kira Wang, cello | Junior Division | Second Place
Boccherini: Cello Concerto No. 9 in B-flat Major, I. Allegro moderato

2015

John Fawcett, violin | Senior Division | First Place
Dvořák: Violin Concerto in A Minor, III. Finale: Allegro giocoso ma non troppo

Claire Wells, violin | Junior Division | First Place
Arutiunian: Violin Concerto, II. Allegretto, III. Adagio recitativo, IV. Allegro molto

Tristan Jong, piano | Senior Division | Second Place
MacDowell: Piano Concerto No. 2 in D Minor, Op. 23, I. Larghetto calmato

Michael Gu, piano | Junior Division | Second Place
Mozart: Piano Concerto No. 12 in A Major, K. 414, I. Allegro