8 youths picked to perform in Arcady series

ORONO – The Arcady Music Society chose eight winners from among 35 entrants at the 17th annual youth competition May 5 at the University of Maine. The judging was done in two rounds by members of the Azure Ensemble of New York, on tour as part of the Arcady Music Festival concert series, and was based on musicality, technique, style, tone, intonation and stage presence.

Award winners were Clare Monfredo, cello, grade four, Seal Harbor; Caroline Cheng, piano, grade four, Falmouth; Ling Guo, piano, freshman, Portland; Sydney Barnhart, voice, sophomore, Tenants Harbor; Elise Kopesky, clarinet, sophomore, Camden; Simon Bilyk, violin, sophomore, Orono; Kelsey Lutz, piano, sophomore, Holden; Annie Leonardi, voice, junior, Northeast Harbor.

Alternates were Nina Monfredo, cello, grade six, Seal Harbor; and Kate Petit, piano, sophomore, Gorham.

The society also recognized Wanda Whitener of the Tremont Consolidated School as Arcady Teacher of the Year.

The winners will join Arcady’s visiting professional musicians for the Arcady Music Festival summer and winter concerts. The six-week summer concert series, July 23 through Aug. 30, will present performances in Bangor, Dover-Foxcroft, Bucksport, Bar Harbor, Belfast, Greenville, Skowhegan and Farmington.

One teen-age winner will be chosen by application to spend a month in Japan this summer as a musical ambassador for the Arcady Music Society. Other winners may receive scholarships to Arcady’s two-week international music camp in August, when they will be coached by guest faculty for joint performances as part of the summer concert series.

The judges for the youth competition were Azure Ensemble founder and artistic director Susan Glaser, flutist; Miko Kominami, pianist; and Tahirah Whittington, cellist, who recently performed in Bar Harbor, Southwest Harbor, Northeast Harbor, Bangor, Dover-Foxcroft, Bingham, Smithfield, Skowhegan, Millinocket and Hampden, and on Maine Public Radio. The three have advanced degrees from the Julliard School in New York City and have won distinguished professional recognition for their work.

The Arcady Music Society presents nearly 50 public concerts each year and its special mission is to present programs for young people. During last winter’s series, it presented 17 concerts and more than 30 school programs from Mount Desert and Bangor to Bingham and Millinocket.

Bar Harbor Banking and Trust Co. sponsored this year’s youth competition.