Weeks Mills pianist wins BSO competition

BANGOR – Pianist Lydia Kilian of Weeks Mills, a junior attending Erskine Academy, won first place March 18 at the 25th annual Bangor Symphony Orchestra High School Concerto Competition. She was awarded the $500 Annas-Cupp Award for her performance of a movement from Edvard Grieg’s “Piano Concerto in A minor.” Kilian will perform with the BSO in 2007. Second-place winner is pianist Benjamin Tibbetts of Windsor. Tibbetts performed a movement from Felix Mendelssohn’s “Piano Concerto No. 1 in G minor.” Tibbetts is also a junior at Erskine Academy. Third-place winner is violinist Tyler Yentes of Monroe. Yentes performed a movement from Charles-Auguste de Beriot’s “Scene de Ballet.” Yentes is a home-schooled junior.

The BSO’s high school competition was established in 1982 as a vehicle to recognize and encourage outstanding young Maine musicians. Enrollment is open to any Maine high school student who plays an orchestral instrument.

In other news, the BSO will hold auditions on Sunday, April 23, for the 2006-2007 season. Positions available are: second clarinet, principal viola, principal bassoon and section strings. Substitutes are needed for all instruments. Contracted musicians are paid on a per-service basis, with mileage and housing arrangements included. The 2006-2007 season includes six classical concerts, three youth concerts, three performances of the Nutcracker Ballet, plus summer events. For more information, call Surya Mitchell, personnel manager, at (207) 942-5555 or (800) 639-3221, or e-mail surya@bangorsymphony.com.