concerto competition

Senior saxophonist Jesse Dochnahl and freshman pianist Jesse Pieper were named co-winners of the 12th annual Lawrence University Symphony Orchestra concerto competition. They each will perform as soloists in upcoming concerts.

Pieper, a student of assistant professor Dmitri Novgorodsky, will play Prokofiev’s “Piano Concerto #1” during the Lawrence Symphony Orchestra’s Jan. 28, 2006 concert. He is the first freshman in the history of the LSO concerto competition to win it.

Dochnahl, who studies in the studio of professor Steve Jordheim, will be the featured soloist in the March 10, 2006 LSO concert, performing “Scaramouche: Suite for Saxophone and Orchestra” by Darius Milhaud. In April, Dochnahl earned first-prize honors in the national finals of the Music Teachers National Association (MTNA) Woodwind Young Artists competition held in Seattle, Wash.

Pieper, Fond du Lac, and Dochnal, Ennis, Mont., were chosen as this year’s winners from a field of 12 finalists. Lawrence conservatory faculty members serve as judges for the competition. Each finalists is required to memorize a full concerto and then play up to 15 minutes worth from memory any part or parts of the concerto chosen by the judges.

The Lawrence concerto competition was started in 1994 to give students the opportunity to perform a full-length work with the Lawrence Symphony Orchestra.

Sophomore pianist Joseph Ross and junior violinist Vincent Soler were named co-winners of the 10th annual Lawrence University Symphony Orchestra concerto competition and will perform as soloists in upcoming concerts.

Ross, who studies in the studio of associate professor Michael Kim, will play Bach’s “Concerto no. 1 in D minor” during the Lawrence Symphony Orchestra’s Jan. 31, 2004 concert. Soler, a student of assistant professor Stephane Tran Ngoc, will be the featured soloist in the May 1, 2004 LSO concert, performing “Poeme for violin and orchestra” by Chausson.

Ross, a graduate of Appleton West High School, and Soler, a native of Montbonnet, France, were chosen as this year’s winners from a field of nine finalists. Lawrence conservatory faculty members serve as judges for the competition. Each finalists is required to memorize a full concerto and then play up to 15 minutes worth from memory any part or parts of the concerto chosen by the judges.

The Lawrence concerto competition was started in 1994 to give students the opportunity to perform a full-length work with the Lawrence Symphony Orchestra.