o What: Vancouver Symphony Orchestra performances. Pianist Fred Lu and alto saxophonist Daniel Vasey will perform.
o When: April 17-18.
o Where: Skyview High School Concert Hall, 1300 N.W. 139th St.
Dubbed “chronically talented,” four young Clark County musicians wowed a Sunday crowd and two of them won the right to perform this spring with the Vancouver Symphony Orchestra.
The students — Fred Lu, Daniel Vasey, Christine Wang and Victor Williams — also earned $3,500 in scholarships at the 16th Annual Vancouver Symphony Orchestra’s Young Artists Competition.
Nine students from the metropolitan area competed at Royal Durst Theatre of the Vancouver School of Arts and Academics. They won the right to perform after being judged the best of 44 applicants.
The artists lit up the stage with talent, composure and a full measure of elegance. All wore evening gowns, suits and tuxedos. About 200 people attended the free event.
“These kids are performing at a very high level,” said Rich Brase, marketing director for the symphony and the master of ceremonies. “They always come prepared.”
Fred Lu, 16, of Skyview High School received the gold medal in the piano division with a performance of Rachmaninoff’s “Concerto for Piano No. 1.” That earned him a performance of the piece with the symphony in April. He said he has been practicing the concerto for four months and said he spends about two hours rehearsing each day. He chose the concerto because “it really moves me.”
As for playing with the symphony, he said, “I guess I can’t wait for it.”
“We’re very excited,” Fred’s father, Di Lu, said.
All four of the Clark County musicians are multi-talented, and Fred is a 4.0 student who is on the Skyview Math Team and Knowledge Bowl team and competes for the school’s cross country and track teams.
Daniel Vasey, 15, of Columbia River High School will also play with the symphony after winning the woodwinds division. Playing alto saxophone, he performed “Escapes” from the movie “Catch Me If You Can.” He said he chose the piece because it is “jazzy. John Williams is a very interesting composer.”
“He practices a lot,” said Hillary Miller, Daniel’s mother and a music teacher at Felida and Harney elementary schools in the Vancouver School District. “I couldn’t be more proud of him.”
Daniel said he is thinking of being a professional musician and has written several compositions.
Fred and Daniel each won $1,000 scholarships.
Pianist Christine Wang, 17, of Columbia River High School, earned a silver medal and a $750 scholarship. She performed Chopin’s “Concerto for Piano No. 2.”
Asked what it was like to be on stage, Wang said, “It was pretty cool. I didn’t want to get too nervous because I get kinda shaky.” She said she chose Chopin because “I like his tone. I can feel him expressing himself.”
Christine has studied the piano since she was 6. She also is the captain of Columbia River’s swimming and tennis teams.
Victor Williams, 16, of Camas High School also earned a silver medal in the strings division and a $750 scholarship. He performed Bartok’s “Concerto for Viola.”
Victor said he chose the piece because “it is one of the most important viola concertos and one of the most difficult.” In spare time, Victor said he enjoys “Italian fencing and basketball.”
“It was a great showing by Clark County,” the symphony’s Brase said. He called the musicians “chronically talented” and said this year’s group was more accomplished than last year’s.
The event was financed by donors, including Carolyn Propstra, Kathleen McLagan and John Holden. Five professional musicians judged the contestants.
Contestants and their awards:
• Piano: Gold medalist, Fred Lu (teacher is Dr. Jean-David Coen); silver medalist, Christine Wang (Joanna Hodges); bronze medalist, Ruta Kuzmickas of Portland (Dr. Jean-David Coen).
• Woodwinds: Gold medalist, Daniel Vasey (John Gibson); silver medalist, Midori Samson of Portland (Evan Kuhlman); bronze medalist, Maria Elena Covarrubias of Portland (Rosemary Wood).
• Strings: Gold medalist, Natally Okhovat of West Linn (Carol Sindell); silver medalist, Victor Williams (Joel Kennedy); bronze medalist, Jean Choi of Portland (Hyun-Jin Kim).
