Friends of Music Concerto & Aria Competition
The Friends of Music Concerto & Aria Competition is open to students of Washington University in St. Louis. The winner will perform with the Washington University Symphony Orchestra on Sunday, February 22, 2026, and will receive a Friends of Music $500 merit award.
Panelists:
Peter Henderson
Marta Simidtchieva
Paul Davis
Carol Nie
Competitors:
10:00 AM - Xiaoyu Luo, violin - Butterfly Lovers' Violin Concerto by He Zhanhao and Chen Gang
10:10 AM - Delia Zacks, viola - Viola Concerto, Movement 1 by Béla Bartók
10:20 AM - Shelby Elliott, clarinet -Clarinet Concerto 1, Movement 1 by Louis Spohr
10:30 AM - Sofia La Rosa, soprano - Ah! Je Veux Vivre from Roméo et Juliette by Charles Gounod, & Willow Song from The Ballad of Baby Doe by Douglas Moore
10:40 AM - Lena Stern, flute - Ballade Op. 288 by Carl Reinecke
10:50 AM - Wilson Gao, piano - Piano Concerto No. 5 in E-flat Major, Movement 1 by Ludwig van Beethoven
11:00 AM - Jimin Lee, flute - Flute Concerto, Movement 1 by Jacques Ibert
11:08 AM - Ava Ayad, mezzo/alto - Stride la Vampa by Giuseppe Verdi & Voi, che sapete by W.A. Mozart
11:15 AM - Benjamin Faden, viola - Andante e Rondo Ongarese, Op. 35 by Carl Maria von Weber
11:25 AM - Gus Bachner, piano - Piano Concerto in F Major, Movement 1 by George Gershwin
11:35 AM - Conner Yamnitz, trombone - Concerto for Trombone and Orchestra, Movement II: Nocturne by Henri Tomasi
11:42 AM - Brett Carnes, alto saxophone - Concertino da Camera, Movement 1 by Jacques Ibert
Collaborative Pianists:
Yeon-Kyung Kim
Young Whun Kim
Amanda Kirkpatrick
Sarah Johnson
Matthew Mazzoni
Vera Parkin