Easton, MD, February 8, 2024 – The Mid-Atlantic Symphony Orchestra’s annual Elizabeth Loker International Concerto Competition has attracted a record number of entrants from Maryland, Delaware, and 22 states, as well as China, Taiwan, South Korea, Japan, New Zealand, Poland, Germany, The Netherlands, Spain, Israel, and Canada. 155 young musician soloists have entered the March 24 Competition, to be held at 3 p.m. at the Todd Performing Arts Center at Chesapeake College in Wye Mills, Maryland.
The Competition is one of the most unique competitions in the world for young music students aged 12 to 25. The three competition finalists, picked by a distinguished panel of judges, will compete as soloists in an afternoon concert before a large audience, performing their favorite concerto accompanied by the entire 40+ musician Mid-Atlantic Symphony Orchestra. Almost all other major competitions worldwide for young solo musicians are performed only with a piano or no accompaniment. This unique opportunity to perform with a leading professional symphony orchestra has attracted record entries globally.
The 26-year-old Mid-Atlantic Symphony Orchestra, one of the best regional symphony orchestras in the country, is conducted by Michael Repper, the 2023 Grammy-winning symphonic orchestra conductor for his recording with the New York Youth Symphony Orchestra. Maestro Repper is one of the most sought-after young conductors worldwide, with a reputation for engaging and exciting audiences of all ages and spectrums and for promoting new and diverse musical talents.
The three finalists will compete for $5,000, $2,500, and $1,000 awards, as well as a $500 Audience Choice Award. The 155 competitors play a wide range of instruments, ranging from the expected stringed instruments and piano to the rarer harp, woodwind, tuba, trombone, and percussion instruments. They have selected over 150 concertos for the Competition. They will be judged by a panel consisting of Edward Polochick, Music Director of Lincoln’s Symphony Orchestra (Nebraska); James Kelly, Executive Director of the National Philharmonic Orchestra (Washington, D.C.); and Sachi Marasugi, Concertmaster of the Salisbury Symphony Orchestra (Maryland) and a member of the Violin Faculty of Salisbury University.
WHEN and WHERE…
Date: March 24
Time: 3 PM
Venue: Todd Performing Arts Center, Chesapeake College, 1000 College Cir, Wye Mills, MD 21679
TICKETS
Individual tickets for this concert are $50 per person at each venue and are available at midatlanticsymphony.org. The site also has information on group purchases and free tickets for students 18 years and under. Music students from more than 60 secondary schools in 13 Maryland and Delaware counties are being offered complementary tickets to the Competition through their music teachers.
PODCASTS
Previews for each program in the season and for special MSO events are available on the MSO Web site at midatlanticsymphony.org/podcast. Podcasts are posted on the site 7 to 10 days before a concert or event.
MORE INFORMATION
For additional information about the 2023-2024 season, or to order tickets, please visit www.midatlanticsymphony.org. Tickets may be ordered by telephone at 888-846-8600.
ABOUT THE MID-ATLANTIC SYMPHONY ORCHESTRA
The Mid-Atlantic Symphony Orchestra is the only professional symphony orchestra serving southern Delaware and Maryland’s Eastern Shore with a full season of programs. The MSO is supported in part by the Maryland State Arts Council; the Talbot County Arts Council; the Worcester County Arts Council; the Sussex County, DE Council; and the Community Foundation of the Eastern Shore, Inc.
A complete schedule of the 2023-2024 season’s Masterworks and Ensembles programs, venues, times, and other information is available at www.midatlanticsymphony.org.