2021 YOUNG ARTIST COMPETITION WINNERS

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1st Place:
Marianne McConkie, piano - Grieg Concerto in A minor, Op. 16
2nd Place:
Kristen Isaly, flute - Nielsen Concerto
3rd Place:
Caleb Seifert, cello - Popper Hungarian Rhapsody
4th Place:
Jessie Zimmerman, violin -  Prokofiev Violin Concerto No. 2
Honorable Mention:
Ali Creason, piano - Mendelssohn  Concerto No. 1 in G minor, Op. 25, MWV 07
Theo Tillman, double bass - Dragonetti Concerto in G major

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1st Place
Marianne McConkie
Grieg Piano Concerto in A minor, Op. 16

Marianne McConkie, age 17, is the second oldest child of David and Ramona McConkie. Her musical acuity manifest itself at the age of two when she would sit on the lap of her grandmother for hours at a time and keenly observe the piano lessons she taught each afternoon.  When the students would leave, Marianne would sit at the bench and surprise us by playing the melodies herself.  She enjoys making music with her sister on violin and her mom on the cello and performs regularly for her church congregation. Marianne has won the PPMTNA music festival for the last several years and took second place in the CSU-Pueblo Young Artist Piano Competition.  She studies with Ara Gevorkian and also enjoys teaching her own private piano students.  In her free time, she enjoys hanging out with friends, and she cannot ever resist a good chocolate bar or a pint of ice cream. 

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2nd Place
Kristen Isaly
Nielsen Flute Concerto

Kristen will begin her senior year at Cheyenne Mountain High School this Fall.  She began her flute studies at the age of 5, at the Music Institute of Chicago, under the instruction of Meret Bitticks, in the suzuki method.  Upon moving to Colorado in 2010, she began studying with Paul Nagem (principal flute of the Colorado Springs Philharmonic) and in 2018 began studying with Brook Ferguson (principal flute of the Colorado Symphony).
 Kristen has participated in the Colorado Springs Youth Symphony as first chair flute.  She has performed with many ensembles and quintets.  With the youth symphony, she has traveled to the Caribbean (particularly Puerto Rico, Haiti, and St. Martin) as well as to New Zealand and Australia, where she had the great privilege of performing in the Sydney Opera House.  In addition, as first chair in Cheyenne Mountain’s Symphonic Band, Kristen had the great honor of performing in Carnegie Hall.  Kristen has been principal flute in the Colorado All State Orchestra Symphony Orchestra and in the Colorado Springs All City Honor Band.  In addition, she was principal flute in the University of Colorado Boulder Honor Band. 
 Kristen has been awarded numerous accolades and honorable mentions in competitions sponsored by the Colorado Flute Association, Colorado Springs Young Artists, and Colorado school system.  In addition, Kristen has participated in master classes taught by the late David Gerry (studied under Shinicki Suzuki), Christina Jennings, and Amy Porter.
 Kristen plans on pursuing a degree in Flute Performance from either a conservatory or university, with hopes of being a professional flutist.

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3rd Place
Caleb Seifert
Popper Hungarian Rhapsody

Caleb, a junior this coming fall at Sierra High School, is a Colorado native who started playing cello in the 4th grade, when he was 8 years old, at Christa McAuliffe Elementary School with Linda Bowen.  Caleb started taking private lessons with Linda Johnson when he was in the 8th grade and soon thereafter began performing in competitions.  He has performed in Solo and Ensemble Festivals, The Colorado Springs Cello Festival, the ASTA Certificate Advancement Program (ASTACAP), at his church and other events. Caleb auditioned and was accepted into the Colorado Springs Youth Symphony Organization in the fall of 2019, and the Manitou Springs Chamber Festival in the summer of 2020 and continues playing with both organizations.  Caleb presented his first solo recital in July, 2020, featuring pieces by Elgar, Popper, and Saint-Saens. He also placed third in the Colorado Springs Youth Symphony Young Solo Artist Competition in January, 2021.  Caleb performed in a Masterclass with the Colorado Mesa University String Day in February 2021 with Kristen Yun. Caleb enjoys playing for people and plans to pursue music performance as a career.

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4th Place
Jessie Zimmerman
Prokofiev Concerto No. 2

Jessie is a junior at The Vanguard High School. She started the violin with her parents at the age of 3. She studied privately with Geri Arnold, Jin-young Park, Won-Jung Lee, Jeri Jorgenson, and is currently a student of James Maurer. When she was 11 yrs old, she was selected to be part of the music gifted program in Seoul, South Korea, and won first place in the competition of the program. In 2017, she placed third in the Seoul National Music Competition and placed second in 2018, where she was invited to compete nationally. In addition, Jessie won first in the senior division of the EOP string competition in 2019 and was placed as alternative winner in the Broomfield Symphony Orchestra Youth Concerto Competition in 2020. Enjoying orchestral and chamber music playing, Jessie has been a member of multiple youth orchestras since the age of 9. As well as school orchestras, she has been a part of several youth orchestras in Seoul, S. Korea, the Colorado Springs Youth Symphony, and the Denver Young Artist Orchestra. She has sat as principal second, and assistant concertmaster throughout the past three years. Since 2017, she has been selected to participate in the Western States Honors Orchestra. In 2019, she has also been a part of the Colorado All State Orchestra as assistant concertmaster. In 2017 and 2018, she participated in the Manitou Chamber Music Festival. Outside of violin, Jessie enjoys rock climbing and being part of her rocketry and science club at school. 

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