Chamber Orchestra of the Springs
EMERGING SOLOIST COMPETITION WINNER

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2nd Annual Emerging Soloist Competition
2020 Winner, Francesca Leo, Flute
Michael Daugherty's Trail of Tears Concerto for Flute

"Francesca would like to thank the Chamber Orchestra of the Springs for this wonderful honor and acknowledge the tragedy and cross-generational trauma that the Trail of Tears has had on the Cherokee, Chickasaw, Choctaw, Muscogee and Seminole tribes in the forced removal from their homeland in 1830. To learn more about this tragic event, visit https://www.cherokeemuseum.org/archives/era/trail-of-tears. To support the preservation and enrichment of Cherokee heritage and culture, consider making a donation to http://www.cherokeeheritage.org/membership/giving/. Francesca plans to donate a portion of her prize to the preservation of Cherokee culture."

Francesca Leo is a cutting edge flutist, entrepreneur, and educator. She has given solo and chamber performances internationally in Italy and France and has been a featured soloist with the New Albany Symphony Orchestra and the Manhattan School of Music Chamber Sinfonia. A Michigan native, Francesca has won top prizes in competitions including the Manhattan School of Music Eisenberg-Fried Concerto Competition, the Central Ohio Flute Association Young Artist and Collegiate Division Competitions, the Lima Symphony Young Artist Concerto Competition, the New Albany Symphony Orchestra Concerto Competition, the MTNA Solo Division Competition the Puerto Rico Flute Symposium Young Artist Competition and the Chamber Orchestra of the Springs Emerging Soloist Competition.A fierce advocate of contemporary music, Francesca is the flutist and a founding member of the Quintilia Ensemble, a quintet committed to building and supporting community through experimental and vernacular music, collaborating with local arts communities and anti-oppression organizations through programming, venue selection and presentation. Francesca has participated in the premieres of many new works in solo, chamber, orchestral and operatic settings, including the Mid-American premiere of Kaija Saariaho's opera Émilie. 
As an orchestral musician, Francesca has performed under the baton of renowned conductors such as Roderick Cox, George Manahan, and Leonard Slatkin.  She specializes in performing arts health and is the founder of www.playingwithoutpain.com, an award-winning interactive web resource designed to provide collegiate music students with information to treat and prevent performance-based injury. Francesca serves as the chair of the Puerto Rico Flute Symposium Wellness Committee and as a board member on the National Flute Association Performance Health Care Committee and the Performing Arts Medicine Association Young Professionals Committee.
Francesca holds a master's degree in Classical Flute Performance from the Manhattan School of Music as a former Joseph F. McCrindle scholarship recipient and a bachelor's degree in Music Performance and Entrepreneurship from Bowling Green State University.  Her primary teachers and mentors include Linda Chesis, Conor Nelson and Jeffrey Zook.

www.francescaleoflute.com

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PAST WINNERS

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1st Annual Emerging Soloist Competition
2019 Winner, Justin Douté, percussion
Emmanuel Séjourné Concerto for Marimba and Strings

LEARN MORE ABOUT JUSTIN'S PERFORMANCE

Watch Justin's Performance below

A native of Denver, Colorado, Justin attended the Denver School of the Arts High School for Music and the Manhattan School of Music. While an undergraduate, he overcame three leukemia diagnoses and later completed his Bachelor’s in Music Performance at the University of North Florida. His awards include winning the Aspen School of Music Solo Percussion Competition, Semi-Finalist for Young Concert Artist Guild in NYC, Winner of the Denver Philharmonic’s Concerto Competition, and winner of the Manhattan School of Music’s Concerto Competition, winner of Gold Medal and Grand Prize at Young Texas Artist Music Competition 2018.  He was also was the Winner of Shepherd School of Music Concerto Competition, second-place winner of Blackswamp Percussion Solo Percussion Competition, winner of the Denver Concert Bands Concerto Competition, Finalist in the PRISMA concerto competition, finalist in Denver Young Artists Orchestra Concerto Competition and recently was the winner of the Charlie Owen Scholarship for Orchestral Studies at Aspen School and Music Festival.

His scholarships include assistance from the Manhattan School of Music, Cancer for Scholarship program, and Student-Government Scholarship to the University of North Florida, and a Full Scholarship to Rice University Masters in Music Program at Shepherd School of Music.
Justin has and continues to perform with the Abilene Philharmonic, Colorado Symphony Orchestra, Fort Collins Symphony Orchestra (CO), Boulder Philharmonic Orchestra, Colorado Spring Philharmonic and many more. With pianist Yukino Miyake, he commissions and performs new music for piano and percussion in a the duo titled “JUKINO.”  He Currently holds a Bachelors degree from The University of Northern Florida and a Masters degree from Rice University’s Shepherd School of Music both in Percussion Performance.  Justin now attends University of Denver undergoing a performance certificate under the direction of John Kinzi.