And the Fall 2016 soloists are…

The Spring Concerto Competition results are in! The winners are Nara Avetisyan (piano, Babayan), Christianna Bates (viola, Jackobs), Rebecca Benjamin (violin, Preucil) and Jocelyn Lai (piano, Paik). HanLin Chen (clarinet, Cohen) and Jaewon Kim (clarinet, Cohen) received honorable mentions. The winners have each earned a coveted spot to perform a solo with the Cleveland Institute of Music Orchestra this fall.

The winners were grateful to be chosen and are already looking forward to their solos. “I am very honored to have been chosen,” says Avetisyan. “I am really looking forward to working with the CIM Orchestra next year.”

For Lai, the competition had its challenges, but ultimately paid off in the end. “While the time constraint of the competition made it challenging for me to capture the essence of Beethoven’s monumental ‘Emperor Concerto,’ it also served as a gentle reminder that every moment in music making begs to be meaningful and communicative,” she says. “I am absolutely thrilled to be chosen to perform with my fabulous colleagues in the CIM Orchestra next season--it will certainly be a memorable and rewarding experience!”

Congratulations to all for this wonderful achievement!

Photo: Jocelyn Lai performing at the competition