MNHS Flutist, DCCS Trombonist Place High in 70th Annual Youth Festival

BLUE BELL–Winners of the Tri-County Concerts Association’s 70th Annual Youth Festival auditions will appeared in a recital on Saturday, May 19, at the Science Center Theater, Montgomery County Community College, in Blue Bell.

The young artists included pianists, instrumentalists, and vocalists from Delaware, Montgomery, and Chester counties.

The student artists performed works by Chopin, Liszt, Prokofiev, and Saint-Saens, among others for the 70th anniversary.

Three very talented young musicians from Delaware County won prizes in this year's Tri-County Youth Festival and will perform at the concert.

Flutist Nicole Ozdowski of Broomall won First Place in the Senior Solo Winds Division of the Tri-County Youth Festival. Nicole is a freshman at and a private flute student of Adeline Tomasone of Newtown Square. She is a former Tri- County winner in the Junior Winds Division and is also a former winner of the Young Artists Competition of the Flute Society of Greater Philadelphia.

Bass trombonist David Hoch, a junior at , won Second Place in the Senior Solo Winds Division of the Tri-County Youth Festival. David studies bass trombone privately with Blair Bollinger of the Philadelphia Orchestra and will be attending the Curtis Institute this fall.

In the Junior Division, violinist Daniel Kim won First Place in Junior Solo Strings. Daniel is an 8th-grader at Strath Haven Middle School and studies privately with Yayoi Numazawa of the Philadelphia Orchestra.

Six students from Delaware County won Honorable Mention in the competition. In the Senior Division, Honorable Mention recipients include violinist Jonathan Eng, a freshman at Strath Haven High School; violinist Sophie Fortunato, a junior at Upper Darby High School; pianist Sarah Kim, a junior at Strath Haven High School; and flutist Mary Mox of Glen Mills, a senior home-schooled student.

In the Junior Division, Honorable Mention went to pianist Lawrence Lee, a student at Garnet Valley Middle School, and classical guitarist Dean Maola, a student at Strath Haven Middle School.

The Tri-County Concerts Youth Festival is one of the area's most prestigious competitions for aspiring young classical musicians living in Chester, Delaware, and Montgomery Counties. Since 1943 the festival has been a stepping stone to achievement for many emerging young artists, including current and retired members of the Philadelphia Orchestra.

For more infromation, visit www.tricountyconcerts.org.