PSO Young People’s Concert Carries On

PSO Young People’s Concert Carries On

By Leonard Shapiro

The show must go on for the Piedmont Symphony Orchestra’s April Young People’s Concert, with a major accommodation to protect musicians young and old and the throngs of classical music lovers from around the region who would normally flock to the PSO’s popular live events.

But not this year.

Because of the continuing pandemic, the three teenage finalists in the PSO’s 20th annual Young People’s competition will not perform in front of a live audience, or with the full orchestra. Instead, they’ll be playing their particular pieces with a piano accompanist in a session at Buchanan Hall in Upperville on April 18.

A recording of those performances will be available to season ticket holders on discs. Three judges will be in attendance at the session, with the first place winner awarded a $3,000 scholarship, second place $1,500 and third place $1,000.

“This year, we’ve had to do it differently,” said Glenn Quader, the PSO’s music director and conductor. “We usually have an art contest along with it, but most schools are not in a position to do that this year, and we did not want to over-burden the teachers. Our musicians submitted their entries on YouTube this year, and the judges picked the top three finalists.”

This year’s finalists are Noelle Fiegl, a violinist from the Fredericksburg Young Musicians School, Kelsey Payne, a violinist from Mary Washington College, and flutist Naomi Wall from Battlefield High School in Haymarket. They’ve all been asked to select one movement from a concerto of their choice to play in the finals.

Debbie Gilbert, the PSO’s principal flutist, oversees the Young People’s Concert and said at one point, they considered cancelling the competition. “But we didn’t want the students to miss out on these scholarships, so we decided to try to make it work.”

Young musicians from around the region were asked to submit their individual performances on YouTube. In a normal year, four semifinalists are chosen, and they rehearse several times with the full orchestra before performing in a live concert. This year, the three judges picked the top three from the initial submissions, and the Buchanan Hall session will decide the rest.

All the finalists, like so many past participants in the competition, seem likely to go on to careers in music, either teaching, playing, composing or conducting. Several participants from past Young People’s concerts are now playing with the PSO.

“They are all very talented young musicians,” Gilbert said. “I really believe classical music is here to stay. Many parents want it for their kids to have the opportunity to expand their horizons. And many of them are very serious about it.”

Said Quader, “When they played with the full orchestra in past years, it really was huge for them. This year will be a little different, but we’re also going to try to make it a great experience, no matter what.”