San Diego Branch VOCE 2020 was an amassment of extraordinary talent and skill under one roof! Ten teachers sent a total of 34 soloists and 6 ensembles to compete, and 1 non-competitive entry. They were assisted by 8 accompanists. The event was held January 5 at Grossmont College in two competition rooms, and was open to the public.
Co-Chairs:
Hernan Constantino, Danette White, and Yuko Maruyama
Studios represented:
Ruslan Biryukov, cello & coach; Hernan Constantino, violin & coach; Peter Dayeh, clarinet; Constantino Felicetta, clarinet; Annelle Gregory, violin; Sunjin Kim, violin; Tasha Koontz, voice; Alex Palamidis, violin & coach; Pasha Tseitlin, violin & coach; and Elena Yarritu, flute & piccolo
Accompanists:
Yulia Atoyan, Dana Burnett, Melissa Creider, Katherine Dvoskin, Yuju Jung, Dale Liao, Joanne Stohs, and Bryan Verhoye
Judges:
Ai Nihira & Jian Wang—Junior & Intermediate Solo Strings
Ethan Parnela & Edmund Stein—Senior Solo Strings, and Intermediate & Senior Ensembles
Amy Taylor & Sheryl Renk—Intermediate & Senior Solo Winds, and Solo Voice
Dan Ratelle—Solo Voice
6 teachers worked as volunteers:
Ruslan Biryukov, Peter Dayeh, Annelle Gregory, Sunjin Kim, Alex Palamidis, and Pasha Tseitlin
3 San Diego Branch board members provided additional support on site:
Chutaphin Yeager, Brian Goral, and Miriam Cole
A tremendous thank you to all involved!!
Congratulations to EACH student for your performance—for dedication to music—and willingness to put yourself out there and go for it!!
Below are the results. 1st Place Winners (including ties) are eligible to compete at the MTAC State VOCE in April. A further online application is required. If 1st Place Winners cannot compete, then a 1st Place Alternate may do so. Note that 2nd Place cannot substitute in the absence of 1st.
Junior Solo Strings
1st Place Tie—Brianna Baek, violin
1st Place Tie—Ethan Zhou, violin
1st Place Alternate—Julian Wu, cello
2nd Place—Alexia Ciobanu, violin
3rd Place Tie—Jasmine Chan, violin
3rd Place Tie—Benjamin Luo, violin
Honorable Mention—Joyce Kwack, violin
Intermediate Solo Strings
1st Place—Stacy Widyono, violin
1st Place Alternate—Justin Wu, cello
2nd Place—Ethan Zhang, cello
3rd Place—Kevin Hu, violin
Honorable Mentions (alphabetical)—Chisato Kamakura, violin; Daeho Lee, violin
Senior Solo Strings
1st Place Tie—Adam Kulju, violin
1st Place Tie—Phoebe Olszewski, violin
1st Place Alternate—Alina Hernandez, violin
2nd Place—Evan Zhou, violin
3rd Place—Janice Hu, violin
Honorable Mentions (alphabetical)—Charlotte Hou, violin; Wei-Shan Huynh, violin; Andrew Yang, cello
Intermediate Solo Winds
1st Place—Nathan Haghgoo, flute
2nd Place—Nithin Chilakapati, flute/piccolo
3rd Place—Ramona Terry-Lorenzo, flute
Senior Solo Winds
1st Place—Gary Lin, clarinet
2nd Place—Elaine Yiu, flute
3rd Place—Daeyoun Na, clarinet
Senior Solo Voice
2nd Place—Sophia Khurana, mezzo-soprano
Intermediate Instrumental Ensemble
1st Place—”Ember String Quartet”
Stacy Widyono, violin; Chisato Kamakura, violin; Maya Rosenbaum, viola; Josephine Kim, cello
2nd Place Tie—”SKY Trio”
Kevin Hu, violin; Sunny Fan, cello; Eric Wang, piano
2nd Place Tie—”String Quartet”
Janice Hu, violin; Tristan Upton, violin; Dasha Zerboni, viola; Ethan Zhang, cello
Honorable Mention—”Mini-Cellissimo”
Han Li, cello, Debora Okhotina, cello
Senior Instrumental Ensemble
1st Place—”The String Beans”
Evan Zhou, violin; Wei-Shan Huynh, violin; James Renk, viola; Dylan Renk, cello
2nd Place—”San Diego Youth Cello Quintet”
Darren Jiang, cello; Andrew Yang, cello; Sebastian Brumm, cello; Ethan Zhang, cello; Justin Wu, cello