Saturday, November 23, 2024, 7:00 – 9:30 pm, Pre-concert talk 6:15 pm, Russell Trip Performance Center, Albany

Sunday, November 24, 2024, 4:00 – 6:30 pm, Pre-concert talk 3:15 pm, Ashbrook Independent School, Corvallis

Willamette Valley Symphony is excited to present the winners of our 2024 Student Concerto Competition, who will play a concerto movement with the symphony. Additionally, the winners of our Student Composition competition will have the opportunity to have their work played by the symphony. This concert will also feature Mussorgsky’s Night on Bald Mountain and Britten’s Young Person’s Guide to the Orchestra. Come 45 minutes early for a pre-concert talk. Doors open one hour before the concert.

Concerto Competition Winners (in no particular order)

Jason Han – Cello,  Lalo Cello Concerto in D minor 1st Movement

 Jason Han is a freshman at Crescent Valley High School in Corvallis, Oregon. He has been playing the cello for nine years and served as a principal in the Willamette Valley Junior Honor Symphony (2021-23) and is currently in the Corvallis Youth Symphony. An accomplished soloist, Jason won first place in the American Protégé International Piano & Strings Competition and first prize in the New York Laureate International Music Competition. He received second place at the Oregon Mozart Players Competition and earned a Silver medal in the Grand Metropolitan International Music Competition. In addition, he has won at several Oregon Music Teacher Association festivals and has performed as a soloist with Salem Philharmonia Orchestra.

Bethany Christensen – Violin,  Lalo’s Symphonie Espagnole, 1^st Movement

Bethany Christensen is a senior at Corvallis High School. She began playing the violin at the age of five, and has studied with an array of teachers, of which most recently is Jessica Lambert for the past four years. She has played in a variety of ensemble groups, including OMEA All-State and All-Northwest Symphonies; the Corvallis Youth Symphony, where she currently serves as Concertmaster; her school’s Honors Camerata Orchestra; and group ensembles, such as trios and quintets, that served as Corvallis High School’s representatives for competitions. Bethany has also competed in various contests including ASTA’s Solo Competition; OMTA’s Ensemble Festival, where she placed first; OMEA’s High School Solo Competition, where she ranked second at districts and tenth at state; and OMEA’s High School Ensemble Competition, where her ensemble placed third at state. 

Bastian Sorenson – French Horn,  Morceau De Concert by C. Saint Seans

 Bastian Sorenson (French Horn) is a driven performer who is at home on the stage. A senior at Crescent Valley High School, Bastian is a Drum Major for the marching band. He has performed with numerous ensembles, including the Corvallis Youth Symphony, the Young Musicians and Artists summer band and orchestra camp, and the All-State Wind Ensemble. This summer, he toured Spain and Portugal with the Metropolitan Youth Symphony. When he’s not playing the horn, he’s likely to be found singing, dancing, acting, or doing all three at once in one of CSDTheaters’ yearly musicals at Corvallis High School. Bastian is also recognized nationally for his singing by the National Association of Teachers of Singing. 

Student Composition Competition Winners (in no particular order)

Abe Tsai – La Esperanza

Abe’s love of sharing music began as a boy, performing violin for his great-grandmother. Along his musical journey, he has played in numerous honor groups, including the OMEA All-State Orchestra and NaFME All-Northwest Symphony Orchestra. He has competed at the state level for both violin and oboe, and recently performed Vieuxtemps’ 4th violin concerto as the winner of Corvallis Youth Symphony’s Young Soloists Competition. Abe has also appeared as a featured artist on All Classical Radio’s “On Deck With Young Musicians.” Currently, he serves as assistant concertmaster of CYS and concertmaster of the Corvallis Camerata Orchestra. As long as he’s been playing violin, Abe has also been writing melodies. He began his formal training in composition as a fellow in the Newport Youth Symphony Young Composers Symposium, and has had the honor of playing his pieces alongside the Camerata Orchestra, the Newport Symphony festival, and most recently, at the OSU PRaX Soundbox 7 International Music Festival. 

Flash Inouye – Look At All the Stars

Ten year old Flash Inouye is a musician, athlete, and adventurer. Flash wrote his first composition at age 8 and has been composing avidly ever since. He plays the cello, is a member of the Metropolitan Youth Symphony, the Young Composers Project, and recently debuted in the cello section of the Lewis and Clark Orchestra. Flash also plays soccer and basketball and practices Taekwondo. He couldn’t be more excited about the world premiere of his original composition “Look at all the Stars.”