Seattle Young Artists Music Festival

A World Class Music Festival

Performance Opportunities, Adjudications, and Master Classes for Young Musicians

Important Announcements

Concerto Concert This Saturday

The Concerto Concert will take place May 10, 7:30 p.m. at Kane Hall on
the UW campus. We invite you to attend the Winners Concert
to experience some of the remarkably accomplished young talent of
our region, and to show support for the students chosen for this honor

Program
Mozart Piano Concerto No. 20 in D minor, K. 466 I. Allegro Tristan Teo, piano
Martin Ballade for Flute and Orchestra Angela Potter, flute
Liszt Concerto No. 1 in Eb major, S. 124 Jila Dabestani, piano
Dvořák Cello Concerto in B minor, Op. 104 I. Allegro Oliver Aldort, cello
Khachaturian Violin Concerto in D minor I. Allegro con fermezza Simone Porter, violin
Ravel Piano Concerto in G Major I. Allegramente Scott Xiao, piano

2008 Concerto Division Wnners

Please join us in congratulating the winners of the 2008 Concerto Competition.

Concerto Division Winners
Jila Dabestani	Piano
Tristan Teo	Piano
Scott Xiao	Piano
Simone Porter	Violin
Oliver Aldort	Cello
Angela Potter	Flute

Alternates
Tami Lin	Piano
Grace Choi	Violin

Festival Medal
Oliver Aldort	Cello
Scott Xiao	Piano

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We'd also like to thank and congratulate all of our Finalists on their achievements.

2008 Festival Photos

We hope you enjoy these pictures taken during festival week.
Perhaps there's a picture of you!

Music For Medicine

Feb. 7th. It was a wonderful evening. Following a silent auction and reception, six of our Young Artists performed in a concert hosted by the Seattle Design Center to raise money for the Polyclinic Community Health Foundation. A portion of the proceeds will also benefit the festival. King FM's Sean MacLean announced the concert. Sherman Clay of Seattle provided the Steinway D. Special thanks to SYAMF artists: Benji Bae, Timothy Krippner, Arina Nelson, Angela Potter, Sojung Yi and Tim Zhang.

We Have a New Look

SYAMF is pleased to announce that the Board of Directors has selected a new logo for the the festival. Special thanks go to Loretta Matson for her tireless efforts in creating and refining design ideas for us to choose from. We're excited about our new look, and hope you are too!

Concerto Concert Audio Now Available

Back by popular request! We've once again made the audio for the concerto concerts available on line. To listen to wonderful performances by our talented young artists, visit our Concerto Concert Page

Young Artists to Perform with the Seattle Symphony

The partnership between the Seattle Young Artists Music Festival Association and Seattle Symphony has provided a number of winners of the 2007 Festival's concerto competition the rare opportunity to perform a movement of a concerto with a major orchestra.

"The Seattle Young Artists Music Festival plays a critical role in music education for our young people and helps build the technical and artistic foundation for future classical music performers"

Gerard Schwarz
Music Director, Seattle Symphony

Upcoming Young Artists Concerts

Cellist Julian Schwarz, age 16
March 1 & 8,2008

Pianist Jeong Choe, age17
May 31 & June 7, 2008

The first young artist featured was high school senior Rozalyn Chok, who Performed Richard Strauss’ Burleske with the Orchestra on May 8, 2007, as part of the Meet the Beat series for middle school students. Violinist Marié Rossano performed Camille Saint-Saëns’ “Introduction and Rondo Capriccioso” in October. Two other winners are scheduled to play with the Seattle Symphony as part of the Symphony's Discover Music series under the baton of Carolyn Kuan.

Kent Coleman 1955 - 2007

The Seattle music community lost a truly gifted educator when Kent Coleman passed away in June of 2007 at the age of 52. Kent died suddenly and unexpectedly from Hodgkin's disease which he had lived with for many years. Kent was an inspirational violin teacher and a very generous volunteer as a member of the Seattle Young Artists Music Festival Association Music Advisory Panel. Kent served on the panel for eleven years and made a significant contribution to the growth and development of the Festival. We will miss his guidance and devotion to our organization as well as the incomparable standards and level of achievement he set for both violin teachers and students..

Helen Taverniti Endowment Fund

Helen Taverniti (1921-2005), one of the five original founders of the Seattle Young Artists Music Festival, was a major figure in piano performance and instruction during her 50-plus year career. It was her teaching of gifted students and fellow teachers that she may best be remembered.

Helen was married to John "Jack" Morse, a well known Seattle architect who passed away 2000. The couple, who had so loved music and art, designated a major gift from their joint estate to benefit the SYAMFA and help sustain the Festival in coming years. We are pleased to announce the formation of the "Helen Taverniti Endowment Fund for the Seattle Young Artists Music Festival". The endowment will be reinvested to grow over time while small annual distributions will help cover anticipated increases in the Festival's expenses. Contributions to the endowment fund should be designated separately from gifts to the annual operating fund.

Seattle Rotary Awards Grant

The Seattle Rotary Club #4 has awarded a $2000 grant to the Seattle Young Artists Music Festival for the 2008 season. The Grant is specifically designated as the Seattle Rotary International Music Educator Chair to assist the SYAMFA in securing the services of a top level music educator from outside the local area to adjudicate festival participants. The grant demonstrates Rotary's support for music education.

The Seattle Rotary #4 will also continue over the next year to provide opportunities for Young Artists to play in front of the over 400 community leaders that assemble weekly for the Rotary #4 luncheons. The Rotary forum is considered a premier showcase in Seattle and has featured many prominent local, national, and international speakers.

FESTIVAL DATES

Registration: Dec 15 - Jan 15

Festival: March 24-29
(Monday - Saturday)

Concert: May l0, 2008

President's Corner

Every year, at the end of the week-long Festival, we turn the last light off with mixed emotions. Relieved to see it wrapped up successfully after a year of planning; a bit melancholic to see it end; and at the same time upbeat and energized with thoughts of improvements for the year to come. The 2008 Festival is behind us. It was a fantastic week filled with pure joy of Music. I applaud you all for sharing your music so fearlessly and joyfully. You amazed me with your poise, and your musical maturity.

I thank our panel of adjudicators for their hard work, and for sharing their wisdom, and my fellow Board members for their dedication and tireless work. And, I congratulate all of the winners and alternates of our concerto competition division for a job well done!

The concerto winners concert will be held on Saturday, May 10, at 7:30 p.m. at Kane Hall, University of Washington. Please mark your calendars, spread the word, and join us to hear our winners perform in concert with Philharmonia Northwest, under the baton of Maestro Roupen Shakarian. I look forward to seeing you there.

Firouzeh Nourzad

Volunteers Needed

Have you ever thought it might be fun to help with the Festival? The Seattle Young Artists Music Festival Association is a volunteer organization. The success of the festival depends entirely on the tireless efforts of dedicated volunteers. If you'd like to give some of your time to the festival, please contact us. We have opportunities both large and small.