Winners of the Young Artist Competition (from left): Audrianna Wu and Liam Mayo (piano), Tabby Rhee (violin) and Robert Rockman (marimba).
Wisconsin’s classical music future is in good hands.
The next generation’s talent and enthusiasm was on full display on April 19, as approximately 1,000 high school students filled Overture Hall for the Madison Symphony Orchestra’s Spring Young People’s Concert. The event featured winners of this year’s Bolz Young Artist Competition, marimbist Robert Rockman and violinist Tabby Rhee.
In addition to the MSO, the competition is sponsored by Wisconsin Public Radio, Wisconsin Public Television and several other organizations, and is open to high school-age students
Rockman, a homeschooled junior from Sun Prairie, began percussion lessons in 2009. He has diverse musical interests, including percussion, classical guitar, singing and dancing. He also was named one of the Milwaukee Symphony Orchestra’s 2015 Stars of Tomorrow.
Rhee, 18, is a senior at Brookfield East High School and a recipient of a merit scholarship to the Music Institute of Chicago. She originally began her music training on piano, but found that the violin was a better fit and has been playing it since age 5.
At the April 19 event, Madison Symphony Orchestra music director John DeMain led the orchestra and soloists through their winning pieces. Rockman, first-place winner, played Fantasy on Japanese Woodprints by Alan Hovhaness, and Rhee, second place, played the first movement of the Violin Concerto in D minor by Jean Sibelius. The orchestra also performed works by Mozart, Jaromir Weinberger and Tchaikovsky.
DeMain says the young artists tackled challenging material. “Tabby’s piece is very difficult for both the soloist and the orchestra,” he says. “There are many cross-rhythms that are difficult to play accurately. Robert’s piece came together without too much difficulty, even though the orchestral score looks daunting.”
Fantasy on Japanese Woodprints begins slowly and builds to a fury. Rockman played with the poise and confidence that comes with knowing the music thoroughly, and at times his marimba mallets were a blur.
“This piece, as the name suggests, is based on a Japanese scale, which is very different from music we hear in America,” says Rockman. The Japanese influence makes Fantasy both meditative and exciting, and Rockman handled the contrast well.
The Sibelius violin concerto was the composer’s anguished farewell to his dream of being a virtuoso violinist. Rhee added a youthful glow to its dark beauty while capturing its inward nature. “I love that the concerto has dissonance but is also very romantic,” says Rhee.
Both soloists received standing ovations.
Rockman and Rhee were clearly ecstatic, using words like “absolute joy” and “phenomenal” to describe the experience of playing with a professional orchestra.
In addition to the first- and second-place winners in this year’s competition, honorable mentions went to two fine pianists, Audrianna Wu and Liam Mayo.
Kathryn Schwarzmann, the MSO’s director of education and community engagement, says that on average about 35 students participate in the preliminary round of the competition. While only four make it to the finals, Schwarzmann says students are already asking questions about next year’s competition.
