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The SPCO

Young Soloists in the Spotlight

GTCYS concerto winners 2010
GTCYS interview
Steve Staruch interviews Sophia Parente and Michael Wu, winners of the Greater Twin Cities Youth Symphonies Concerto Competition.
Megen Balda

This Sunday afternoon at Ted Mann concert Hall, it's all about the next up-and-coming stars.

The Greater Twin Cities Youth Symphonies hosts the winners of its annual concerto competition. Two high school seniors - oboist Sophia Parente and cellist Michael Wu - were selected out of the most elite musicians for the honor of performing in the concert.

Sophia Parente
Sophia Parente is taking a large number of auditions hoping to land a coveted spot in a music school so she can pursue music as a profession.
Courtesy: Greater Twin Cities Youth Symphonies

Sophia is gearing up for a professional career and is in the middle of a bunch of college auditions hoping to land a spot at one of the best conservatories for next fall. She plays Mozart's first oboe concerto and told me that she loves the sound of the oboe, but especially loves the fact that the oboe is in charge of tuning the entire orchestra.

Michael Wu
Michael Wu studies cello with the former Principal Cellist of the SPCO, Peter Howard. He is also an accomplished fencer and his team recently won the State Champinoship.
Courtesy: Greater Twin Cities Youth Symphonies

Michael is multi-talented, part of the Quiz Bowl and Knowledge Masters Teams as well as on the Varsity Minnesota Sword Club. He tells me that holding the foil is a lot like holding a cello bow. He plays Tchaikovsky's Rococo Variations.

Listen to the interview and to the two perform on-line.

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