Roger & Ella Jo Adams Concerto Competition

On March 31, 2012, the Allen Philharmonic will host the fourth annual Roger & Ella Jo Adams Concerto Competition for Allen High School students. Concerto competitions are important to the development of students who may want to make the performing arts their life’s work. Ella Jo Adams’ belief that “volunteering in your community and contributing your time and talents is an investment that you make and a legacy that you leave for the benefit of those younger citizens who come after you,” became the blueprint for this competition, and a wonderful way to honor the memory of her late husband Roger, an avid supporter of the arts and the Allen Philharmonic.

Any Allen High School Student from grades nine through twelve involved in the Allen ISD Performing Arts programs of Orchestra and Band, who is in compliance with the “no pass, no play” mandate for Texas Schools, who is not enrolled as a full time student in college, university or conservatory, who plays a standard orchestral instrument excluding piano and voice, is eligible to compete. Students who have earned chair positions in the string section of the Allen Philharmonic are eligible to compete. Gold Medalist must be available to perform as a special guest of the Allen Philharmonic at a concert selected by our Conductor/Music Director, Richard Giangiulio. All works must be accompanied and applicants must furnish their own accompanist and, if desired, a page-turner.

Prizes for this competition are:

Gold Medal $1,000 and performance with the Allen Philharmonic

Silver Medal $500 and performance at a Friends of Note Event

Bronze Medal $250

Winners for the past years include:

2008-2009 Season:

Jessica Fisher, Gold Medalist, Mendelssohn’s Violin Concerto in E minor

Jeremy Tsui, Silver Medalist, Lalo’s Cello Concerto,

Jaeyoon Kim, Bronze Medalist, Lalo’s Symphonie Espagnole.

2009-2010 Season:

Jeremy Tsui, Gold Medalist, Haydn’s Cello Concerto in C Major

David Thomas, Silver Medalist, Kabelevsky’s Violin Concerto in C Major