Yariv Aloni, Conductor & Artistic Director

The Twenty-first Annual

LOUIS SHERMAN

Concerto Competition

For

Young String Players

February 11, 2020, 7 pm

Chapel, First Metropolitan United Church 932 Balmoral Road

LOUIS SHERMAN CONCERTO COMPETITION

FOR YOUNG STRING PLAYERS 2020

Celebrating their 25th anniversary, The Victoria Chamber Orchestra is proud to host a special edition of the annual Louis Sherman Concerto Competition.

WINNER PRIZES:

Masterclass with Plus $100 cash

ELIGIBILITY: All students of bowed stringed instruments, age 18 years and under as of January 1, 2020, who live on southern Vancouver Island. Previous grand prize winners are ineligible.

COMPETITION DATES:

December 7th, 2019: DEADLINE for submission of application form and recording of one movement of concerto for first round of judging.

February 11th, 2020, 7 pm. Chapel, First Metropolitan United Church, 932 Balmoral Road: FINALIST COMPETITION. Live performance of one movement of the concerto before an adjudication panel and audience. Three winners will be announced following the performance.

April 16th, 2020, time TBA. 30 minute masterclass for each winner with Nikki Chooi. Location TBA.

REPERTOIRE LIST

Due to the different format of this year’s competition, all solo concertos are accepted.

Friday April 17, 2020 7:30 PM First Metropolitan United Church, 932 Balmoral at Quadra

The Victoria Chamber Orchestra with special guest Nikki Chooi, Violin

BEETHOVEN Creatures of Prometheus Overture, Op. 43 Coriolan Overture, Op. 62 Leonore Overture No. 3, Op. 72b Violin Concerto in D, Op. 61

LOUIS SHERMAN

CONCERTO COMPETITION

FOR YOUNG STRING PLAYERS 2020

APPLICATION PROCEDURES

The first round of the competition will be by recording. Competitors should record one movement of their chosen concerto and submit it as CD, mp3 file or Wav. file, using as high quality recording equipment as is available to them. We ask that no video files are being submitted. Recorded performance must be accompanied. Label only the case with name, instrument and piece, to assure anonymity during judging. Last day for submission of recording and completed application form is December 7th, 2019

APPLICATION FORM

Name: ______

Parent/Guardian(s): ______

______

Address: ______

City: ______Postal Code: ______

Phone: home: ______other: ______

Email: ______

Age of applicant as of January 1, 2020: ______

Private Teacher’s Name: ______

Private Teacher’s Phone: ______email: ______

APPLICATION DEADLINE: DECEMBER 7th, 2019

Send CD/file and application form to: Anja Rebstock V.C.O. Scholarship Committee 65 Moss St. Victoria, B.C., V8V 4M2 [email protected]

FOR MORE INFORMATION please contact:

Anja Rebstock, (250)370-0452, [email protected]

You may also visit our website: www.victoriachamberorchestra.org Nikki Chooi, Violin

Canadian violinist Nikki Chooi, praised for his passionate and poetic performances, has established himself as an artist of rare versatility. Described as “vigorous, colorful” by the New York Times, he has received critical acclaim in engagements at ’s Harris Theatre, Philadelphia's Kimmel Center, New York’s Carnegie Hall and Merkin Hall, Vancouver’s Recital Series, as well as appearing as soloist with orchestras across including the Montréal Symphony, Winnipeg Symphony, Philharmonic, Edmonton Symphony, and internationally with the St. Petersburg State Orchestra, Chamber Orchestra of Wallonie, National Orchestra of Belgium, Auckland Philharmonia, Malaysian Philharmonic, and Hong Kong Philharmonic.

In the 2018-2019 season, Nikki will make debut appearances as soloist with the Louisiana Philharmonic, West Virginia Symphony, New York Classical Players, Seongnam Philharmonic, and Kitchener-Waterloo Symphony. He will also perform at the Cecilia Concert Series in Nova Scotia, Astral Center City Series in Philadelphia, and a return to New Zealand to perform at the Adam Chamber Music Festival

He has been featured at many international festivals with performances at the Marlboro Festival, Ravinia Festival, La Jolla Summerfest, Toronto Summer Music, Moritzburg Festival, Kammermusik Utrecht, Dresden Music Festival, Olympus Festival in Russia, and Fundación Beethoven in Chile. His many collaborators have included Jan Vogler, Inon Barnatan, Desmond Hoebig, Kim Kashkashian, David Shifrin, Anthony Marwood, and members of the Guarneri and Juilliard String Quartets. Nikki has embarked on nation-wide performance tours with Musicians from Marlboro in the United States, as soloist with the National Arts Centre Orchestra in Canada, Chamber Music New Zealand, and Selby and Friends in Australia.

Nikki has also delved into the orchestral repertoire, having served as Concertmaster of New York's MET Orchestra in 2016/2017 while working closely with singers and conductors including Renee Fleming, Elīna Garanča, Eric Owens, Fabio Luisi, and Esa-Pekka Salonen. His solos can be heard through The Met: Live in HD broadcasts in productions of Verdi’s La Traviata, Janacek’s Jenufa, and the Grammy-nominated recording of Strauss’ Rosenkavalier released on the Decca Label. He has also appeared as Guest Concertmaster with the Pittsburgh Symphony, Houston Symphony, and Sydney Symphony.

With his brother, violinist , they perform together in selective projects. The duo recently gave the world premiere performance of Sheridan Seyfried’s Double Violin Concerto at the Lake George Festival, toured Canada through Jeunesse Musicale and Prairie Debut, and were featured Canadian artists at the 2018 International G7 Meeting held in Whistler, . In 2015, Nikki was a violinist in the cross-over ensemble, , performing in genres ranging from Bluegrass to Pop. In collaboration with From the Top and Universal Music, the group released a rendition of Taylor Swift’s “Shake it Off” to record-breaking views on YouTube.

A passionate educator, Nikki has presented masterclasses at the San Francisco Conservatory, Morningside Music Program at the New England Conservatory, Sphinx Academy at the Curtis Institute of Music, Hong Kong Cultural Center, and the University of Auckland. Nikki is also immersed in projects involving the engagement of classical music through Astral’s Community Program for schools and learning centers in Philadelphia, New Zealand's Sistema Aotearoa Program, and Music from Angelfire's Outreach events in New Mexico.

Nikki began his studies at the Victoria Conservatory, Mount Royal Conservatory, and at the National Arts Centre Young Artist Programme with . He completed his formal studies at the Curtis Institute and the Juilliard School under the mentorship of Joseph Silverstein, , and Donald Weilerstein. A recipient of prizes at the Queen Elizabeth and Tchaikovsky Competitions, Nikki was the 1st Prize Winner of the Montreal Symphony's Standard Life Competition, the Klein International Strings Competition, and the Michael Hill International Violin Competition. He released his debut album of works by Prokofiev, Ravel, and Gershwin on the Atoll Label.