The winner of the 2022 Lauria Concerto Competition, viola performer Avedis Escandon, performed Viola Concerto by William Walton, collaborating with Denella Sing, piano. Escandon commenting on his accomplishment, said, “This achievement has been a very long time in the making for me. Winning the concerto competition at BW has been one of my number one goals since I was a first-year student, so to be able to realize it now after years of hard work is a dream come true. I want to thank my friends and family who have supported me as I have made my way to this point, and I would like to give special thanks to my incredible viola teacher, Professor Veskimets. She has helped guide me along every step of the process to get here, pushing me to find it within myself to do better every day.”
The Lauria Concerto Competition recognizes the artistic achievements of student performances at BW. The prize is the opportunity to perform solo with the BW Symphony Orchestra and a generous monetary award. Contestants in this year's annual competition were Sarah Nichols, viola; Christopher Nadar, trombone; and Avedis Escandon, viola and collaborative pianists Ophelia Shan, Rei Sakurai-Cohen and Denella Sing provided the orchestral accompaniments. The competition was judged by three professional musicians from outside Baldwin Wallace University: Dr. Tiffany Chang, Assistant Professor of Conducting, Oberlin Conservatory and Assistant Professor of Composition and Theory, Berklee College of Music; Dr. Mary Ann Craig ’69, past Conservatory Alumni Achievement Award recipient and Professor Emeritus, Montclair State University; and, Dr. Jungho Kim, Orchestra Director, Kent State University.
Dr. and Mrs. Anthony and Patricia Lauria, benefactors of the competition, watched the performance on live stream. Dr. Lauria is a Professor Emeritus of Computer Science at BW, and the couple have long been generous supporters of the BW Conservatory.
Written by Lindy Warren '22
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