Past Winners include:

Leila Josefowicz, violin

Cheryl Staples, violin

John Novacek, piano

SuLi Xue, violin

Serge Oskotsly, cello

Allison Alldridge, cellist

Timothy Fain, violin

Tina Guo, cello

Felix Eisenhauer, piano

Robert Theis, piano

Stirling Trent, violin

Paula and Maurice Parness Young Artists Concerto Competition


Award ceremony 2005 (l to r) Frank Fetta, May du Bois, Tina Guo, and Matthew Hetz - Photo by David Bromberg

Young Artists Need Your Support

Parness Young Artist Concerto Competition

The Westchester Symphony Society, Inc. and The Culver City Symphony Orchestra sponsor the Maurice and Paula Parness Young Artist Concerto Competition for Young Artists. There are three divisions: Junior (ages 14 and under), Intermediate (ages 15-18) and Senior (ages 19-25).

Paula Parness was a long time friend, supporter and former director of the Symphony Society, who established the Maurice Parness Young Artists Concerto Competition in memory of her husband. The board renamed the fund the Paula and Maurice K. Parness Young Artists Concerto Competition in her memory.

This competition allows young musicians to enter a judged competition, and the winners then are invited to perform with the Culver City Symphony Orchestra. For some soloist it is their first time performing with an orchestra.

The Parnesses established the competition to promote the continuation of music in our lives by encouraging the next generations of young artists and presenting them in our concerts. An honorarium which is presented to the winners. To continue with the competition and our concerts devoted to the winners, we need your financial support. Please consider what you can give to help us present these soloists in our concerts. The coupon below will direct your donation toward the Parness Young Artists Concerto Competition.

The competition is held in the Autumn at West Los Angeles College, and has become a model for other competitions in the Southland. Contestants receive invaluable experience by participating in an instrumental competition which stresses technical ability and musicality.

Past winners have gone on to further musical studies, or are now creative musicians working throughout the U.S. and in Europe.Some past winners are listed on the side panel to the left.

For information, please contact us: info@culvercitysymphony.org

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The latest Parness Fund Concerto Competition fir Young Artistswas held at West Los Angeles College on Friday, November 2, 2007. We extend our congratulations to all of the contestants for their dedication to their art. All made a strong impression on the judges. We also extend our congratulations and thanks to the contestants’ parents and family, and their teachers. All are deserving of praise, and we wish all contestants great success in the future. We look forward to next year's contestants.

THE WINNERS OF THE 2007 COMPETITION

Junior Division (ages 14 and under)
Leah Hansen, cello, Saint-Saens Concerto No. 1, Ron Leonard-teacher

Intermediate Division (ages 15-18)
Austin Hansen, violin, Mendelssohn Concerto, Alice Schoenfeld-teacher
Ann Lee, violin, Tchaikovsky Concerto, Alice Schoenfeld-teacher
Niv Ashkenazi, violin, Lalo Symphonie Espagnole, Linda Rose, teacher
Joseph Tsai, piano, Saint-Saens Concerto No. 2, Chun-Yi Wang, teacher

Senior Division (ages 19-25)
The judges did not select a Winner this year.

The winners have the opportunity to be presented in concerts

with the Culver City Symphony Orchestra in the 2008-09 Season.

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Winners of the 2006 Parness Fund Young Artists Competition

This year’s competition was held November 17, at West Los Angeles College. There were forty-five participants, all of remarkable skill and musicality. Congratulations to all of the participants and their teachers.

2006 Winners:

JUNIOR DIVISION (Ages 14 and under)
Michael Chang, Piano - Kabalevsky, Piano Concerto No. 3

INTERMEDIATE DIVISION (Ages 15 through 18)
Ryan Lin, Piano - Shostakovich, Piano Concerto No. 2, 1st Movement
Yeri Kim, Cello - Popper, Hungarian Rhapsody
Kei Sugiyama, Violin - Saint Saens, Violin Concerto No. 3, 1st Movement

SENIOR DIVISION (Ages 19-25)
Stirling Trent, Violin - Prokofiev, Violin Concerto No. 1, Andantino

2006 Honorable Mentions:

Austin Hansen, Violin - Bruch, Violin Concerto No. 1, 3rd Movement
Chiai Tajima, Violin - Shostakovich, Violin Concerto No. 2, 1st Movement
James Lee, Cello - Saint Saens, Cello Concerto No. 3, 3rd Movement
Angela Chang, Piano - Saint Saens, Piano Concerto No. 3, 3rd Movement