Calling High School Musicians: RPO is Searching For a Star!
Rochester, NY – For local high school musicians, the opportunity to perform on the stage of the Eastman Theatre with the Rochester Philharmonic Orchestra sounds like a dream come true. Through the RPO’s upcoming Search for a Star competition, that dream will become a reality for the most talented of these young people. The Orchestra is looking for eight to 10 of the most talented vocal and instrumental performers in grades 10-12 to appear in concert with the RPO and Principal Pops Conductor Jeff Tyzik at 2:00 pm on Sunday, March 1, 2009 on the RPO’s Casual Sunday Matinee Series, sponsored by Rochester Magazine and University of Rochester Medical Center.
Audition forms are available for downloading through the “Search for a Star” link on the RPO website www.rpo.org/star; through public and private school music teachers or departments; or at the RPO offices at 108 East Avenue. The competition is open to all 10th-12th graders – including homeschoolers – throughout Monroe, Ontario, Wayne, Orleans, Livingston, Genesee, and Wyoming Counties. Individual performers and ensembles of no more than four musicians are welcome to apply. Audition applications must be postmarked no later than Friday, October 31. These will be reviewed and used as a pre-screening process on a first-come, first-served basis for the in-person preliminary round of auditions. Due to the nature of the competition, a limit of approximately 100 applicants per category will be accepted. Interested students should send in their applications as soon as possible to:
Rochester Philharmonic Orchestra
“Search for a Star” c/o Nana Stotz
108 East Avenue
Rochester, NY 14604
Preliminary auditions will take place on Sunday, November 16 at the School of the Arts (45 Prince Street, Rochester), in three different categories:
• Classical instrumental performance
• Pops instrumental performance (jazz and blues)
• Vocal performance (jazz, blues, Broadway, and classical)
Preliminary round auditions will take place from 9:00 am–1:00 pm, with callbacks for the final audition from 2:00 – 6:00 pm the same afternoon. Applicants who are accepted to audition will be notified by the RPO by mail within a week of the October 31 application deadline. Preliminary competition rounds will be judged by a panel of professional musicians, music teachers, and adjudicators in each category. Conductor Jeff Tyzik will oversee the final callback round. Winners will be announced by December 6, 2008. Complete instructions can be found on the audition form.
In 2006, the RPO presented its first “Search for a Star” competition with many of its winners continuing on to pursue college music degrees.
Celebrating its 86th season in 2008-09, the RPO inspires and enriches the community through the art of music, presenting nearly 200 performances each season to a combined audience of an estimated quarter of a million people, including more than 70,000 who experience the RPO’s broad range of educational and community programs. The Orchestra is passionately dedicated to outstanding musical performance at the highest artistic levels, and has a unique tradition of musical versatility, commitment to music education in the broadest sense, and a deep and enduring engagement with the community. The RPO has been honored with the New York State Governor’s Arts Award and two recent ASCAP awards for adventurous programming. RPO performances are made possible in part with grants from the National Endowment for the Arts; the New York State Council on the Arts, a State Agency; the State of New York; Monroe County and the City of Rochester.
