Eight UW Students to Perform in Jacoby Competition March 2

The University of Wyoming’s finest student musician will be chosen at this year’s Dorothy Jacoby Student Soloist Competition Thursday, March 2.

Eight finalists were selected during auditions in the fall. Now, these young performers each will perform as a soloist with the UW Symphony Orchestra (UWSO). A panel of judges then will choose the winner of the Jacoby prize -- a significant cash award.

The concert is at 7:30 p.m. in the Buchanan Center for the Performing Arts concert hall. Tickets cost $10 for the public; $7 for senior citizens; and $6 for students. Tickets are available at the Performing Arts box office and the Wyoming Union information desk, by calling (307) 766-6666 or going online at www.uwyo.edu/finearts.

“This year, we have an incredibly varied program, with soloists from the string, woodwind and brass areas; a singer; and a pianist,” says Michael Griffith, UW’s director of orchestral activities. “We have two from Wyoming, four from elsewhere in the United States and two international students. Six are undergraduates, and two are graduate students.”

This year’s soloists are:

-- Aaron Boyer, a trombone player from Roselle, Ill.

-- Rui Gao, a pianist from Shenyang, China.

-- Sean McKay, a trumpeter from Parker, Colo.

-- Rafael Ribeiro, a flutist from Goiânia, Brazil.

-- Heath Richards, a viola player from Fremont, Neb.

-- Zane Romanek, a saxophonist from Douglas.

-- Drew Syring, a soprano from Cody.

-- Tyler Treacy, a French hornist from Loveland, Colo.

While the judges deliberate, the UWSO will offer the world premiere of “Cxion” by UW composition student Victoria Ramos, from Los Angeles. Adding a student composition is new to the Jacoby concert.

The concert is named after Dorothy Jacoby, a founding member of the UW Symphony Association and a longtime supporter of classical music in Laramie. Her sons, Peter and Michael Jacoby, made a generous contribution in honor of their late mother. That gift, along with contributions from many of Dorothy Jacoby’s friends, created the endowment for the prize that is awarded at the performance.