Shenandoah Conservatory announces the winners of the 2018/19 Student Soloists Competition (SSC) on behalf of the SSC committee. The final round of the competition was held at 3 p.m. on Dec. 2, in Armstrong Concert Hall.
Pictured left to right: Brian Woods, piano (Category II); Christos Kokkinis, tenor (Category I); Robert Catinella, double bass (Category I); Morgan Myers, soprano (Category II); Brett Baboorian, piano (Category I); Caeley Niess, trumpet (Honorable Mention Category I); Sarah Saul, flute (Honorable Mention Category II) and Carlos Figueroa, violoncello (Category II)
Category I – Undergraduate
Instrumental Division Winner
Robert Catinella, double bass
Keyboard Division Winner
Brett Baboorian, piano
Vocal/Choral Division Winner
Christos Kokkinis, tenor
Category II – Graduate
Instrumental Division Winner
Carlos Figueroa, violoncello
Keyboard Division Winner
Brian Woods, piano
Vocal/Choral Division Winner
Morgan Myers, soprano
Honorable Mention
Caeley Niess, trumpet (Category I)
Sarah Saul, flute (Category II)
Winners of this year’s competition will be featured in performance with the Shenandoah Conservatory Symphony Orchestra at 8 p.m. on Saturday, Feb. 16, 2019.
Participants performed in preliminary and semifinal rounds judged by the 2018/19 SSC Committee, which featured Shenandoah Conservatory faculty representatives from the Instrumental, Keyboard and Vocal/Choral divisions, as well as Director of Orchestral Studies, Conductor, Chair of Instrumental Division and Professor of Conducting Jan Wagner, who also serves as SCC Committee chair. The final round was adjudicated by an all-external jury comprising Brian Ganz (Keyboard Division representative), Alessandra Marc (Vocal/Choral Division representative) and John Kilkenny (Instrumental Division representative).
2018/19 Student Soloists Competition Committee
Jan Wagner, SSC Chair
Director of Orchestral Studies; Conductor; Chair of Instrumental Division; Professor of Conducting
Garrick Zoeter, SSC Instrumental Division Representative
Anna Lee Van Buren Chair in Clarinet; Coordinator of Winds and Percussion; Professor, Clarinet
Michael Forest, SSC Vocal/Choral Division Representative
Associate Professor of Voice (Tenor)
Karen Walker, SSC Keyboard Division Representative
Coordinator of Conservatory Teaching and Graduate Assistantships; Associate Professor, Piano
2018/19 Guest Final Jury
Brian Ganz Keyboard, Division Representative
Alessandra Marc, Vocal/Choral Division Representative
John Kilkenny, Instrumental Division Representative
About the Winners
Brett Baboorian ’21 is currently pursuing a Bachelor of Music in Performance (Piano).
Robert Catinella ’18 is currently pursuing a Bachelor of Music in Performance (Double Bass) under the tutelage of Coordinator of Strings and Professor of Bass Donovan Stokes, D.M.
Carlos Figueroa ’19 is currently pursuing a Bachelor of Music in Performance (Cell0) under the tutelage of Assistant Professor of Cello Julian Schwarz, M.M.
Christos Kokkinis ’19 is currently pursuing a Bachelor of Music in Performance (Voice).
Morgan Myers ’26 is currently pursuing a Doctor of Musical Arts in Performance (Voice).
Brian Woods ’20 is currently pursuing an Artist Diploma (Piano) under the tutelage of Distinguished Artist-in-Residence, Chair of Keyboard Division and Professor of Piano John O’Conor, Mus.D.
Caeley Niess is currently pursuing a Bachelor of Arts in Performance (Trumpet) under the tutelage of Adjunct Associate Professor of Trumpet Chuck Seipp, D.M.A.
Sarah Saul is currently pursuing a Master of Music in Performance (Flute) under the tutelage of Professor of Flute Jonathan Snowden, A.G.S.M.
