Concerto Competition

2011-2012 Concert/Aria Competion Winner:
Sara Barone (piano)

On Saturday, February 25th, three finalists in the Rhode Island Philharmonic Concerto/ Aria Competition performed at the Carter Center for Music Education & Performance. Rhode Island Philharmonic Music Director Larry Rachleff, Resident Conductor Francisco Noya, and Operations Director David Gasper served as adjudicators. The finalists were selected from a first round of applicants who submitted recorded performances on CD. This year, applications were only accepted from students at our music school.

First Place Winner: Sara Barone, piano. Sara will perform the 1st movement of the Mendelssohn Piano Concerto No. 1 in G minor with the Rhode Island Philharmonic Youth Symphony Orchestra, Alexey Shabalin conducting, in the May 6th RIPYO concert.

     Sara Barone, a junior at the Wheeler School in Providence, has been studying piano with Ya-Fei Chuang at the New England Conservatory Preparatory Division for five years. Sara has also participated in the chamber music program at the RI Philharmonic Music School during the past three years. She has performed in recitals at the New England Conservatory, RI Philharmonic Music School, M. Steinert & Sons in Boston, as well as at Harvard University. During her summers, Sara has enrolled in the Mozarteum Summer Academy in Salzburg, Austria for the past four years. She has been selected to participate in various academy concerts and studio recitals in Salzburg during this time.
     Sara has performed in master classes for Ya-Fei Chuang, Robert Levin, Michael Stern, and Larry Rachleff. She has mastered a broad repertoire of the classical genre which includes Beethoven, Liszt, Chopin, Debussy, Ravel, Gershwin, Rachmaninoff, and most recently, Mendelssohn.
     Sara is also involved in the Wheeler School’s a cappella group, the 18 Wheelers, where she participates with the group in both local and out of state competitions under the direction of Kristin Sprague, artistic director. She also enjoys music composition, and has written pieces of classical and contemporary genres. She has worked for Community Music Works through the mentorship program since 2010, teaching piano and volunteering at the organization’s concerts and events.
     When she’s not engaged in music, Sara enjoys tennis and has been playing number one singles on the Wheeler tennis team since 2010.