Young Texas Artists Music Competition Celebrates Winners’ Continued Success

CONROE, TX – For three decades, The Young Texas Artists Music Competition (YTA) has been showcasing and supporting the state’s rising classical music stars. But what happens after the curtain falls? Discover where their careers and love of music have taken these three performers since winning YTA.

Coleman Itzkoff – Cello

“I was blown away when my name was called as Grand Prize winner at the Young Texas Artists Competition two years ago,” said cellist Coleman Itzkoff.

“At age nineteen, I had never been a part of such a serious competition before, nor had I competed with such strong colleagues. The judges listened with their ears and hearts, and they judged us on our talent and ability to move an audience. This is what sets the YTA competition apart in my eyes; this along with the amazing community support and love I felt during and after the competition.”

Since winning the YTA Grand Prize in 2012, Itzkoff has continued his studies at the Shepherd School of Music at Rice University. Itzkoff has also been an artist in residence with NPR’s Performance Today with host Fred Child, a position which included recording interviews and a full recital program.

Last summer, while attending the Heifetz International Institute of Music, Itzkoff created a highly successful outreach program designed for children in local YMCA camps which has since been expanded to serve more schools. He was also awarded a grant by the Sviatoslav Richter Fund for Music Outreach to work in schools in the Houston area.

His recent performances included touring with the Shepherd School Orchestra for concerts in Baltimore and New York’s Carnegie Hall, where he led the section as principal cellist.

Upcoming engagements include Dvorak’s Cello Concerto in B minor with the Shepherd Symphony on April 26 of this year, as well as a residency at the La Jolla Music Society’s Summerfest 2014.

Sarah Mesko – Mezzo Soprano

“I really enjoyed competing in YTA, especially since it covers a broad range of categories, including instrumentalists and singers. I got to meet a lot of really cool and interesting people,” said Sarah Mesko, Mezzo Soprano.

“Competitions are really important in the lives of young musicians. Many of us would not be able to support ourselves without them. A cash prize from YTA means that we can devote ourselves to our art full-time and maybe not have to take that day job (or two) to pay the rent.”

Since her YTA Grand Prize win in 2010, Mesko has performed both as a concert artist and with opera companies around the globe. In 2011, Mesko made her debut with Washington National Opera in Madama Butterfly, first as Kate Pinkerton and then in a highly acclaimed role debut as Suzuki, conducted by Plácido Domingo in a Young Artist performance. The Washington Post remembered her as “the best part of the Young Artist Program performance of Madama Butterfly last year.”

In the 2013 – 2014 season, Mesko returns to the Washington National Opera as the Second Lady in Die Zauberflöte and will also make her debut at Houston Grand Opera as Mrs. Segstrom in A Little Night Music. In 2015, Mesko will be covering the role of Malcolm in La Donna del Lago for the Metropolitan Opera.

Petronel Malan – Piano

Pianist Petronel Malan won the YTA Grand Prize in 1998; and in 2004, she received three Grammy® nominations for her debut disc, Transfigured Bach: The Complete Bach Transcriptions of Bartok, Lipatti and Friedman.

“YTA provided students with a platform, close to home, where we could perform and also connect with like-minded individuals from other schools,” said Malan, who maintains an international performing career as recitalist and orchestral soloist.

Her fourth recording, Transfigured Tchaikovsky: Transcriptions by Isaac Mikhnovsky and Samuil Feinberg, won The American Prize in Piano Performance (Solo) in December 2013.

Although Malan resides in the United States, she maintains strong ties to her native South Africa. Earlier this month, Malan received the South African “Fiesta” award, often known as the “Oscars of South African arts,” for the best live classical music concert in South Africa last year.

About YTA

“YTA exists to give young artists encouragement and support at a critical point in their careers – the beginning,” said Susie Pokorski, YTA chair. “One thing that makes YTA so special is that all of the young competing musicians receive valuable written critiques on their performances from our panel of judges, the chance to meet and collaborate with other artists, and the opportunity to connect with the audience they play for. Everyone involved with YTA is proud of our performers and all that they have accomplished.”

Ticket Information for the Finalists’ Concert and Awards and the Bach, Beethoven & Barbecue Gala:

The Finalists’ Concert and Awards for the 30th Annual Young Texas Artists Music Competition and the annual Bach, Beethoven & Barbecue gala will take place Saturday, March 8, at the historic Crighton Theatre in downtown Conroe. The gala gets started at 6:00 p.m., and the concert begins at 7:30 p.m. YTA welcomes special guest acclaimed pianist Jade Simmons, “Classical Music’s #1 Maverick,” and St. John Flynn, with KUHA Classical 91.7 – Houston Public Media, as the concert’s master of ceremonies.

Ticket holders for the Bach, Beethoven & Barbecue gala will enjoy preferred seating in the Crighton Theatre for the Finalists’ Concert and Awards, the dinner and the after-party. Individual tickets for the gala evening are $125 per person ($100 per person for MCPAS subscribers and members of the YTA Circle.) Concert-only tickets are $28 each. All levels of tickets are available for purchase at the Crighton Theatre Box Office, www.crightontheatre.org or 936-441-7469936-441-7469.

For more information about the event, to make a donation, or to join the YTA Circle, contact Susie Pokorski at susiepokorski@gmail.com or at 936-756-7017936-756-7017. www.youngtexasartists.org.

OTHER YOUNG TEXAS ARTISTS MUSIC COMPETITION WINNERS

THROUGH THE YEARS –

Vadim Gluzman, violin 1993, appears regularly with major orchestras and plays the extraordinary 1690  “ex-Leopold Auer” Stradivari, on loan to him through the Stradivari Society of Chicago.

Valentina Lisitsa, piano 1995, one of the most watched classical musicians on You Tube, records for Decca Classics.

Cynthia Douglas, soprano 1995, has recorded with Peabo Bryson, Bob Seger, Marilyn McCoo and Billy Davis and just released her second album.

Marco Fatichenti, piano 1999, won a prestigious grant from George Solti Foundation, studied at the Royal Academy of London, and performs across England and Europe.

George Vlad Iftinca, piano 2001, is now with the New York Metropolitan Opera, and studies at The Juilliard School.

Sergei Kuznetsov, piano 2005, winner of multiple international competitions, now holds a Doctor of Musical Arts and is professor of piano at Lone Star College.

Anastasia Markina, piano 2007, won the Bösendorfer International Competition, performed with flutist James Galway, and is now on the keyboard staff of the Dallas Symphony Orchestra.

Ying Fu, violin, 2011, joined The Philadelphia Orchestra at the start of the 2013-14 season as associate concertmaster and has collaborated with prestigious chamber music groups such as the Brentano String Quartet and the St. Lawrence String Quartet.