2016 Meg Quigley Vivaldi Competition

January 15-17, 2016
The Colburn School
Los Angeles, California
Host: Richard Beene

The Semifinalists

Sarah Tako (USA), First Place

Bassoonist Sarah Tako began her musical studies at the piano. She studied piano with Inese Krievans from the age of four until she graduated high school. She also studied oboe for nearly ve years with Stacy Kern, a woodwind specialist and graduate student at the University of Minnesota. After hearing her oboe teacher play her bassoon at the end of one lesson, she fell in love with the rich, lyrical, and sometimes humorous sound of the bassoon, which soon became her primary instrument. While in high school, Sarah took many of her classes at the University of Minnesota. She studied bassoon and participated in master classes and reed-making classes with John Miller, Principal Bassoon of the Minnesota Orchestra, and Norbert Nielubowski, Second Bassoon and Contrabassoon of the Minnesota Orchestra. She also participated in master classes with bassoonist Frank Morelli of the Orpheus Chamber Orchestra and Per Hannevold of the Bergen Philharmonic Orchestra. Sarah has performed solo works with the Minneapolis Pops Orchestra and the Edmonton Symphony. She has also performed on Minnesota Public Radio. She currently holds position as Principal Bassoon of Symphony in C (formerly called the Haddon eld Symphony). She has also substituted in concert with the Philadelphia Orchestra. Sarah is currently studying bassoon performance as a third year at the Curtis Institute of Music in Philadelphia with Daniel Matsukawa, Principal Bassoon of the Philadelphia Orchestra.

Jessica Findley (USA), Second Place

Bassoonist Jessica Findley, from Wichita, Kansas, is in the final year of her master’s degree at the University of Cincinnati College-Conservatory of Music. She attended the University of Kansas for her undergraduate studies, where she won the KU concerto competition and performed Mozart’s Concerto in Bb for Bassoon, K. 191 with the KU Symphony Orchestra. While attending KU, she held the position of Second Bassoon with the Spring eld (Missouri) Symphony Orchestra. Jessica has attended summer music festivals including the Sarasota Music Festival, Castleton Music Festival, and the Texas Music Festival, where she was the winner of the concerto competition and played the Mozart concerto with the TMF orchestra. In April 2014 she made her European solo debut at the Gewandhaus in Leipzig, Germany, playing the Mozart concerto with orchestra. She was a semi nalist in the Meg Quigley Vivaldi Competition in 2014. In 2015, Jessica received First Prize in the graduate division at the Cincinnati Three Arts Music Scholarship competition. Her primary teachers have included William Winstead and Eric Stomberg.

Fabiola Hoyo (Venezuela), Third Place

Born in Caracas, bassoonist Fabiola Hoyo belongs to Venezuela’s El Sistema children and youth choirs. She began her studies with Luis Cordova. She has performed on master classes with Henning Trog, Klaus Thunemann, George Sakakeeny, Matthias Racz, Carlos Colombo, Stefano Canuti, Alexander Ricaurte, and Luis Cordova. She participated as Principal Bassoon of the National Children’s Orchestra of Venezuela (2010) under the direction of conductor Sir Simon Rattle. Fabiola has performed with the Simon Bolivar Symphony Orchestra of Venezuela under the direction of Gustavo Dudamel, and was a soloist for Mozart’s Sinfonia Concertante for Winds in F Major with the Youth Orchestra of Caracas on their Japan - South Korea tour led by Dietrich Paredes and Leon Botstein. She continues her studies at the Simon Bolivar Conservatory of Music with Omar Ascanio.

Marlène Ngalissamy (Canada), Honorable Mention

Born in Moscow (Russia), Marléne moved to Canada at the age of 10 and began learning the bassoon three years later. She quickly developed a deep passion for the instrument and was accepted at the Montreal Conservatory of Music in the class of Mathieu Harel. Over the past few years, she had the chance to participate in several workshops: International Summer Academy of the mdw – University of Music and Performing Arts in Vienna, Pablo Casals Festival, Orford Academy, Chamber Music Academy of the National Arts Centre in Ottawa, and Domaine Forget. She had lessons with several national and international masters such as Dag Jensen, Carlo Colombo, Ole Kristian Dahl, Stéphane Levesque, Gustavo Nuñez, Christopher Millard, Vincent Parizeau and Louise Pellerin. She worked with different conductors such as Kent Nagano, Yannick Nézet-Séguin, Alain Trudel, Julian Kuerti, Robert D. Levin and many others. Winner of the rst prize in the Canadian Music Competition (2012), she played the Mozart Concerto in Bb for Bassoon, K. 191 with the orchestra in Toronto. She also played in solo with the Metropolitan Orchestra of Montreal, the Montreal Youth Symphony Orchestra and the orchestra of the Conservatory of Montreal. She can also be heard with the new Lyrical Orchestra of Montreal and Les Violons du Roy. She was also part of a chamber music recital at the Salle Bourgie in February 2015 with some of the OSM musicians. In February 2014, Marlène gave a recital at the Red Path Hall at McGill University as part of the Montreal High Lights Festival. The performance was recorded and broadcasted on CBC radio2 national radio. One of the eight laureates of the Developing Artist Grant of the Hnatyshyn Foundation (2013), Marlène is currently completing her master’s degree at the Montreal Conservatory in the class of Stéphane Levesque.

Rachel Parker (USA). Honorable Mention

Rachel Parker began playing the bassoon in 2007 after deciding it looked dif cult (she was right). She received early training as a member of the Michigan Youth Ensembles before attending the Interlochen Arts Academy from 2011-2013, where she received the Distinguished Young Artist Award. More recent appearances have included the Richmond (Indiana) Symphony and various orchestras around New England, including the Harvard-Radcliffe Orchestra. Her performances with the Boston Philharmonic Youth Orchestra included appearances at Carnegie Hall and Boston’s Symphony Hall. Rachel was also a founding member of Phoenix, a Boston-based chamber orchestra that seeks to revitalize the presentation of orchestral music for modern audiences. Previous summer studies include the Brevard Music Center, Domaine Forget, and the Boston University Tanglewood Institute. Rachel is currently a junior at Indiana University studying with Kathleen McLean; former teachers include Eric Stomberg at Interlochen Arts Academy and Richard Ranti at New England Conservatory. In her spare time Rachel enjoys hiking, reading, and is a member of the IU Caving Club.

Juliette Angoulvant (USA), Semifinalist

Juliette Angoulvant, a native of Paris, France, began playing the bassoon in 2009. She is currently pursuing a degree of Bachelor of Music in Bassoon Performance at the University of Northern Colorado. Raised in Colorado Springs, she began her studies under Genice Matzke and Clark Wilson, in addition to attending the Colorado Springs Conservatory and playing for the Colorado College Band. Throughout high school, she played in numerous honor ensembles throughout the state, and graduated with a perfect score on her International Baccalaureate diploma. Juliette was offered full ride scholarships to the University of Denver, University of Colorado, and University of Northern Colorado, but ultimately chose to attend UNC, where she studied for a year under Dr. Charles Hansen, then under Tristan Rennie. She has been playing in the university’s Wind Ensemble and Symphony Orchestra for the past two years, and is an active member of various chamber music groups within the school. In past summers, she has attended the Glickman Popkin Bassoon Camp, learning from Ted Soluri and Barrick Stees, and participated in the Festival en Vallée d’Olt, taking classes from Laurent Lefèvre of l’Orchestre de l’Opéra National de Paris. In addition to studying bassoon, Juliette serves as the undergraduate tutor for the School of Music at UNC.

Corinne Crowley (USA), Semifinalist

Bassoonist Corinne Crowley is currently pursuing a Bachelor of Music degree at the Oberlin Conservatory of Music where she studies with George Sakakeeny. A native of Raleigh, North Carolina, Corinne studied with Thomas Schneider before beginning school at Oberlin Conservatory in 2013. As an avid orchestral musician, she has performed with the Oberlin Orchestra, Oberlin Chamber Orchestra, Texas Music Festival Orchestra, and the Eastern Music Festival Young Artists Orchestras. Corinne frequently performs in a chamber setting, and her past groups have toured the United States and France. She is scheduled to tour China in the summer of 2016 with her woodwind quintet. She has performed in master classes for Benjamin Kamins, Judith LeClair, Richard Beene, and Dennis Michel. At Oberlin, Corinne has also studied world music and jazz improvisation with Jay Ashby and Jamey Haddad. She has performed with musicians such as Snarky Puppy, Banda Magda, Romero Lubambo, Billy Drewes and many others. Her bassoon teachers include George Sakakeeny, Thomas Schneider, and David McGill.

Molly Murphy (USA), Semifinalist

Bassoonist Molly Murphy is an active and versatile musician. As an orchestral player, she has performed with the Baton Rouge Symphony Orchestra, Louisiana Sinfonietta, Colorado College Summer Music Festival Orchestra, and Castleton Festival Opera Orchestra. She played such venues as Jordan Hall, Symphony Hall (Boston), and La Maison Symphonique (Montréal) with inspiring soloists such as Alisa Weilerstein and Sir James Galway. Based in Baton Rouge, Louisiana, Molly is a Bassoon Teaching Assistant at the Louisiana State University. As a contemporary musician, Molly has played with the Oberlin Contemporary Music Ensemble (CME) and worked closely with many composers and performers including eighth blackbird, Benjamin Broening, Stephen Stucky, and Eli Stine. In November 2013, she performed with CME as a featured soloist at the Third Practice Festival, a festival of new electroacoustic music held in Richmond, Virginia. Three solo works have been written for her by Sidney Friedman (Eclipse - concerto for bassoon and orchestra, 2012), Eli Stine (Unfreed - solo for bassoon and electronics, 2013) and William Bolles-Beaven (Entering Nature - solo for bassoon and electronics, 2014). In 2012 - 2013 Molly collaborated with professor George Sakakeeny on an eBook entitled Making Reeds from Start to Finish with George Sakakeeny, available now in the iTunes bookstore. A native of Ipswich, Massachusetts, Molly has received degrees from Oberlin Conservatory (Bachelor of Music with honors, 2015) and Interlochen Arts Academy (High School Diploma with honors, 2011). Her primary teachers include Darrel Hale, George Sakakeeny, and Eric Stomberg.

Cornelia Sommer (USA), Semifinalist

Cornelia Sommer began her musical training in Seattle, Washington, with the study of piano, ballet, and opera. After singing in the children’s chorus for Wagner’s Parsifal, she realized how much she loved making music and decided to seriously pursue bassoon, beginning lessons with Francine Peterson. Cornelia then received the full- tuition Jacobs Scholarship to study with William Ludwig at Indiana University, where she earned her Bachelor of Music degree. While at IU, she was the winner of the Bassoon Concerto Competition and was awarded the prestigious Performer’s Certi cate for her senior recital. Cornelia currently studies with Frank Morelli at Yale University, where she has performed on the Oneppo Chamber Series as a winner of the 2015 Yale Chamber Music Society Competition. An avid chamber musician, Cornelia received the Hutton Honors College Creative Activity Grant to commission new chamber works that she premiered with her woodwind quintet, which competed at the 2014 Fischoff National Chamber Music Competition. As a soloist, Cornelia has performed Mozart’s Concerto in Bb for Bassoon, K. 191 with an IU orchestra, and was a 2014 Meg Quigley Vivaldi Competition semifinalist and a Cynthia Woods Mitchell Competition nalist. She has spent summers at Sarasota Music Festival, Kent/Blossom Music Festival, Brevard Music Center, and the Banff Centre. Cornelia also loves to arrange music for bassoon ensemble, woodwind quintet, and other groups; she has arranged over 30 pieces that are frequently played around the world. Cornelia has performed with the Seattle Symphony, 5th Avenue Theatre, and Janiec Opera Company, and has worked with esteemed conductors including John Adams, Peter Oundjian, Nicholas McGegan, and Kurt Masur.

Kristy Tucker (Canada), Semifinalist

Kristy Tucker, a native of Winnipeg, Manitoba, is currently pursing her Master of Music degree with Stéphane Levesque at the Schulich School of Music at McGill University and completed her undergraduate studies at the Desautels Faculty of Music at the University of Manitoba. She is an active chamber and orchestral player in Montreal and Winnipeg, and performs with the McGill Symphony Orchestra and her two woodwind quintets. She has been a member of the National Youth Orchestra of Canada for the 2014 and 2015 seasons where she completed two cross Canada tours and recorded two CDs with the ensemble. Kristy won the University of Manitoba Concerto Competition in 2013 and went on to perform Carl Maria Von Weber’s Concerto in F Major for Bassoon, and toured with his Andante and Hungarian Rondo with the University of Manitoba Wind Ensemble. Kristy was also a winner of the Women’s Musical Club of Winnipeg Scholarship Competition where she was awarded the Holtby Scholarship. She aspires to be a professional orchestral musician and would also like to continue performing woodwind quintet repertoire with her quintet. She would also like to commission new works for bassoon. In her spare time, Kristy loves playing soccer, running, and attempting to cook delicious food.

Repertoire

Antonio Vivaldi: Concerto in e minor, RV 484 (performed from memory in the final round)
Jenni Brandon: Colored Stones.
This work was the winner of the 2014 Bassoon Chamber Music Composition Competition.
Henri Dutilleux: Sarabande et Cortège.
One of the following etudes from Eugene Jancourt: 26 Melodic Studies, op. 15: 3, 6, 7, 13, 15, 17, 19, or 24.