PORT ANGELES — The 39th annual Nico Snel Young Artist Competition, an event hosted by the Port Angeles Symphony, will be free and open to the public on Saturday.
Fourteen musicians from across the North Olympic Peninsula have entered this year’s contest, which will have junior and senior divisions. Music lovers are invited to listen to their performances starting at 9:15 a.m. at Holy Trinity Lutheran Church, 301 Lopez Ave. in Port Angeles, where the event will wrap up by 3 p.m.
“Listeners can come for a short while or for the whole competition,” said Port Angeles Symphony Artistic Director Jonathan Pasternack.
“We’re looking forward to hearing a lot of wonderful music, which the entrants have chosen,” he added.
The junior section is open to any music student ages 4 to 14, while the senior section is open to musicians up to age 22.
Pianists, violinists, violists and cellists from Clallam and Jefferson counties are among the contestants, and they have chosen music by Bach, Beethoven and other masters.
Competition judges will include Pasternack, who is marking his 10th anniversary with the Port Angeles Symphony Orchestra this season, Port Angeles Symphony violist Anne Burns, and oboist, flutist and retired school band director Julie Fay.
The winners, to be announced by Monday, will receive cash prizes: $500 for first place, $250 for second and $200 for third in the senior division; $250 for first place, $125 for second and $75 for third in the junior division.
The awards are donated by Port Angeles Symphony board members and supporters.
Past winners who have gone on to careers in music include violinists James Garlick and Marley Erickson, violist Lauren Waldron and cellist Madelyn Kowalski. The event is named after Nico Snel, the late conductor of the Port Angeles Symphony who founded the competition.
“We’re very fortunate on the Peninsula to have dedicated, inspirational music teachers and mentors. Many of their students take part in this contest,” Pasternack said.
For more about this season’s concerts — including soloist Traci Tyson and the full Port Angeles Symphony Orchestra on Feb. 15 — visit portangelessymphony.org or contact the symphony office at 360-457-5579.
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Diane Urbani de la Paz is a freelance writer and photographer who lives in Port Townsend.
