PORT ANGELES — Rhapsodies, fantasies, concertos, even Camille Saint-Saens’ Rondo Capriccioso will fill the air as the 29th annual Young Artist Competition and ninth annual Junior Young Artist Competition, both open to the public, converge on Holy Trinity Lutheran Church this Saturday.
Admission is free to the competitions, which will start at 9:30 a.m. and wrap up around 3 p.m. As in past years, listeners can feel free to stay for 30 minutes, an hour or the whole time at Holy Trinity, 301 E. Lopez Ave.
The junior event comes first, with competitors performing in 10-minute slots until about noon.
Intermission will last half an hour, and then the senior event will begin at about 12:30 p.m.
This is a rare chance to hear many of the region’s outstanding young players, said Mark Wendeborn, executive director of the Port Angeles Symphony, which sponsors the contests.
After each performance, the judges will offer comments.
This year’s judges are Port Angeles Symphony violist and teacher Phil Morgan-Ellis, bassoonist and teacher Beatrice Kaufman, pianist and retired professor Loran Olsen and Seattle Youth Orchestra conductor
Mark Adamo.
In the Junior Young Artist Competition, open to musicians in ninth grade or under, competitors will vie for a top prize of $250, second prize of $125 and third prize of $75. Registered this year are:
■ Pianists Elizabeth Watkins, Emily Bundy, Keon Deng and Lum Fu of Port Angeles;
■ Violinists Adam Weller, Sienna Porter and Meiqi Liang of Port Angeles;
■ Pianists Erin Dwyer and Keith Wilwert of Sequim;
■ Cellist Adlai Erickson of Port Townsend;
■ Flutist Gracie Kennedy of Port Angeles;
■ Violist Lauren Waldron of Port Angeles.
The senior Young Artists Competition, for musicians up to age 22, comes with prizes of $500 for first place, $250 for second and $100 for third place. 2015’s competitors are:
■ Violinist Marley Erickson of Port Townsend;
■ Double-bassist Michael Helwick of Port Angeles;
■ Pianists Katharyn Rivers and Scott Anders of Port Angeles;
■ Violists Leah Haworth and Calista Mordecai-Smith of Port Angeles;
■ Pianists Trent Lacour and Shannon Gordon of Sequim;
■ Violinists Leah Marsh and Michael Lee of Port Angeles;
■ Cellist Madelyn Kowalski of Nordland;
■ Flutist Joshua Gershon of Port Angeles;
■ Violinist Kate Powers of Sequim;
■ Clarinetist Jeffrey Mordecai-Smith of Port Angeles.
The prize money is sponsored by the Port Angeles Garden Club and two anonymous donors.
For more information about this year’s events, contact Young Artists Competition chairwoman Robbin Eaves at rceaves@centurylink.net, phone the Port Angeles Symphony office at 360-457-5579 or visit portangelessymphony.org.