2020-21 Student Concerto Competition
Date: November 7, 2020, Saturday
Time: 4:00 pm
Location: Ewell Hall at the College of William & Mary
This concert is open to the public. All are invited!
2019-2020 Concerto Competition Winners, Yunseo Chung & Ben Figgs
As Concerto Competition winners, Yunseo and Ben played solo with the Symphony Orchestra at the February 16, 2020 concert.
Yunseo performed the first movement of Felix Mendelssohn's Violin Concerto in E minor.
Yunseo Chung is a sophomore at Grafton High School. She began taking violin lessons when she was 8 years old. A student of Arkady Heifetz, Yunseo is honored to play in the All-National Honor Ensembles Symphony Orchestra and All-Virginia Orchestra in 2019. She won 1st place in Senior Division at the Williamsburg Music Club’s Grants-in-Aid Competition in 2019 and performed as a soloist with the York River Symphony Orchestra in the spring of 2019. She was invited to perform at the Terrific Teen Talent Recital in Hampton Roads last summer. In masterclasses, Yunseo played for Bella Hristova, Tessa Lark in 2019, Stephan Jackiw in 2018, Jennifer Koh and Elizabeth Fayette in 2017. She is currently the Concertmaster of the Williamsburg Youth Symphony Orchestra. In her spare time, Yunseo loves reading books, watching a movie and walking her dog, Daisy with her sister.
Ben performed Eduardo Lalo's Concerto in D minor on the cello.
Ben Figgs is a junior at Lafayette High School. He has been playing the cello for 6 years since the 5th grade. Ben has been very involved in his musical career in school, outside school programs, and other extracurricular activities. Ben has been in orchestra every semester of every year ever since the 5th grade and is currently involved in the school orchestra. Ben performs at assisted living homes with his school orchestra and with his quartet group. Ben is one of the rotating principal cellists of the Williamsburg Youth
Orchestra and also recently became part of the Tidewater Cello Ensemble. He has been taking private lessons with his teacher, Dr. Kenneth Slavett for over 5 years. He also thanks his middle school teacher, Ms. Amy Davis for her inspiration to continue his
music. Ben also enjoys going to college music events such as touring VCU arts and attending the JMU Spring String Thing for the past 4 years. Additionally, he enjoys playing sports for his high school, swim and tennis teams. Ben’s hobbies include Jiu Jitsu, Tae Kwon Do, snowboarding, and of course, lots of practicing on his cello.
