On Sunday, January 29, 2012, ten extraordinarily talented high school senior musicians gathered for the final two rounds of the annual Stamford Symphony Instrumental Scholarship Competition.
Sponsored by the Jeniam Foundation, this yearly competition is open to high school seniors in the state of Connecticut, and is judged by a panel of distinguished professional musicians from the New York metropolitan area. "This was the most talented group of young musicians we have ever seen in this competition; the quality of playing was simply outstanding." says Susan Webb, Education Manager for the Stamford Symphony.
Four students were chosen to move on to the Finals Competition, which took place later in the evening - Lindsay Thompson (violin, Cheshire), Alex Beyer (piano, Fairfield), Anastasia Dolak (violin, New Fairfield) and Samuel Weiser (violin, Westport).
Alex Beyer took home the First Place honors, with an award of $10,000. Anastasia Dolak received the Second Place $7,000 award, and Samuel Weiser and Lindsay Thomson were awarded Third and Fourth Place Honorable Mention, respectively. The First and Second Place awards will be presented on stage at the Palace Theater at the April 21 Stamford Symphony Orchestra Classics concert.