LA PLATA — The Charles County Youth Orchestra has named Brian Dixon, a cellist, as the winner of its 7th annual Concerto Competition. Violinist Scarlett de Leon earned second place.
Both musicians received cash awards. Dixon will perform Goltermann’s Concerto No. 4 as the featured soloist at CCYO’s Winter Concert in January.
The competition was held June 13 at Christ Church in La Plata. Seven talented young musicians performed memorized pieces before a live audience and distinguished judges Jody Gatwood, violinist and Professor Emeritus at The Catholic University of America, and Samuel Swift, retired principal cellist of the U.S. Army Band.
CCYO has a full summer schedule with five upcoming concerts. The annual Independence Day/Alumni Reunion Concert is scheduled for July 3 at the Alice Ferguson Foundation. Four Chamber Music Festival performances will follow on July 18, 19, 25 and 26 at Christ Church in La Plata.
Auditions for the upcoming season will be held September 12 from 9 a.m. to 3 p.m. Musicians of all levels and all instruments except piano are encouraged to audition. Sign-ups are available at https://www.charlescountyyouthorchestra.org/.
CCYO includes four ensembles: Prelude Strings for beginning string players, Encore Strings and Encore Band for intermediate musicians, and the Charles County Youth Orchestra for advanced musicians. The organization serves students from Prince George’s, St. Mary’s, Calvert and Anne Arundel counties, as well as Charles County.
CCYO presents two large concerts and several smaller concerts each year, a two-week Chamber Music Festival with four additional chamber music concerts, a Concerto Competition Concert, and masterclasses and sectionals for students in all ensembles.
This past year, CCYO performed at the Port Tobacco Courthouse, the Maryland Veterans Museum, Kris Kringle at the Fairgrounds, Indian Head Village Green, Christ Church in La Plata and the Alice Ferguson Foundation. The group was recently spotlighted in an online film by the Charles County Arts Alliance and featured on WTOP radio. Two CCYO String Quartets were finalists in the Washington Performing Arts Society Misbin Chamber Music Competition in Washington, D.C.
The Charles County Youth Orchestra is sponsored in part by grants from the Charles County Charitable Trust, the Charles County Arts Alliance, the Maryland State Arts Council and donations from generous individuals.
Southern Maryland families interested in youth music education can support local students by attending upcoming concerts or encouraging young musicians to audition for the fall season.
