SEATTLE, Washington, April 17, 2023 (9am PST) – The Frances Walton Competition, presented by the Ladies Musical Club of Seattle, announced today its finalist cohort for the 2023 competition.
Applications were open to Classical musicians ages 20-35 from across the United States, who could apply as soloists or in Small Ensembles of two to four musicians. Applications opened on November 1, 2022 and closed on March 1, 2023. This is the second year the Frances Walton Competition has been open to musicians from all U.S. states and territories since its relaunch in the 2021-2022 season.
Finalists compete in Seattle for two Solo Winner and one Small Ensemble Winner titles on Saturday, June 3rd, 2023 from 9am to 5:30pm at University Congregational United Church of Christ (4515 16th Ave NE, Seattle, WA 98105). Winners are announced at a short ceremony at 6:30pm that evening. The winners perform a concert the following day at 2pm, followed by a reception.
Information about the Competition and the Finals Weekend June 3-4, 2023 is found at LMCSeattle.org/competition. All finals weekend events are FREE and open to the public with no tickets required. For inquiries, please contact awards@lmcseattle.org.
| Solo Finalists | |
| Steven Baloue, Viola | Chicago, Illinois |
| Hannah Chou, Violin | Fremont, California |
| Forrest Howell, Piano | Lafayette, Colorado |
| Zhengyi Huang, Piano | Ann Arbor, Michigan |
| Yvette Kraft, Violin | Spokane, Washington |
| Ho Yin Li, French Horn | Boston, Massachusetts |
| Jonathan Mamora, Piano | Rochester, New York |
| Melissa McCann, Soprano | Bismarck, North Dakota |
| Hunter O’Brien, Flute | Houston, Texas |
| Kara Poling, Oboe | New York, New York |
| Gracie Potter, Trombone | Surprise, Arizona |
| Madeline Ross, Soprano | Portland, Oregon |
| Jose Uzcategui, Marimba | Dallas, Texas |
| Christoph Wagner, Cello | Houston, Texas |
| Calvin Wong, Saxophone | Tempe, Arizona |
| Small Ensemble Finalists: | |
|
Aero Quartet (Ann Arbor, MI; Madison, WI; Santa Clarita, CA) |
Salvador Flores, Soprano Saxophone; Walt Puyear, Alto Saxophone; Matthew Koester, Tenor Saxophone; Brian Kachur, Baritone Saxophone |
|
Kodak Quartet (New York, NY) |
Edgar Donati, Violin; Martin Noh, Violin; Daniel Spink, Viola; Blake Kitayama, Cello |
| Phoenix Winds (Pullman, WA) | Anthony Kandilaroff, Flute; Jake Berreth, Flute; Kevin Melendez, Flute |