Holmdel 8th grader wins NJSO Youth Orchestras’ Concerto Competition

Violinist Christopher Li is the winner of the 2018 NJSO Youth Orchestras’ Henry Lewis Concerto Competition. He performed the first movement of Mendelssohn’s Violin Concerto in E Minor and will be the featured soloist with the Academy Orchestra at the NJSO Youth Orchestras’ Spring Concert on March 25. Christopher, 13, is an eighth grader at William R. Satz School in Holmdel. He studies privately with Ning Mu.

The judges also awarded Runner-Up to violinist Yoo Jin Kang, 12, of Pine Brook (Bruch’s Violin Concerto in G Minor) and Honorable Mention to flutist Juan Carlos Narvaez, 17, of Elizabeth (Gordeli’s Concerto for Flute and Orchestra) and cellist Alan Lai, 17, of Pine Brook (Dvořák’s Cello Concerto in B Minor).

The competition was named for former NJSO Music Director Henry Lewis during the 2015–16 season in honor of his posthumous 2015 induction into the American Classical Music Hall of Fame. This naming also helped the NJSO mark the 25th-anniversary season of the NJSO Youth Orchestras. Held annually, the Concerto Competition celebrates discipline, dedication and accomplishment by providing members of the NJSO Academy Orchestra with the opportunity to perform as soloists with the ensemble.

The 2018 judging panel included NJSO musicians Fatima Aaziza, Brett Deubner and Susan Standley, who commended all 14 participants for their musicality and dedication.