Winner in First Concerto, Aria Competition to
Perform
Hernan del Aguila, who conceived
the competition, with winners Katie FitzGibbon and Ji Hea
Hwang. All three will perform at the Hopkins Symphony
Chamber Orchestra concert on April 6.
Photo by David Friedlander
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By Edie Stern Hopkins Symphony
Orchestra
Two juniors in the Krieger School of Arts and
Sciences, bassoonist Katie FitzGibbon, of
Rockville, Md., and pianist Ji Hea Hwang, a native of
Cheong-ju, Korea, have won the first Hopkins
Concerto and Aria Competition.
Their prize is a performance with the Hopkins Symphony
Chamber Orchestra at 7:30 p.m. on
Sunday, April 6, in Homewood's Shriver Hall. FitzGibbon
will play Carl Maria von Weber's Concerto for
Bassoon and Orchestra in F Major, Opus 75. Hwang will play
Camille Saint-Saens' Piano Concerto No. 2
in G Minor, Opus 22. Vladimir Lande will conduct.
The Hopkins Concerto and Aria Competition was the
brainchild of senior Hernan del Aguila, who
wanted to give Homewood students a chance "to further their
musical studies, gain experience in
auditioning for professional musicians and receive public
recognition for their work."
The competition was open to undergraduate and graduate
students not pursuing a degree in
music. Del Aguila consulted with fellow students, staff and
faculty about his idea; created a business
plan for the competition; and obtained funding through an
Arts Innovation Grant, a university
initiative overseen by Winston Tabb, vice provost for the
arts, and Eileen Soskin, associate vice
provost for the arts. He built a Web site, supervised the
applications and auditions, and is training
another student to take over the competition next
season.
The winners were chosen from an original field of 21
contestants, based on an application and
audition. The judges were HSO music director Jed Gaylin and
HSO timpanist and musicologist Max
Derrickson.
FitzGibbon, a neuroscience major, has played in the
HSO since 2006 and is also a member of the
Peabody Wind Ensemble. She has performed with the National
Festival Orchestra and National High
School Wind Ensemble at Carnegie Hall, and has recorded
with the Peabody Wind Ensemble and with
the Columbia Union College's New England Youth Ensemble and
Columbia Collegiate Choir. In 2004, she
was a finalist in the Landon Competition for Young Woodwind
Performers and a semifinalist in the
Maryland Distinguished Talent-in-the-Arts Competition. She
has studied bassoon with retired
National Symphony Orchestra bassoonist Linda Harwell and
Baltimore Symphony Orchestra principal
bassoonist Phillip Kolker.
Hwang, an East Asia studies major, was born in Korea,
where she began studying piano at the
age of 3. Since turning 5, she has won grand prizes in the
Hyundai National Music Competition and
Cheong-ju City Music Association Competition, and first
prize in the Korea Times Competition. At age
9, she performed as a soloist with Cheong-ju Youth
Orchestra. In 1998, she moved to the United
States and entered the Juilliard Pre-College, where she
studied with Frank Levy and was a recipient
of the Relson Family Scholarship in piano. She won first
prize in the Ithaca College Piano Competition,
concerto division, and second prize in the solo division.
She has given solo recitals and chamber music
concerts at the Paul Recital Hall, Morse Recital Hall and
Weill Recital Hall at Carnegie Hall. In 2005,
she performed as a soloist with the Ithaca College Chamber
Orchestra. She currently studies piano
with Peabody faculty member Corey McVicar.
Hernan del Aguila, who was born in Lima, Peru, grew up
in Hurley, N.Y. At Johns Hopkins, he has
played oboe in the HSO and its chamber orchestra, as well
as in the Johns Hopkins Wind Ensemble and
the pit orchestra for the Barnstormers theater troupe. He
sang in the Vocal Chords and served as its
music director. He also was a drum major for the Capital
Regiment Drum and Bugle Corps in the 2006
Drum Corps International Summer Music Games and is now a
music and visual consultant for several
high school marching bands. He will graduate from Johns
Hopkins in May with a degree in international
relations, earned in three years. Then he will pursue a
second bachelor's degree, in music education, at
Towson University. He has just been awarded the Johns
Hopkins University 2008 President's
Commendation for Achievement in the Arts. At the April 6
chamber concert, he will play Saint-Saens'
Oboe Sonata.
Tickets for the April 6 concert are free for Johns
Hopkins students; $6 for Johns Hopkins
staff, faculty and alumni, other students and seniors
(60+); and $8 general admission.
For more about the competition winners, the April 6
performance and all HSO programs, call
410-516-6542, write to
hso@jhu.edu or go to
www.jhu.edu/jhso.
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