Young artist winner to perform with DuPage Symphony Orchestra
Alex Yuill of Naperville, a student at Metea Valley High School, will perform with the DuPage Symphony Orchestra as the first-place winner of DSO’s 2012 Young Artists Auditions.
He will play the first movement of Rachmaninoff’s Piano Concerto No. 2 at the orchestra’s concert at 3 p.m. Sunday, March 18, at North Central College’s Wentz Concert Hall, 171 E. Chicago Ave., Naperville.
The 17-year-old son of Renata and Randall Yuill, Alex has spent the past two years studying with Alexander Djordjevic at the Music Institute of Chicago. The young musician began his musical career at the age of 2 with a Kindermusic program at the School of Performing Arts in Naperville and progressed to piano at age 5.
Now a junior in high school, Alex also plays cello in the Chamber Strings Orchestra and the electric keyboard in the pit orchestra. In 2010, he won the Illinois High School Association “Best of the Day” award and earned an honorable mention at the Berkley-Pendell Piano Competition.
He earned additional awards at the Grandquist Music Competition, West Suburban Piano Competition, and Sonata-Sonatina Festival.
Alex is also a self-taught composer and received a state-level honorable mention at his first competition. When not involved in music, he enjoys science, playing tennis and water sports.
This is the first year that a student from Metea has won the competition. Second-place winner Claire Bourge, a violinist from Aurora, also attends Metea. Honorable mentions went to Grace Canfield, a home-schooled soprano from Naperville, and Timothy Zhou, a pianist from Bolingbrook, who attends Neuqua Valley High School in Naperville. These students were among 24 applicants who competed in the Young Artists Auditions.
The March 18 concert, “Rich and Resonant,” will feature music celebrating nationalistic expression. The concert will open with Sibelius’ “Finlandia,” followed by “New England Triptych” by William Schuman. Alex’s solo completes the first half of the concert.
Patrons will return to their seats to experience Sibelius’ Symphony No. 2 in D Major, the focal point of the concert. Tickets are available through the North Central College Box Office by calling (630) 637. SHOW or online at tickets.noctrl.edu.
On Friday, March 16, there will be a Brownies with Barbara event in Wentz Concert Hall during the first half of the orchestra’s dress rehearsal for Sunday’s concert. Maestra Barbara Schubert shares information about the music, the challenges, and the purpose of certain rehearsal techniques.
At the end of the first half of rehearsal, the musicians and Schubert join the audience members in the Wentz Concert Hall lobby to share sweet treats provided by My Chef Catering and audience members have the opportunity to ask questions of the orchestra members. Admission to the event is free, but donations are accepted.