BRONX ARTS ENSEMBLE ANNOUNCES 3 WINNERS IN 2011 YOUNG BRONX ARTIST CONTEST

Congratulations to the young musicians who were honored by the recent contest sponsored by the Bronx Arts Ensemble.

Gregory
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BRONX ARTS ENSEMBLE ANNOUNCES 3 WINNERS IN 2011 YOUNG BRONX ARTIST CONTEST

(Bronx, NY) The Bronx Arts Ensemble has awarded three First Prize Winners in its recent Jonathan Bingham Young Bronx Artist Contest, held at Amalgamated Houses on Saturday, April 23. Each of the winners will receive $500 and a solo performance with the BAE at one of its subscription concerts in the 2011-2012 season.

Winners included flutist CHRISTINE DOOKIE, a junior at Celia Cruz High School of Music, JAY LEE, pianist and an 8th grade student at Horace Mann School in Riverdale, and pianist MICHAEL GELLMAN, a junior at Bronx High School of Science. Runner-Up in the contest was Vincent Shieh, violinist, a junior at Bronx Science High School, and Honorable Mention in the contest went to singer Jarrett Parker, a senior at Celia Cruz High School, and pianist Oscar Rodriguez, a 9th grader at Bronx Science High School.

FLUTIST CHRISTINE DOOKIE has attended the Bloomingdale School of Music and Harlem School of the Arts, and received a 100 award in New York All-State competitions for 2010. She is a student of Tia Roper, and performs with the Celia Cruz High School Band and Orchestra.

PIANIST MICHAEL GELLMAN is a student of Tania Tachkova and has attended the 92nd Street Y School of Music and Bloomingdale School of Music in Manhattan. He has won the Recanti-Kaplan Scholarship for study at the 92nd Street Y and Music Access Project Scholarship for study at Bloomingdale School. A winner of numerous scholarships and awards, Michael performed at the 80th Birthday Gala for Nobel Laureate Elie Wiesel, and has participated in master classes with Orli Shaham and Leon Fleisher. He has performed at the Tenri Cultural Center, Weill Art Gallery and at St. Paul’s Cathedral.

PIANIST JAY LEE attends the Pre-College Division at the Manhattan School of Music and is a student of Nina Svetlanova. He won First Place in the 2009 Manhattan School of Music Precollege Concerto Competition, and was the recipient of the Ralph Zola Memorial Scholarship in 2009 and 2010.

Judges for the BAE competition were William Scribner, bassoonist and Executive/Artistic Director of the BAE; John Freeman, composer and Contributing Editor of Opera News magazine; and oboist Marsha Heller, faculty member at Montclair State Teachers College (NJ).