The Louisiana Philharmonic Orchestra held its 22nd Annual Young Artists’ Concerto Competition Saturday, October 13 at Tulane University’s Dixon Recital Hall. This year, 21 students from as far as Tuscaloosa, Ala. participated in the event.

This year’s winners are cellist J. Joshua Kim of Mobile, Ala. who performed the fourth movement from Edward Elgar’s Cello Concerto in E minor and pianist John Wang of New Orleans who performed the first movement from Beethoven’s Piano Concerto No. 1. Both winners will perform with the LPO at two Young People’s Concerts in January.

“The LPO takes great pride in offering the Young Artists’ Concerto Competition each season, supporting the LPO’s mission of transforming people and communities through music and educating young people and adults” said James Boyd, LPO interim managing director.

For the competition, contestants are required to perform one movement of a standard concerto or short piece for their instruments and orchestra. A committee of LPO musicians selects one winner and one runner-up from each age group, grades K-8 and 9-12. Kim, 17, a senior at UMS-Wright Preparatory School in Mobile, Ala., placed first in the 9-12 grade division. He began cello at the age of five and continues studying today with Alexander Russakovsky, D.M.A., associate professor of cello at the University of Southern Mississippi. He was chosen as a principal cellist in the Alabama All-State Festival Orchestra and in the Mobile Symphony Youth Orchestra for the past three years and was the winner of the MSYO Concerto Competition. In addition to his upcoming performance with the LPO, Kim will also make an appearance with Alabama Symphony Orchestra in spring 2013 as the winner of the 2012 Lois Pickard Scholarship Competition.

Wang, an eighth grade student at Lusher Charter School, won in the K-8th grade division. Wang started piano lessons at age five and has studied with Shearon Horton and Constance Carroll. Wang is a previous winner of the LPO concerto competition playing with the orchestra in both 2009 and 2011. He has won top prizes with the DeBose National Piano Competition and local Rally, Bach and Sonata competitions, and placed alternate in the Music Teacher’s National Association’s South-Central Division in 2012.

Competition runners-up are violinist, Haeun Kim of Tuscaloosa, Ala. and pianist Nancy Ren of New Orleans who will also have an opportunity to perform for an upcoming LPO Young People’s Concert in the spring.