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Three Interlochen Arts Academy students advance to semifinals of International Young Artist Concerto Competition
Pianist Yimei Liang, violist Valeria Serrano, and pianist Luis Villa will perform with a professional orchestra as part of the semifinal round of the competition in Chicago on Jan. 29.
Left to right: Luis Villa, Valeria Serrano, and Yimei Liang
Three Interlochen Arts Academy students have advanced to the semifinal round of the International Young Artist Concerto Competition. Pianist Luis Villa, violist Valeria Serrano, and pianist Yimei Liang will perform with a live professional orchestra as part of the semifinal round in Chicago on Saturday, Jan. 29.
The premier concerto competition with full orchestra, the International Young Artist Concerto Competition enables young artists from around the world to perform with a professional orchestra in its semifinal and final rounds. Sixteen semifinalists were selected from a pre-recorded video round to rehearse, compete, and perform under the direction of conductor Conner Gray Covington. Four finalists will be chosen to compete on Sunday, Jan. 30, and one winner will be announced.
A junior from Beijing, China, in her third year at Interlochen, Yimei Liang studies piano with T.J. Lymenstull. She will perform Movement 1, Allegro affettuoso from Schumann’s Piano Concerto in A Minor, Op. 54. “It is a special concerto which Schumann himself called ‘somewhere between a symphony, a fantasia, a concerto, and a large-scale variation,’” Liang said. “This work was written at the happiest time of Schumann's life, when his love affair with Clara was successful against all odds. It is the concentrated embodiment of Schumann's sweet and happy feelings and unremitting struggle on the road of love. I love how the music expresses emotions, not simply joy and pain, but more rich and delicate spiritual connotations.”
Senior violist Valeria Serrano studies with Renee Skerik at Interlochen and will perform Walton’s Viola Concerto, Movement 1, Andante Comodo. “I’ve been playing this concerto for almost two years now, and I can’t get tired of it. Every time I come back to this piece, I always learn something new, which makes me fall in love with my instrument even more. I love becoming an actress through my playing. Taking every phrase from the music and creating a story brings so much joy to my heart.”
A senior from Mexico in his third year at Interlochen, Luis Villa studies piano with Michael Coonrod. He will perform Movement 1, Allegro ma non tanto from Rachmaninoff's Piano Concerto No. 3 in D Minor, Op. 30. “I always wanted to play this concerto with an orchestra,” he said. “I love how, despite being a very dramatic and turbulent piece, it has lyrical, almost improvisatory sections that highlight the piano's ability to sing, which provides contrast to the climactic episodes.”