Four student soloists will take the stage with the Andrews University Symphony Orchestra to perform in the Young Artist Competition Winner Concert on Feb. 7, at 7:30 p.m. in the Howard Performing Arts Center. Every fall, music students at Andrews University compete with a movement of their chosen concertos, hoping to be selected as a winner and to get the chance to perform on the HPAC stage for this February concert.
The first soloist of the night will be Jonathan Clough (junior, music performance and math). You may remember Clough from last year’s Young Artist Concert, where he performed Beethoven’s Piano Concerto No. 3 in C minor. This year, however, Clough will be singing rather than playing piano.
He explained that right before the competition in the fall of 2025, he came down with a horrible cold, a dire situation for a vocalist aiming to win the competition. Luckily, he was still able to perform and was chosen as one of the winners. Since vocal pieces are much shorter than a typical concerto for other instruments, Clough will perform three arias spaced out throughout the program.
The first is titled “Meine Seele ist erschüttert” from "Christ on the Mount of Olives" by Beethoven. This aria portrays Christ in the Gethsemane before the crucifixion, describing his fear over his soon death and how an angel comes to comfort him. Clough reflected, “I really appreciate how much more meaningful it makes Christ’s sacrifice, that he felt every single human emotion that one would have before such an experience.”
The second aria, “Ich baue ganz auf deine Stärke” from "The Abduction from the Seraglio" by Mozart, is a huge contrast from the Beethoven. The lyrics describe the character Belmonte’s journey to rescue his lover from Pasha Selim’s palace and his feelings regarding seeing her again. This aria, Clough describes, is “a declaration of faith, faith in the power of love.” Belmonte becomes confident that the love between them is stronger than anyone else’s doubts.
Clough’s final aria, which will be performed in the second half of the program, is titled “Una furtiva lagrima” from "The Elixir of Love" by Donizetti. This aria, featuring a beautiful melody on the harp, describes the main character, Nemorino, looking up at the balcony and seeing a tear rolling down his lover Adina’s cheek, finally realizing the true love that they have for one another.
Violinist Nikolaz Feliciano (senior, music) will take the stage next to play the first movement of Mendelssohn’s Violin Concerto in E minor, Op. 64. Mendelssohn composed this piece for a long-time friend, violinist Ferdinand David. Rather than have the orchestra begin the piece and introduce the soloist later, Mendelssohn chose to let the violinist be the center of attention from the very beginning. The first movement includes a beautiful cadenza where Feliciano will be able to showcase all the work he has put into perfecting this piece.
This will be Aiko Ayala’s (senior, music performance) second time performing a concerto with the AUSO, this time playing the third movement of Clara Schumann’s Piano Concerto in A minor, Op. 7. Schumann began writing this piece when she was just 13 years old, finishing it at the age of 16. She originally only composed the third movement, and later added the first and second movements, premiering it herself under Director Felix Mendelssohn.
Ayala stated that her choice of concerto aims to “...raise awareness for women composers, for women pianists that maybe we are not as familiar with.” She is looking forward to “sharing the music I have been preparing for months now and to show people the musical ideas that I have true to the composition of Clara Schumann.”
The final soloist of the night will be violinist Claire Yang (junior, speech pathology and music), performing Tchaikovsky’s Violin Concerto in D Major, Op. 35. Yang explained that “This piece is especially meaningful to me, especially the fact that I get to play with an orchestra because it’s both mine and my dad’s favorite violin concerto.” Yang and her father’s shared love for the piece is thanks to a memorable performance her father attended years ago, when her grandfather was conducting. Unlike the other pieces, which usually bored him, this one left a lasting impression, and years later, when he shared this memory with Yang, it became her favorite concerto as well.
Yang shared that this is the most difficult piece she has ever played, and that she has been practicing it for over a year now. “I’ve learned a lot about my playing through this piece, and so I think I’m just excited to see the result of everything I’ve worked towards.”
The concert is completely free, and no tickets are required. We hope you will come support these young artists!
The Student Movement is the official student newspaper of Andrews University. Opinions expressed in the Student Movement are those of the authors and do not necessarily reflect the opinions of the editors, Andrews University or the Seventh-day Adventist church.