Skip to main content

Senior Concerto

Senior Concerto Competition

The Youth Orchestra of Central Jersey holds an annual Senior Concerto Competition. The winner(s) perform with the Symphonic Orchestra, as part of the May Large Ensemble concert.

Requirements:

  • Student must be a senior in high school
  • Student must have been with YOCJ for at least two seasons
  • Student must complete a Preliminary Google form over the summer, due August 1st.
  • Student must prepare a complete work or movement of a work with orchestral accompaniment approximately 10 minutes in length
  • The orchestral sheet music must be easily accessible and available for YOCJ to purchase.
  • Student must complete a Google Application Form during the season.
  • Student must submit a video by uploading it onto a Google Application Form.
  • Students MUST perform their solo WITH a piano accompanist in the above video submission.
  • The Google Application will be due November 15th each year.

Congratulations to Sanjay Kaushik!

Bravo to Sanjay Kaushik, a senior at West Windsor Plainsboro High School North. He’s the winner of the 2024 YOCJ senior solo competition. He will be playing the first movement of the Mendelssohn Violin Concerto with the Symphonic Orchestra at the May 11 spring large ensemble concert at 7:30pm. More details are coming!

Aryan Avadhanam was winner of the 2023 YOCJ senior solo competition and performed the Eric Ewazen concerto for tenor saxophone and orchestra at the May 21, 2023.

Rithika Iyengar, Clarinet, and Timothy Chen, Saxophone were our 2022 winners of the Senior Concerto Competition! Rithika performed the Finzi Clarinet Concerto and Timothy performed the Creston Saxophone Concerto on Sunday May 22, 2022.

Luke Armstrong, Tuba; Drew Borek, Trumpet; and Andrew Xu, Cello were our 2020 winners of the Senior Concerto Competition! Due to the 2020 global pandemic, they remotely performed their solos during a YOCJ-wide YouTube Livestream on Tuesday May 26th, 2020. They also had the opportunity to be coached by 3 accomplished clinicians during the livestream.

Violinist Raymond Jia, our 2019 winner of the Senior Concerto Competition, performed the Butterfly Lovers Concerto by He Zhanhao and Chen Gang on Sunday May 19, 2019.

Trombonist Justin Bi and flautist Sarah Chen were our 2018 winners of the Senior Concerto Competition! Justin performed the Trombone Concertino by Ferdinand David and Sarah performed George Hue’s Fantasia on the Sunday May 20, 2018.

Cellist Kapil Kanwar, winner of the 2017 Senior Concerto Competition performed the final movement of the Lalo Cello Concerto with the Symphonic Orchestra, on May 21, 2017.

Jeremy Zhang, our 2016 Senior Concerto Competition winner performed Zigeunerweisen for Violin and Orchestra by Pablo de Sarasate on Sunday, May 22, 2016.

Zachary Joseph was our 2015 Senior Concerto Competition winner and performed the Concertino for Soprano Saxophone and Orchestra by Steven Cohen, in May 2015.