Two local high school students received first and second place awards of $100 and $50 respectively in the Falls Church Rotary Club’s round of the Graham Green III Memorial Music Competition held last Thursday in music department at Bishop Denis J. O’Connell High School.
Two local high school students received first and second place awards of $100 and $50 respectively in the Falls Church Rotary Club’s round of the Graham Green III Memorial Music Competition held last Thursday in music department at Bishop Denis J. O’Connell High School.
Vocalist Samuel Waters, in his senior year at George Mason High School, earned first place, and vocalist Kimberly Zarnick, a senior at Bishop O’Connell High School, was selected for second place in the contest.
Each gave a vocal audition with piano accompaniment. Samuel’s selection was Jules Massenet’s “En Fermant les Yeux” and Kimberly’s was Gabriel Faure’s “Chanson d’amour.” The contestants were judged on the basis of musical sound, ability, empathy, selection difficulty and stage presence.
Samuel advances to the semi-final level of competition in Northern Virginia Rotary District 7610, which will be held on March 12 at the University of Mary Washington in Fredericksburg. Three finalists will be selected in the semifinals to advance to the District finals, which will be held at the District Conference on April 9 in Gettysburg, Pa. The three finalists will compete for scholarships toward future musical instruction expenses at the school of their choice in amounts of $3,000 for first place, $1,500 for second place and $500 for third place.
The contest is named in honor of the late Past District Governor Graham Green III, whose efforts established the competition in Rotary’s effort to provide an outlet for recognition and support of talented high school musicians in northern Virginia over the past decade.
