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LOIS LYMAN CONCERTO COMPETITION

The Lois Lyman Concerto Competition is named after music teacher and one of ESYO's founding members, Lois Lyman. It began in 1985. The winner is selected through a rigorous application and performance process from amongst Symphony Orchestra, Youth Jazz Orchestra and Youth Percussion Ensembles' membership each year, representing some of the area's finest musicians. Applicants must perform a concerto before a panel of judges. The winner performs his/her concerto with the Symphony Orchestra that season.

Guidelines for Applicants

Lois Lyman Concerto Competition ’23-‘24 Student Guidelines

Competition Date 

The competition will be held on Saturday, January 20, 2024 at the College of St. Rose, Albany. (Snow Date Sun., Jan. 21). The winner will perform with the ESYO Symphony Orchestra as part of the April 21, 2024 concert at the Troy Savings Bank Music Hall.

Eligibility/Choice of Competition Music

The competition is open to members of the Symphony Orchestra, Youth Jazz Orchestra and Youth Percussion Ensemble.

  • Previous ESYO Lois Lyman Concerto Competition Winners are not eligible to re-apply for consideration during the season following their concerto performance.
  • Applications will be accepted for all orchestral instruments including percussion and piano. Applicants may audition on only one instrument in any given year, and it need not necessarily be the instrument played in their ESYO ensemble.
  • Applicants may choose any concerto or other published work for solo (soloists) with orchestral accompaniment. The work must be pre- approved by the Music Director before you submit the application. (Permission is partly dependent upon the availability of parts and score.) The length of
    the concerto must not exceed 30 minutes, unless pre-approved by the Music Director.
    Your repertoire selection must be submitted for approval by Oct. 20.
    You will be notified by email when approval has been granted.

 Application Deadline

The application and $25.00 participation fee are due by Nov. 17 the deadline will be strictly enforced. No applications will be accepted after the deadline, and any applications that were submitted in time but were incomplete (for example, lacking the name of your accompanist) must be completed by the deadline or the applicant will be removed from consideration.


Preparation and Competition Audition

  • For both the audition and performance applicants are required to play from memory, unless, as per standard performance practice, this requirement has been waived by the Music Director. Applicants will be permitted to have music available at the audition only to facilitate finding particular sections in the concerto as requested by the judges.
  • Applicants must prepare the entire concerto, but the judges will determine what portions of your piece will be played during the audition. The length of the audition will be ten minutes.
  • Applicants must provide the judges with a clean photocopy of their music.
  • Applicants must provide their own accompanist and must supply the required information about the accompanist on their application.
  • Warm-up rooms will be available on the day of the competition. Percussionists and pianists will warm up in the audition room because of audition set-up considerations and, for pianists, the use of an unfamiliar instrument.
  • With the exception of the judges, the accompanist, page-turners for the accompanist (if needed), and the individual applicant at their scheduled time, no one (such as family or teachers) is allowed in the audition room during the audition.

Competition Results

  • Judges will select a first and second place winner. ESYO reserves the right to declare no winner based upon the decision of the judges.
  • Applicants will be notified by email or phone of the judges’ decision within 48 hours of the competition.
  • The winner will perform the entire concerto with the Symphony Orchestra on April 21. The work selected for the audition will be the piece the winner performs at the concert.
  • The 2nd place winner may be invited to perform a movement (or movements) of their piece with the Repertory Orchestra on May 4. The decision will be made by the Repertory Orchestra Conductor and the Music Director.
  • Participants will receive a copy of their adjudication forms.


If you have any questions about your application and/or participation in the competition, please contact Sue Lascoe, ESYO Operations Director, at This email address is being protected from spambots. You need JavaScript enabled to view it.

Application Form Deadlines

To participate, Symphony Orchestra members must fill out the following forms by the indicated deadlines: 


Concerto Competition-Previous Winners
2022-23
Yu-Heng Wang, viola
Bartók Viola Concerto, Op. posth (ed. Serly)

William Lauricella, piano
Rachmaninoff Piano Concerto No. 2 in C minor
2021-2022
Eujeong Choi, cello
Elgar Cello Concerto in E minor, Op.85
2020-21
No competition
2019-20
William Luaricella, piano
Shostakovich: Piano Concerto No. 2 in F Major, Op. 102
2018-19
William Han, cello
Cello Concerto No. 1, Op. 107, Dmitri Shostakovich
2017-18
Gabrielle Kim, piano
Piano Concerto in A minor, Op. 16, Edvard Grieg
2016-2017
Aram Kim, violin
Violin Concerto No. 5 in A minor, Op. 37, Henri Vieuxtemps
2015-2016
Michael Zhu, violin
The Lark Ascending, Ralph Vaughan Williams
2014-2015
Hannah Dick, percussion
Concerto for Marimba and Orchestra, Op. 12, Ney Rosauro
2013-2014
Clare Criscione, violin
Concerto No. 3 in B minor, Op. 61, Camille Saint-Saëns
2012-2013
Jacob Efthimiou, cello
Cello Concerto No. 1 in A minor, Op.33, Camille Saint-Saëns
2011-2012
Lisa Liu, violin
The Butterfly Lovers, by Chen Gang and He Zhanhao

 

2010-2011
Turi Scilipoti, flute
Concerto for Flute and Orchestra, by Jacques Ibert
2009-2010
Zachary Evans, violin
Symphonie espagnole, Op. 21, by Édouard Lalo
2008-2009
Ryan Reilly, piano
Piano Concerto No. 1 in E-flat, S. 124, by Franz Liszt
2007-2008
Anthony Bellino, trumpet
Proclamation, by Ernest Bloch

 

2006-2007
Leo Brown, violin
Zigeunerweisen, Op. 20
2005-2006
Jack Qian, violin
Concerto in E Minor, Op. 64, by Felix Mendelssohn
2004-2005
Eric Zhou, violin
The Butterfly Lovers, by Chen Gang and He Zhanhao
2003-2004
James Benoit, marimba
Fantasy on Japanese Woodprints, Op. 211, by Alan Hovhaness
2002-2003
Kathryn Andersen, violin
Symphonie espagnole, Op. 21, by Édouard Lalo
2001-2002
Ashley Bathgate, cello
Concerto in A Minor, Op. 129, by Robert Schumann
1999-2000
Ashley Bathgate, cello
Concerto No. 1 in A minor, Op. 33, by Camille Saint-Saëns
1998-1999
Benjamin Chan, violin
Violin Concerto in D Major, Op. 61, by Ludwig van Beethoven
1997-1998
Felice Kuan, piano
Piano Concerto in A minor, Op. 16, by Edvard Grieg
1996-1997
Jonathan Chu, violin
Concerto No. 3 in B Minor, Op. 61, by Camille Saint-Saëns
1995-1996
Adrienne Chamberlain, French horn
Concerto #1 by Richard Strauss
1994-1995
Jennifer Chu, piano
Piano Concerto No. 1 in G Minor, Op. 25, by Felix Mendelssohn
1993-1994
Marisa Range, piano
Concerto No. 2 in G Minor, Op. 22, by Camille Saint-Saëns
1992-1993
Nathan Lawrence, violin
Violin Concerto in D Major, Op. 35, by Pyotr Ilyich Tchaikovsky
1991-1992
Clancy Newman, cello
Cello Concerto in B Minor, Op. 104, by Antonín Dvořák
1990-1991
Emily Greitzer, violin
Symphonie espagnole, Op. 21, by Édouard Lalo
1989-1990
Meg Bragle, violin
Concerto for Violin and Orchestra, by Samuel Barber
1988-1989
Michelle Fenton, bassoon
Concerto in B flat Major, by Wolfgang Amadeus Mozart
Stefon Harris, marimba
Fantasy on Japanese Woodprints, by Alan Hovhaness
1987-1988
Martha Pushee, piano
Concerto No. 2 in B-flat, Op. 19, by Ludwig van Beethoven
1986-1987
Dana Gooley, piano
Concerto No. 1 in G Minor, Op. 25, by Felix Mendelssohn
Lisa Cole, clarinet
Concerto in A Major, K. 622, by Wolfgang Amadeus Mozart
1985-1986
Joyce Ryu, violin
Concerto in E Minor, Op. 64

William Lauricella, Piano

Watch his 2023 Piano Concerto on our Virtual Concert Hall

Yu-Heng Wang, viola; William Lauricella, piano

2022-23 Competition Winners
Bartók Viola Concerto, Op. posth (ed. Serly)

Rachmaninoff Piano Concerto No. 2 in C minor

Eujeong Choi, cello

2021-22 Competition Winner
Elgar Cello Concerto in E minor, Op. 85

William Lauricella, piano

2019-20 Competition Winner
Shostakovich: Piano Concerto No. 2 in F Major, Op. 102

William Han, cello

2018-19 Competition Winner
Shostakovich: Cello Concerto No. 1, Op. 107

Gabrielle Kim, piano

2017-18 Competition Winner
Grieg: Piano Concerto in A minor, Op. 16

Aram Kim, violin

2016-2017 Competition Winner
Vieuxtemps: Violin Concerto No. 5 in A minor, Op. 37