Columbus Symphony Announces Winner of the 2012 Young Musicians Senior Concerto Competition

The Columbus Symphony today announced that 16-year-old violinist Mariko Shimasaki is the winner of the 2012 Senior Concerto Competition, an annual competition for young musicians in grades 8-12. Shimasaki will receive a $500 award generously donated by the Women's Association of the Columbus Symphony, and has been invited to perform for the CSO's Women's Auxiliary annual luncheon.

About Mariko Shimasaki
Shimasaki began playing violin at five years of age. She is in the 11th grade at Kenton Ridge High School in Springfield, Ohio, and is a pre-college student at the Cincinnati College-Conservatory of Music (CCM), studying with Dr. Won-Bin Yim. As part of the Starling Preparatory Project under the direction of Kurt Sassmannshaus, she toured with the Starling Chamber Orchestra to Salzburg, Austria, in 2010. This year, they will tour to Atlanta to perform in the American String Teachers Association Convention.

Recently, she performed with the Dayton Philharmonic Orchestra as the winner of their Concerto Competition. Additionally, her other awards include first place in the Dayton Philharmonic's Junior String Competition for three consecutive years, 2009 OMTA Buckeye audition, a finalist of the Overture Awards 2012, and winner of WDPR talent search.

In 2011, Shimasaki formed a string quartet with Ken Matsuda, a violist from the Columbus Symphony; Ruruko Makino, cellist from Japan; and her sister Kanako, violinist at CCM. The quartet held a series of benefit concerts in Columbus and Springfield to benefit the victims of the earthquake and tsunami in Japan.

Shimasaki studied at the Aspen Music Festival in 2010 with Naoko Tanaka (Juilliard School), and was invited to return in 2011 and 2012 as well. Last year, she attended the Green Mountain Chamber Music Festival and studied with Dr. Chin Kim.

Also an active chamber musician, Shimasaki is the first violinist of the Sirius Quartet. She also studies piano with Dr. Christopher Durrenberger at the Wittenberg University.

Other 2012 Senior Concerto Competition finalists include Isabelle Durrenberger, violin; Mark Harrison, alto saxophone; Iris Jang, piano; James Pyne Jr., trombone; and Lisa Zhu, violin.

The finals were judged by Julia Rose, Associate Principle Horn of the Columbus Symphony; Dr. Caroline B. Salido, Otterbein University; and Dr. Scott Schilling, Wright State University.

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