Hoffman Wins Columbus Symphony’s Young Musicians Senior Concerto Comp

The Columbus Symphony today announced that 18-year-old harpist Natalie Hoffman is the winner of the 2011 Senior Concerto Competition, an annual competition for young musicians in grades 8-12. The Pickerington High School North senior 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 Natalie Hoffman
Hoffmann began studying the harp at age six with Jude Mollenhauer in Columbus. She immediately displayed exceptional talent and was soon asked to perform for prestigious events citywide, including performances for the Columbus Symphony Orchestra, Nationwide Children's Hospital, the Columbus Museum of Art, and the Ohio Supreme Court. In 2003, Hoffman began studying piano with Mary Craig Powell, and continued her harp studies with world-renown harpist Judy Loman in Toronto. Hoffman has been a member of the Columbus Symphony Cadet and Youth Orchestras, the OMEA Regional Orchestra, as well as several community orchestras, and has received numerous recognitions in national and international harp competitions. Hoffman is an active volunteer in the MusicCare program for The James Cancer Clinic and plans to pursue a bachelor of music in harp performance this fall.

Other 2011 Senior Concerto Competition finalists include:

Nikita Annenkov, cello, Dublin
Jean Choi, violin, Upper Arlington
Hee-Yeon Chung, violin, Worthington
Matthew Hettinga, violin, Utica
Alexander Martin, violin, Whetstone/Columbus
Kanako Shimasaki, violin, Springfield
Mariko Shimasaki, violin, Springfield
Lisa Zhu, violin, Upper Arlington

The finals were judged by Ken Matsuda, Violist, CSO; Julia Rose, Associate Principal Horn, CSO; and Dr. Caroline Salido, Otterbein University.

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