Nolan Wenik Awarded the 2017 Leitzinger Bassoon Competition Education Prize

Nolan Wenik of Willow Grove, a gifted bassoonist from the Philadelphia Youth Orchestra (PYO), will receive the 2017 Leitzinger Bassoon Competition Education Prize. Nolan won high praise from the judges during the competition with his performance, earning a full scholarship to the Bard College Conservatory of Music.

Louis Scaglione, President and Music Director of PYO, is very proud of Wenik. He said, "Nolan has always been an exemplary student and we congratulate him on this outstanding accomplishment, winning the Bard College Conservatory of Music scholarship. He is another wonderful example of the type of student who participates in PYO, who demonstrates leadership, and great skill and motivation to succeed."

The Bard College Conservatory of Music, located in New York, is a unique undergraduate program that allows students to explore their musical talents and passions through specialized coursework. Students have the opportunity to learn from renowned musicians, perform full-length concerts of their own work and develop their individuality as a vocal or instrumental artist.

Nolan has been a member of PYO for two years and is now the bassoon section leader. He has spent five years mastering his bassoon skills and, for the past two years, has studied under Michelle Rosen. Nolan has a strong passion for chamber music, a form of classical music composed for a small group of instruments. He has spent the past three years as part of the Weinstein Wind Quintet of the Settlement Music School, coached by Geoffrey Deemer. In November, Nolan participated in the NAfME All-National Honors Orchestra and plans to participate in the NAfME All-Eastern Honors Orchestra this April. As he furthers his education, he will pursue a music career.

About the Philadelphia Youth Orchestra:

Now in its 77th year, training tomorrow's leaders, the renowned Philadelphia Youth Orchestra organization, led by President and Music Director, Maestro Louis Scaglione, is one of the nation's oldest and most respected community music education and youth orchestra performance programs, providing talented young musicians from across the tri-state area with exceptional musical training. Students go on to excel in many diverse fields, and it is with pride that Philadelphia Youth Orchestra notes that many members of the prestigious Philadelphia Orchestra are alumni. The organization is comprised of six program ensembles designed to meet specific needs and experience levels of students selected through a competitive audition process. The anchor group is the Philadelphia Youth Orchestra (PYO), conducted by President and Music Director Louis Scaglione, featuring 120 gifted instrumentalists who range in age from 14-21. Young musicians 12-18 years old are featured in PYO's companion ensemble, the Philadelphia Young Artists Orchestra, which is led by Director and Conductor Maestra Rosalind Erwin, who is Music Director and Conductor of Drexel University Orchestra. Philadelphia Young Musicians Orchestra (PYMO), directed by Maestro Kenneth Bean, is a beginning to intermediate-level full symphonic orchestra that provides most students with their first introduction to large orchestral playing featuring students age 10-17 years old. Bravo Brass, directed by Curtis Institute Dean of Faculty and Students, Paul Bryan, is an all brass ensemble for promising middle and high-school instrumentalists. PRYSM (Philadelphia Region Youth String Music) and PRYSM Young Artists ensembles provide string large ensemble and sectional master class instruction for beginning and intermediate musicians ages 6-14. The director and conductor of PRYSM is Gloria DePasquale, cellist with The Philadelphia Orchestra, and conductor of PRYSM Young Artists is Andrea Weber. Tune Up Philly (TUP) is PYO's engagement program, directed by Paul Smith, that focuses on creating and inspiring true community by providing children in under-resourced communities with invaluable opportunities to learn and perform a differentiated orchestral music curriculum. www.pyos.org.