Concerto Competition Celebrates Student Achievement and Campus Spirit</h1> <article> <h1>Concerto Competition Celebrates Student Achievement and Campus Spirit</h1> <p>srasmuss — Wed, 06 May 2026 17:37:38 +0000</p> <span>Concerto Competition Celebrates Student Achievement and Campus Spirit</span> <span><span>srasmuss</span></span> <span><time datetime="2026-05-06T13:37:38-04:00" title="Wednesday, May 6, 2026 - 13:37">Wed, 05/06/2026 - 13:37</time> </span> <div class="text-content field field--name-body field--type-text-with-summary field--label-hidden field__item"><p class="intro-text">One of many ��سԹ� traditions observed in late spring is the Senior Concerto Competition performances, which celebrate outstanding Conservatory students in their final years of study.<br><br>In fall 2025, four musicians advanced through a preliminary round and a final round, the latter adjudicated by an external panel of respected names in the industry. Their prize: the opportunity to perform a solo work with one of ��سԹ�’s orchestral ensembles, conducted by Raphael Jiménez.<br><br>With the ��سԹ� Chamber Orchestra, clarinetist Keyvar Smith-Herold performed Claude Debussy’s Première <em>Rhapsodie</em> on April 2, and soprano Saige Hoffman performed Joaquin Turina’s <em>Poema en forma de canciones</em> on May 1. With the ��سԹ� Orchestra, violist William Mathangani performed Béla Bartók’s <em>Viola Concerto</em> on April 9, and pianist William Chen will perform Sergei Rachmaninoff’s <em>Piano Concerto No. 3</em> on May 8.<br><br>“This is a moment in the school year that is very special to me,” Jiménez says. During the concerto performances, “ you can feel how everybody is doing the best they can to accompany their friends with so much love. It represents the ethos of our institution so well.”<br><br>Winning the Competition is something that most of the participants had imagined for years. “It was something I had dreamed about since I first arrived on campus,” says Keyvar Smith-Herold, who studies with Professor of Clarinet Richard Hawkins. <br><br>Smith-Herold enjoyed not only the performance itself, but also the experience of rehearsing the music together with Jiménez and the ensemble. “It’s an experience I’ll always value.”<br><br>Violist William Mathangani found that his intentional preparation for the Competition paid dividends. “As much as I wanted to win, I also just wanted to become a better musician, no matter the outcome,” he says. Working with Professor of Viola Peter Slowik, “I raised my standards for myself, which also led to a lot of success this year outside the competition.” <br><br>A few months ago, Mathangani decided not to stay for a fifth year and earn a double degree, meaning that he will graduate in the spring. So “the meaning behind the concerto changed for me,” he says. “It was more a farewell to ��سԹ�, and I wanted to make it something special.”<br><br>On May 1, Saige Hoffman performed Turina’s <em>Poema en forma de canciones</em>, a song cycle with lyrics entirely in Spanish. “As a Nicaraguan-American, it brings me immense pride to be able to represent my family’s language on a bigger stage,” she says. “It is a rare privilege to perform a piece you love on a stage like this, and I plan to hold on to every moment.”<br><br>A student of Associate Professor of Voice Katherine Jolly, Hoffman adds that “it wasn't just a personal win, but a moment to acknowledge the incredible support and guidance I've received from my teachers.”<br><br>On May 8, William Chen will perform Rachmaninoff’s Third Piano Concerto with the ��سԹ� Orchestra, an experience he says will be “unforgettable.” He began practicing the piece years ago, inspired by the recordings of pianists like Vladimir Horowitz and Martha Argerich, before really digging into it with his teacher, Stanislav Ioudenitch. <br><br>The concerto “always gazes towards a part of the past, present, or future that we look for in some intuitive sense,” Chen says. “As I practice, I seek to imagine these lingering and fleeting feelings radiating down the rows of seats, walls, and ceilings of Finney.”<br><br>Jiménez has conducted many Concerto Competition performances over the years, and he appreciates getting to share these moments with students he has watched grow. Many “will go on to have wonderful careers,” he says. So these concerts are “a great opportunity for the community to see these people as they are taking the first step into a bright future.”</p><p> </p><p>—<br><em>Stephanie Manning ’23 completed her bassoon performance degree at ��سԹ� while finding her way into journalism as a classical music critic. She returned to Cleveland after finishing a graduate diploma in journalism at Concordia University in Montreal. A regular contributor to ClevelandClassical.com, she has also published articles with Signal Cleveland, The Montreal Gazette, and Carnegie Hall.</em><br> </p></div> <div class="field field--name-field-news-subhead field--type-string field--label-hidden field__item">Four outstanding Conservatory students earned the opportunity to perform a solo work with one of ��سԹ�’s orchestras, conducted by Raphael Jiménez.</div> <div class="field field--name-field-news-type field--type-entity-reference field--label-hidden field__item">Campus News</div> <div class="field field--name-field-news-date field--type-datetime field--label-hidden field__item"><time datetime="2026-05-06T12:00:00Z">Wed, 05/06/2026 - 12:00</time> </div> <div class="field field--name-field-news-author field--type-string field--label-hidden field__item">by Stephanie Manning ’23</div> <div class="field field--name-field-news-tags field--type-entity-reference field--label-hidden field__items"> <div class="field__item"><a href="/news?tag=2356">Conservatory</a></div> </div> <div class="field field--name-field-news-programs field--type-entity-reference field--label-hidden field__items"> <div class="field__item"><a href="/news?program=36206">Viola</a></div> <div class="field__item"><a href="/news?program=37266">Clarinet</a></div> <div class="field__item"><a href="/news?program=29541">Piano</a></div> <div class="field__item"><a href="/news?program=35596">Voice</a></div> </div> <div class="field field--name-field-news-faculty field--type-entity-reference field--label-hidden field__items"> <div class="field__item"><a href="/stanislav-ioudenitch" hreflang="und">Stanislav Ioudenitch</a></div> </div> <div class="field field--name-field-news-departments field--type-entity-reference field--label-hidden field__items"> <div class="field__item"><a href="/conservatory/divisions/strings" hreflang="und">Strings</a></div> <div class="field__item"><a href="/conservatory/divisions/vocal-studies" hreflang="und">Vocal Studies</a></div> <div class="field__item"><a href="/conservatory/divisions/winds-brass-and-percussion" hreflang="und">Winds, Brass, and Percussion</a></div> </div> <div class="field field--name-field-news-image-caption field--type-string-long field--label-hidden field__item">��سԹ� Conservatory 2025-26 Concerto Competition winners (clockwise from top left): Keyvar Smith-Herold, clarinet, Saige Hoffman, voice, William Mathangani, violin, and William Chen, piano.</div> <div class="field field--name-field-news-pin-school-page field--type-boolean field--label-hidden field__item">Off</div> <div class="field field--name-field-news-photo-gallery-top field--type-boolean field--label-hidden field__item">false</div> <div class="field field--name-field-news-image-credit field--type-string field--label-hidden field__item">Saige Hoffman, Tanya Rosen-Jones, KKphotography.</div> <div class="field field--name-field-news-media field--type-entity-reference field--label-hidden field__item"> </div> <div class="field field--name-field-news-article-header field--type-boolean field--label-hidden field__item">0</div> </article> </main></body></html>