The Houston Symphony League Presents The 38th Annual Houston Symphony Ima Hogg Competition, Now thru 6/1

The 38th annual Houston Symphony Ima Hogg Competition of the Houston Symphony League will take place tonight, May 30 and Saturday, June 1 in Stude Concert Hall at Rice University. With artists hailing from as near as the Houston area to as far as Russia, the 10 talented Semi-Finalist musicians will not only compete for a chance to perform with the Houston Symphony but also a coveted monetary prize which has been increased from years' past.

This year, the Gold Medal winner will take home five times the prize amount from last year, having been increased from $5,000 to $25,000, thanks to a generous gift of Symphony patrons John and Tracy Dennis in honor of his grandmother. The entire prize pool that the young artists are competing for will increase from $9,300 to $42,000 in this year's competition. Musicians that travel to the competition will now have their airfare provided by the Symphony's airline sponsor, United Airlines in addition to being hosted by Symphony volunteers, removing the cost and creating a no-risk competition.

Tonight, May 30, the ten Semi-Finalists, chosen from a pool of 135 applicants ranging from a wide variety of instruments and nationalities, will perform two concertos from memory for a panel of judges in hopes of earning a spot as one of the competition's four finalist positions. The four finalists will then perform one of their concertos again on Saturday, June 1 accompanied by the Houston Symphony in front of a live audience at Stude Concert Hall. The Finals Concert will also be broadcast live on Houston's Classical 91.7 FM. The First Place winner will earn a performance opportunity with the Houston Symphony at the Houston Chronicle Concert on July 13, and the Second Place winner will have the opportunity to perform with the Houston Symphony at a Miller Outdoor Theatre concert on June 29.

The Houston Symphony Ima Hogg Competition has a reputation as being a launch pad for young musicians and their future careers as performing artists. Past winners have gone on to win numerous national and international awards, receive positions throughout orchestras all over the world, and appear with the Houston Symphony as guest artists and members.

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