The 11 students who walked into the auditorium on Oct. 22 had one mission: to win the Concerto Competition, where musicians from Oak Park River Forest High School perform pieces of their choice with an accompanist on the piano. The winners get to perform with the school’s symphony orchestra. 

These students, who have advanced skills on their instruments, had been working on their solos for the majority of the school year. They had already competed for their spots in the preliminary round, but in the final round only three winners emerged: senior violinists Clara Frantzen and Bea Sjostrom, along with junior trumpet player Bennett King.

The Concerto Competition was hosted by the Oak Park and River Forest High School Symphony Orchestra and organized by the school’s longtime orchestra teacher, Patrick Pearson. A concerto is a certain kind of classical solo piece. Some performers played concertos, while others played other types of classical pieces. 

There were students who played orchestra and band instruments, one who sang and a couple who played the piano, which made a situation for the judges “where you’re trying to compare apples and oranges,” said Charles Pikler, a judge for this year’s competition and retired first violinist of the Chicago Symphony Orchestra. 

He judged the competition along with John Bitoy, a composer and pianist; Cody Stocker, a saxophonist who is the founder and director of the Stanford Saxophone Choir; and Ray Ostwald, a former orchestra director and teacher at York High School in Elmhurst. 

The judges had to pay critical attention to tone, dynamics, tempo and other important musical techniques. “We’re concentrating and forcing ourselves not to simply sit back and enjoy these wonderful performers, but because we need to have our own analytical side, so we take good enough notes and remember the details,” Otswald said. 

 “It went smoothly. Everyone was super talented,” said Pearson.

All three winners have made the ILMEA District 1 Honors Festival and performed with the Chicago Youth Symphony Orchestra (CYSO) before. While every contestant came into the competition looking professional and prepared, Sjostrom, Frantzen and King blew the crowd and judges away with their outstanding performances.

Sjostrom, who has won the Concerto Competition at OPRF three consecutive years, this year played “Violin Concerto in D minor” by Jean Sibelius.  “I was really excited to get to play with the orchestra again…because that is my favorite experience of all,” said Sjostrom.

Also a solo performer with the CYSO and OPRF and Elmhurst symphonies, Sjostrom has learned the drill to a successful performance. “For me, practicing has obviously helped me win, but performing is always different, and I always find that playing in front of people you know helps you build up the nerve to play in front of an audience,” she said. 

While Sjostrom leads part of the violins, Frantzen leads the others in the OPRF Symphony Orchestra.

Frantzen has experience with the concerto at OPRF, but this is the first time they have ever won. “I couldn’t believe it… I got really emotional because you know I have been working on the piece very hard, and I was just really happy to see that all that hard work paid off,” they said, explaining that Pearson and their private teacher have helped their skills and kept them motivated throughout their musical career.

It is obvious that Frantzen is a unique violinist from the way they rocked their head and swayed to the mood of their piece, “Tzigane” by Maurice Ravel, at the competition (similar to the way they bow  away at Jazz Ensemble shows). Frantzen said, “When you enjoy the music, you shouldn’t have to stop yourself from moving around.”

Frantzen is not only a very talented violinist but composes and conducts. They have composed a piece called “Ghost Light Vignettes,” with CYSO and a piece for the choir at OPRF that they will be conducting on Nov. 21 at Orchesisis. They have also assistant-conducted an opera titled “Decatrim” and conducted other choirs.

Pearson said that both Sjostrom and Frantzen are “very talented, they’re very pleasant, they’re very modest about their talent.” He added that what makes them great is “their sound, technique, musicality and passion.” 

Not many wind players have won the competition. King is the first in eight years. “I was super excited to be able to represent an underappreciated part of the musical world within this solo repertoire,” he said.  

King is first chair trumpet in OPRF’s Wind Ensemble and has experience with concerto competitions including one with the CYSO. He also made the division finals in the 2022 National Trumpet Competition. 

For the OPRF Concerto Competition, King performed “Trumpet Concerto in A Flat” by Alexander Arutiunian, which was a “really a special opportunity to show everything you have been working on,” he  said.

Anthony Svjeda, the school’s band teacher and chair of the music department, said the competition showcased great musicians who  are “very passionate about what they do.” But, they are also “very respectful, and their rehearsal etiquette is outstanding,” said Svjeda.

According to Pearson, the competition gave students a challenge and something to look forward to where people came to support their friends and family. The winners will be performing their solos in May with the OPRF Symphony Orchestra.