For at least 27 years, the Orchestra’s Concerto/Aria Competition has been held here in UW-Whitewater. From string to voice, every student is given a chance to shine while simultaneously dazzling the audience.
“It gives musicians, much like myself, an opportunity to showcase their skills to people on this campus,” said Brady Timmons, a pianist student and one of the competitors this year. “And it gives everybody, all the students here, an opportunity to listen to all of the hard work that our music department has done, and continues to do.”
“I think it gives music majors a chance… to put themselves out there and be recognized for their abilities,” said JT White, a voice student and one of the competitors this year.
The competition allows string, woodwind, brass, percussion, piano and voice students to join with a single piece of their choice. With few limitations on their piece, the possibilities are endless. Singers might bring in an aria from an opera, and instrumentalists may bring in things from the Baroque period. Some pieces may originate from movies or have jazz influences. Even the genres can vary from songs about sadness, heroism, love, and more.
“Suffice it to say, that from year to year after year there is a high level of variety among the pieces,” said Benjamin Whitcomb, the Head of the String Area and Cello Professor.
Despite the competition being held for so long, little of it has changed throughout the years. Their main goal, to recognize the depth and span of quality of students in the Music department, especially, has stayed the same.
“Any musician does not have a whole lot of opportunities to play with an entire orchestra as your backup band, as it were. So it’s nice to give them the opportunity,” Whitcomb said.
After each musician performs, judges are given the chance to discuss. Usually, two or three judges are chosen by the WSO Conductor.
“Fortunately, we’re in a part of the country where there’s no shortage to choose from, so sometimes we reach out to some musicians, professional musicians in the Chicago burbs, other times it’ll be people from the Milwaukee area or Madison or even the Quad Cities or something like that,” Whitcomb said.
When choosing a judge, they always have to ensure the judge hasn’t taught any of the students who will be competing. This allows the final decisions to be made unbiased. Luckily, the density of professional musicians in the area allows for a broad range of options and expertise, each with a variety of professional musical skill sets.
By the end of the competition, a maximum of three winners are chosen. Although most of the competition remained the same since its inception, around 15 years ago, there used to be only one winner. This was changed to allow different musical groups a chance to be featured.
Once the winners are chosen, they’re then given the opportunity to perform sometime in the spring with either the Symphony or Chamber Orchestra.
“Very often the three winners [may include] one playing a piece with Symphony Orchestra, one playing a piece with Chamber Orchestra, and one playing a piece with Wind ensemble,” Whitcomb said. “So each one gets to be kind of a featured person, soloist with each of three different groups.”
Leading up to the competition, students spend a lot of time priming their skills and practicing their piece. Some may spend years, while others may hop in to shoot their shot.
“I just really wanted to challenge myself,” said Jackie Cortez, a voice student and one of the competitors this year. “My favorite part of competing is the middle of it. First, you’re nervous, but then once [you start], everything just starts flowing.”
Whether a student gets chosen or not as a winner, they’re still able to make some takeaways from the competition.
“It’s nice when [you] have a student who wins the competition,” said Matthew Sintchak, the saxophone professor. “However, even if the student wins, they will certainly have learned how to prepare music at a high level, which is a major accomplishment on its own.”
“It’s entering and representing yourself well that is a big victory and a big learning opportunity in and of itself, “ Whitcomb said.
Jumping to September 13th, 2025, we’ve had another successful year for the Concerto Competition. Quickly after the competition, the winners were announced: Brady Timmons, piano; JT White, voice; and Alex Martin, saxophone. Along with the winners, there are honorable mentions to Aaron May, violin, and Emma Yeakley, trumpet.
“Congratulations to all the winners and to everyone who competed! Many thanks to judges Myung Hee Chung and Anne Marie Peterson!” Whitcomb said.