The Heartland Symphony Orchestra is a 55-piece orchestra that serves the communities of Brainerd and Little Falls and surrounding areas. Since the HSO was founded in 1977, Echo Kowalzek had been involved every step of the way. The history of her involvement includes playing the viola and string bass as well as decades of service on the HSO Board of Directors, 32 years of which she served as Secretary. The HSO’s Youth Concerto Competition, which takes place in alternate years, has been a tradition since 1983 and is an integral part of the Spring Concert Series. The orchestra along with its board of directors would like to recognize Ms. Kowalzek’s legacy by announcing the 2023 Echo Kowalzek Youth Concerto Competition in her honor.
Students living in the service area who are of high school age or younger may audition in January before judges on any band or orchestra instrument, piano or voice. A winner will be chosen from each of two age categories: grades 10-12 and 9th grade and under. Besides their public performances at the Heartland Symphony Orchestra’s Spring Concerts, each of the young artists receives a recording of their performance and a $500 music scholarship from HSO to continue their musical studies. This is Heartland Symphony Orchestra’s 46th season and the 2023 Spring Concert Series, “The Youth Concerto Competition Returns”, will feature the winners of the Youth Concerto Competition, young artists who are destined to create great music now and in the future.
The application form and rules and regulations for this competition may be found and submitted at the HSO website. For more information email [email protected] or contact the Heartland Symphony Orchestra office at 1-800-826-1997.