WAMSO Names Stony Brook Graduate Student as Grand Prize Winner of 51st Young Artist Competition

MINNEAPOLIS, MN - Conor Nelson, doctoral candidate with the Department of Music at Stony Brook, was bestowed the first prize in the 51st annual Women's Association of the Minnesota Orchestra (WAMSO) Young Artist Competition announced on January 7th.

Only six grand prizes have been awarded in the 51-year history of the competition and Conor is the first wind player to win the grand prize. The prize includes a $1,000 award from the Minnesota Orchestral Association; the $5,000 WAMSO Young Artist Award; the $2,500 WAMSO Achievement Award; a performance in a subscription concert with the Minnesota Orchestra; a taped performance on McGraw Hill's Young Artist Showcase, WQXR in New York City ; and the Erma Strachauer F irst Place medal.

The 24-year old flutist is a native of Toronto , Ontario and studies with Stony Brook Artist in Residence, Carol Wincenc. He performs on a 14k gold Powell flute and a solid silver Haynes awarded to him at the 2006 Haynes international flute competition. Conor performs regularly and has showcased his talents in various locations worldwide, as a soloist and in collaboration with various artists.

A Presser scholar, Conor received his Bachelor of Music degree from the Manhattan School of Music where became one of the youngest woodwind players to win the school-wide concerto competition. Following, he received his Master of Music degree from the Yale School of Music where he was recipient of the Thomas Nyfenger prize and winner of the Woolsey Hall Concerto Competition. He was also the winner of the 2006 Concerto Competition at Stony Brook, for which he will perform the Nielsen Flute Concerto with the Stony Brook Symphony.

Conor was chosen among six finalists who were drawn from sixteen semifinalists. The original pool consisted of 68 applicants who submitted audition CDs for the preliminary round. The five other finalists included students from the University of Michigan School of Music Theater and Dance, Hamline University, Westerville South High School in Ohio, Northwestern University, and St. Olaf College .

Started in 1956, the competition is coordinated by a joint venture between WAMSO-Minnesota Orchestra Volunteer Association and the Minnesota Orchestra. Musicians under the age of 26 years compete for more than $15,000 in cash prizes, scholarships, performance opportunities, and summer program scholarships. WAMSO is the primary volunteer support group for the Minnesota Orchestra, and works to promote music education.

Picture - Maestro Osmo Vänskä congratulates Young Artist Competition Grand Prize winner, flutist Conor Nelson (By Greg Helgeson)