COMMUNITY News:
Los Alamos Middle School seventh grade Yuiko Yamaguchi, 12, earned the Rising Star Award at the Guild of New Mexico’s Jackie McGehee Young Artists’ Competition in Strings Feb. 10 at the Robertson and Sons Violin Shop Recital Hall in Albuquerque.
Yamaguchi played the third movement of the Bach Violin Concerto No. 1 in A minor, BWV 1041, accompanied by Los Alamos pianist Ms. Yelena Mealy.
Yamaguchi started playing the violin when she was 8 with Ms. Michelle Rosette. She is currently studying with Lee Harvey at Santa Fe School for Strings.
She was the concertmaster for 2023 NMMEA District 4 Honor Clinic Orchestra and is the concertmaster for Los Alamos Youth Orchestra and Los Alamos Middle School seventh grade orchestra. Yamaguchi also is a member of Santa Fe Youth Symphony Association (SFYSA) Youth Philharmonic.
Yamaguchi routinely performs with pianist Yelena Mealy at the Unitarian, United and Methodist churches in Los Alamos.
She enjoys playing the violin and hopes to become a professional violinist someday.
About the Music Guild of New Mexico’s Jackie McGehee Young Artists’ Competition
Since 1992, the Music Guild of New Mexico (MGNM), formerly known as the New Mexico Symphony Guild (NMSG), held an annual concerto competition for young musicians in the state. This event is named for Jackie McGehee, a long-time NMSG/MGNM member and past president of the NMSG, who spearheaded and underwrote the event at its beginning and continues to underwrite the program. This event has become one of the premier competitions in the state and provides monetary awards for the winners and opportunities to perform with a professional orchestra. In 2009, this event was renamed the Music Guild of New Mexico’s Jackie McGehee Young Artists’ Competition for Piano and Strings to reflect an expansion of its musical scope. Since its inception, many nationally known musicians have traveled to Albuquerque from all over the U.S. to adjudicate this competition.
The competition is open to New Mexico students aged 10 through 21. The competition is held annually in February at Robertson and Sons Violin Shop Recital Hall in Albuquerque.
First-place winners receive a solo performance opportunity with the New Mexico Philharmonic. They also have the chance to perform at the Music Guild of New Mexico spring luncheon. Cash awards are $2,500 for first-place winners in each category, $1,500 for second-place winners and $1,000 for third-place winners. A Rising Star award of $500 is often awarded in each category.
Los Alamos Middle School seventh grader Yuiko Yamaguchi competes Feb. 10 at the Jackie McGehee Young Artists’ Competition in Albuquerque. Courtesy photo
