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Music for Youth and Pequot Library
Present the
2025 Marianne Liberatore Memorial Instrumental Competition
Final Round will be held at PEQUOT LIBRARY – 7 pm Thursday, January 30th, 2025
Deadline for entries: January 20th 6 pm.
MFY will not accept submissions past the deadline.
Music for Youth announces the 2025 Marianne Liberatore Memorial Instrumental Competition for High School instrumentalists who reside in Connecticut. .
The Marianne Liberatore Memorial Instrumental Competition is in honor of Marianne Liberatore and the gift of music she gave to our community through the free Young Persons’ Concerts and school residency and exchange programs. Marianne founded Music For Youth with the goal of bringing professionally performed classical music into the lives of young people in Fairfield County.”
Prizes: First prize: $1000 Second prize (the Karl Koss Memorial Award): $500
Competition Rules:
The first round of the competition will be judged based on the videos submitted with this application by Music For Youth committee members. The final round of the competition will be live and judged by three professional musicians who are not affiliated with Music For Youth. All decisions are final. Applicants are required to play the same pieces for both rounds of the competition. There is no time limit for the video submission; however, each finalist will be limited to 13 minutes to perform their pieces during the live round.
Eligibility: Any high school student residing in Connecticut or studying with a teacher in Connecticut.
MFY may select up to 6 finalists for the final round. All finalists will be notified by January 24, 2025. The final round will take place on January 30, 2025 at 7pm at Pequot Library in Southport. Please do not enter the competition if you will not be available to participate in the final round.
Application fee: $50
APPLICATION FOR Marianne Liberatore INSTRUMENTAL COMPETITION
MEET THE 2024 ML Instrumental Winners
First Place Winner Beatrice Low
Beatrice Low is a high school senior from Westport, CT. She began her violin studies at age 3. Beatrice currently studies in Juilliard’s Pre-College Division with Sheryl Staples, principal associate concertmaster of the New York Philharmonic. Beatrice has been a soloist with orchestras such as Norwalk Symphony Orchestra and the Metropolitan Symphony Orchestra. She has won numerous state and international awards including the Grand Prix Winner of the Concerto Competition, the first prize winner for best Saint-Saëns performance at the Great Composers International Competition and is a 2-time MTNA strings competition state representative. Beatrice was concertmaster or assistant concertmaster of the Norwalk Youth Symphony’s Prelude, Philharmonic, and Concert Orchestras, and she was concertmaster of the Western Regional Orchestra. She has served as an assistant principal in the Juilliard Pre-College Orchestra. Beatrice dedicates her free time to her community through BeHASSTic, her non-profit organization. It offers free educational resources for underrepresented students. Additionally, Beatrice enjoys reading, playing chess, watching sports, and traveling.
Second Place Winner Mia Gribbon
Mia Gribbon is a junior at Hamden High School, where she is president of the school’s Tri-M National Music Honors Society chapter. She started playing clarinet seven years ago and studies with Julie Levene. Mia is the principal clarinetist of the Norwalk Youth Symphony Principal Orchestra and has been principal clarinet in the CT All State Orchestra for the past two years. Last year, she was first chair in the NAfME All National Symphony Orchestra. She attended the Tanglewood clarinet intensive last summer.
Second Place Winner Harry Tao
Harry Tao is a 9th grader from Wilton High School in Wilton, Connecticut. Harry began studying cello at the age of 7. Over the years, he has taken lessons from various teachers including Lois Errante, Justin Park, and Taeguk Mun. He currently studies with Clara Kim at the precollege division of the Juilliard School. He was the 1st place winner of 2023-2024 Winter VIVO International Music Competition, Honorable Mention of 2023 International Grand Music Competition, and silver prize winner of the 2022 International Young Artist Solo Competition. As a concerto competition winner, he has played as soloist with Danbury Symphony Orchestra, Hamden Symphony Orchestra and American Chamber Orchestra. In the summer of 2022 and 2023, he played chamber music with other musicians at the Chamber Music Institute for Young Musicians under the direction of Asya Meshberg. When he is not playing cello, Harry has excelled in playing soccer. He has won the Connecticut State Cup and advanced to the semi-finals of the Eastern Regional Championships in 2023 with his teammates at AC Connecticut.
