Sam Weiser (left), third place winner of the 2011 Young Artists Competition, with first place winner Lloyd Chen and second place winner Mary Pan.

Sam Weiser of Westport won third place in the Hartford Symphony Orchestra’s 2011 Young Artists Competition with his performance of the first movement of of Mendelssohn’s Violin Concerto in E minor. The final round of the competition was held on Sunday, April 3 at the University of Hartford’s Hartt School.
Encouraging talented young instrumental musicians to continue their musical studies, the statewide instrumental competition is open to Connecticut high school students studying an instrument of the orchestra: brass, woodwind, string, percussion, or piano. During the formal Finals Concert, five finalists performed a standard concerto movement from memory with accompaniment. The winners split cash prizes totaling $3,000.