Musicians

Stefani Collins , piano

Stefani has competed in competitions throughout the U.S. A frequent winner of the Winston Salem Symphony Concerto Competition, Stefani toured with the symphony in March 2002. In 2000, Stefani was chosen from violinists around the country for two national awards resulting in performances in Cincinnati and participation in the Youth Orchestra of the Americas.

Stefani is a member of the Greensboro Symphony Youth Orchestra, Chamber Orchestra, and Honors Quartet. As a member of these ensembles, she has received numerous awards, including the Sam Wilson and the Lillian Rauch Scholarships. In 2002, Stefani performed in Wilmington’s annual series featuring young artists, which was broadcast on NPR, and was a violinist with Washington Chamber Symphony’s 2002 All-Girl Vivaldi Orchestra. Stefani was also selected to perform in the quarter-finals of the Kingsville International Competition and as a soloist with the 2003 Eastern Music Festival and the Greensboro Symphony Youth Orchestra. She was also a 1st place winner in the North Carolina Symphony and Winston Salem Symphony concerto during spring 2004, and in June 2003 and 2005, participated in the Starling-DeLay Symposium at Juilliard. During the 2004-05 season, she toured with the North Carolina and the Mid-Atlantic symphonies. When discussing Stefani, Scott Freck, North Carolina Symphony General Manager, commented“We were deeply impressed by Stefani’s innate musicality”, and “Stefani has a confidence in presentation well beyond her years.” Stefani was a finalist in the Blount Young Artist Competition in Montgomery and recently won the North Carolina Symphony senior division concerto competition. In February, Stefani won the southeast region Music Teachers National Association string competition. In December, 2005, Stefani performed with the New York String Orchestra Seminar under the direction of Jaime Laredo at Carnegie Hall. She attended the Aspen Music Festival last summer, where she studied with Paul Kantor, and will return as a scholarship student in the summer of 2006. Future engagements include performing with the North Carolina Symphony in June.