Written by Stefan Hanson
The Northwestern Concerto Aria Competition is an annual event where the school’s musicians compete for the chance to perform with the UNW Orchestra. This year’s competition had an impressive amount of talent. Cora Tsang-Johnson and Allie Dzioba claimed the two top spots, Tsang-Johnson for the instrumentals and Dzioba for the vocalists. This accomplishment for both these musicians highlights their hard-earned skill and effort.
Dzioba and Tsang-Johnson
Tsang-Johnson performed the first movement of the Piano Concerto No. 3, by Sergei Prokofiev. Due to the challenging nature of this piece, she chose this work over a year ago. Throughout the past two semesters, Tsang-Johnson suffered from wrist pain. This tested Tsang-Johnson even further; this injury made it especially challenging for her to prepare for both the competition and her senior recital which is this month. To prepare, she explained, “I would sit down and just look at the piece and try to memorize the building blocks.” She added that the competition involved extra stress for her because of the almost a three month break she had to take for her wrist pain. Her success at the competition she says, “feels like a comeback.”
Allie Dzioba, won in the vocalist category. Dzioba, a soprano, performed Les oiseaux dans la charmille by Jacques Offenbach for the competition. She said she picked this piece because of it was enjoyable, fun pacing, and provided her with a challenge. “As a musician, it’s probably the hardest piece I’ve done,” she shared honestly. When asked about her reaction to winning she said, “I was very surprised. I had a rough fall and was able to see success that was more meaningful because of a more challenging season.” Dzioba talked about preferring to perform in front of judges rather than peers, saying, “it’s good to get feedback from professionals.” This was not Dzioba’s first competition. Earlier in the fall, she competed in the National Associate of Teachers within her category as a Sophomore Soprano with the same piece. She performed well and ultimately placed as a semifinalist.
Winning this competition highlights the skill and hard-work of both these musicians. Tsang-Johnson and Dzioba invested countless hours in preparing for this competition. In recognition of their support, both musicians thanked their teachers in their post-competition interview. Dzioba extends her appreciation to Melody Johnson and Timothy Sawyer for their belief and encouragement. Tsang-Johnson thanked Bowen Liu who helped her work through the pain to perform at the competition. This May, both competitors will have the opportunity to play with the UNW Orchestra as a final close for their endeavors.
