Top of the World
Rock violin prodigy Antonio Pontarelli (left) is a couple of steps closer to his stated goal of conquering the music world. In March, Pontarelli became a finalist in the prestigious International Songwriting Competition for a song he wrote entitled “Under Age” (the contest drew 15,000 entries from 80 countries), and that same month Songwriter Universe magazine named the 14-year-old Southern California musician’s “Things Fall Apart” best song of the month. The latter song features lyrics about believing in yourself and serves as a perfect vehicle for Pontarelli’s Hendrixesque instrumental solos. Pontarelli, who takes online college courses as a Johns Hopkins University scholar, formed his first rock band three years ago. He has already been acknowledged by the Grammy Foundation, which selected him for its prestigious summer music camp. Catch his streaming videos at www.antoniomusic.com.

Kansas City Chiefs
The annual American String Teacher’s Association’s National Orchestra Festival competition was held this year in Kansas City, Missouri, with 17 ensembles from 14 states, and more than 760 orchestra students vying for top prizes and ratings. The South Carolina Governor’s School for the Arts Concertato String Orchestra from Greenville, South Carolina, was named Grand Champion and, along with first-place youth orchestra winner the New World Chamber Orchestra from Indianapolis, Indiana, performed a winners’ concert for ASTA’s national conference attendees.

Competitive orchestras were separated into three divisions: middle school orchestra, youth orchestra, and high-school string orchestra. Other winners included the Tenafly Middle School Orchestra, hailing from Tenafly, New Jersey, which took first place in the middle school orchestra division; and the Norcross Philharmonic Orchestra from Norcross, Georgia, which earned first place in the high-school orchestra division.

Juniors Rule
Cellist Gabriel Cabezas took first place at this year’s Sphinx Competition, the five-day contest held annually in Detroit, Michigan, that promotes African-American, Latino, and other minority string players. The 13 year old hails from Wilmette, Illinois, and is a member of the BAM Quartet and a soloist with the Midwest Young Artists Orchestra. Second place went to Milena Pajaro-van de Stadt, a violist from Jacksonville, Florida; the third place prize was nabbed by violinist Maia Cabeza from Chapel Hill, North Carolina. For the first time in its nine-year history, the competition’s junior-aged participants dominated, with all first- through fifth-place winners between the ages of 12 and 17. The competition’s senior-aged participants are between the ages of 18 and 26. Players compete for cash prizes totaling $20,000 and for high-profile performance opportunities and positions with major orchestras. Learn more at www.sphinxmusic.org.

In Brief
The juniors division made a big impression on judges at the 2006 Yehudi Menuhin International Competition for Young Violinists held this spring in Paris, France, leading judges to award special prizes to four semi-finalists. Here are the winners. Junior section: First Prize: Sunao Goko, 12, Japan; Second Prize: Fumiaki Miura, 13, Japan; Third Prize: Yu-Chien Tseng, 13, China; Fourth Prize: Robyn Bollinger, 14, USA; and Fifth Prize: Stella Chen, 13, USA. Senior section: First Prize: Hrachya Avanesyan, 19, Armenia; Second Prize: Robin Scott, 16, USA; Third Prize: Shuai Shi, 16, China; and Fourth Prize: Sulki Yu, 20, Korea.

Rachel Taylor, a 16-year-old violinist in the Virtuoso Program at San Domenico School in San Anselmo, California, won a $10,000 prize in a national competition for America’s best young classical musicians. She plans to use the money to buy a violin. Taylor is a past winner of the Jack Kent Cooke Young Artist Award, given by From The Top, a nonprofit organization best known for its national radio program featuring young classical musicians.