Southwestern College senior Jamie Garrard and sophomore Aaron Duell have won the first annual South Kansas Symphony solo competition.  Their reward is the opportunity to perform with the symphony at the April 26 concert on the Southwestern College campus and also at the May 2 concert at Garden City Community College.

“Very few musicians get to experience performing with an orchestra,” says Daniel Stevens, assistant professor of strings music and the conductor of the South Kansas Symphony.  “In my lifetime, I have only had one opportunity to do so.”

According to Stevens, six students auditioned.  Outside judges were brought in to grade the contestants.  The judges were allowed to choose one winner, multiple winners, or nobody.

“The challenges of playing with an orchestra are many,” says Stevens.  “They must be able to project over the orchestra, they must have a strong presence to get their sound out, and they have to memorize the material.  The winners proved their ability to perform with a full orchestra.”

Garrard is the daughter of Karl and Sue Garrard, Belton, Mo.  She is a vocalist and will perform Dvorak’s “Song to the Moon” from the opera “Rusalka.”

Duell is the son of Roger and Margaret Duell, Salina.  He plays the trombone and will perform the trombone concerto by Rimsky-Korsakov.

“What sets them above the rest is not only their technical ability, but their ability to captivate an audience,” says Stevens.  “They have an energetic stage presence.  They are able to play musically and draw in the audience.”