Above: Raymond Feng, 2017 Hertzog winner, performing Frédéric Chopin's Piano Concerto No. 1 in E minor Op. 11
I. Allegro Maestoso with the OSFL on March 11, 2018

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The Doreen B. Hertzog Concerto & Aria Competition for Young Artists

Competition

History
The Doreen B. Hertzog Concerto/Aria Competition was a program of the Elmira Symphony and Choral Society, known as the Young Artists’ Competition that began in the late 1960s. It was later renamed in honor of one of its founders, Doreen B. Hertzog. The merged successor of the Elmira Symphony and Corning  Philharmonic, now known as the Orchestra of the Southern Finger Lakes, has continued the competition since its formation in 1995. Designed to showcase the finest young musicians, the Hertzog  Competition is a vehicle for the OSFL to nurture and support talented young performers throughout the region, from Rochester, NY to Mansfield, PA and beyond.

Award and Eligibility
The 2020 Doreen B. Hertzog Competition winner will perform one movement of a concerto or aria with the Orchestra of the Southern Finger Lakes during the 2020-2021 Season. Students in grades 9 through 12 are eligible to audition. Eligible instruments are: piano, strings, brass, woodwinds, percussion, and voice.

The Audition
Contestants will submit a good quality audio recording, performing one movement from a concerto or aria with accompaniment, for the preliminary round. Recordings should not exceed ten minutes; movements of longer duration must be cut appropriately.  Format should be MP3 audio only. No video recordings please.

A maximum of 12 contestants will be selected for the final round which has been postponed during the pandemic, to be scheduled in Horseheads, NY when it is safe for us to reconvene. Contestants will perform the same movement as submitted in the preliminary round, from memory. It is mandatory that each student bring his or her own piano accompanist; the OSFL will not provide an accompanist to contestants.

Hertzog Competition auditions are very competitive; only one student will be selected to perform with the Orchestra of the Southern Finger Lakes, and the judges may, at their discretion, decide not to select a winner. The decision of the judges is final.
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The final round of auditions will be held when it is safe for us to do so. In the meantime, preliminary round applications and recordings without accompaniment are being accepted.

Above: Sophia Werner, 2018 Hertzog winner, performing the first movement of Mendelssohn's Concerto in E Minor, Op. 64  with the OSFL on March 17, 2019


Catch the archive recording of this performance, coming soon.

Application & Payment

Download the 2020 Hertzog Competition Application form.  

Please complete the form and mail it with requested supplemental information to:
                OSFL/Hertzog, P.O. Box 15, Corning, New York, 14830     
Be sure to include a $30 check made out to OSFL for your application fee.  Then email your MP3 recording to info@osfl.org.  All must be received by the application deadline.

If you wish to apply on line, you must complete the application in one sitting.  Be sure you have all the information needed before you begin.  We recommend you first look at the application form pdf by clicking on the link above.

Alternatively, you may scan the completed form and send by email to info@osfl.org.  Then pay the application fee by either calling the OSFL Office, 607-936-2873 with your credit card information or pay the fee online with a credit card by using the "Pay Fee Only" button below.
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Audition times are assigned and notifications emailed shortly after the application deadline. 
​Application, MP3 recording, and audition fee are being accepted at this time during the pandemic shelter in place mandate, and accompaniment is optional for the preliminary round.

Apply Online

Pay Fee Only

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The 2018 Annual Doreen B. Hertzog Concerto/Aria Competition Winner:
​SOPHIA WERNER

Sophia Werner, violin ​

Sophia Werner, 15, has studied violin for 10 years and is currently taught by Linda Case of Ithaca. Sophia’s first music lesson was on the ukulele, but she made it clear that she would have preferred to play the violin, just like her older sister; the ukulele was quickly abandoned, and she has enjoyed playing the violin ever since.

Sophia performed as a soloist with the Cayuga Chamber Orchestra as a winner of the Lee Strebel Award in 2017, and was also a soloist with the Binghamton Community Orchestra in 2016.   In the spring of 2019 she will perform as a soloist with the Ithaca Community Orchestra. She has also placed first in her categories for violin and piano in the Southern Tier Music Teachers’ Association competitions in 2016 and 2107.

Currently concertmistress of the Binghamton Baroque and Binghamton Youth Symphony Orchestras, she has performed as a soloist twice while in the BYSO Senior and Junior Orchestras, in 2015 and 2103.  Sophia expanded her orchestral experience with a performance of the “Carmina Burana” with the Cayuga Chamber Orchestra, had a masterclass with Paul Kantor of Rice University, and has received yearly musical feedback through the New York State School Music Association festival in the solo and duo violin, piano, and cello categories, scoring at the highest possible levels. 

Chamber music is an important part of Sophia’s life.  During the school year as a member of the Harlow String Quartet, she receives weekly coachings from Dr. Madeline Schatz-Harris of Opus Ithaca, spends her summers at Greenwood Chamber Music Camp in the Berkshires of Massachusetts, and was fortunate to have been invited to perform at the Chamber Music @NewPark festival in Ithaca, NY, with members of the Toronto Symphony. Over the years, Sophia has enjoyed performing with her sister, Miranda, at their chamber and solo recitals, farmers’ markets, nursing homes, and fundraising events, and busking in Cape Cod.
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Other musical pursuits include piano lessons with Dr. Andi Merrill at Opus Ithaca, and cello with Mr. Stephen Stalker of Binghamton.  In her free time, Sophia enjoys drawing and painting, devouring classic literature, training her dog and her two cats, and ballet and tap-dancing.

Sophia performed the first movement of Mendelssohn's Concerto in E minor, Op. 64 with the OSFL on March 17, 2019.

2018 Hertzog Competition runner-up:
​Neha Kudva

​Neha Kudva, tuba  

​Neha Kudva is a sophomore at Horseheads High School and plays tuba for her school wind ensemble as well as various ensembles outside of school. She has been playing for 5 years in school band and has also played in area all-state bands since 2015. In 2017, she was first chair tuba in NYSBDA’s middle school honor band and that same year she was invited to attend the Atlantic Brass Quintet’s summer seminar.  For the past three years, she has taken private lessons with graduate students at Ithaca College and also attended their summer music academy in 2017.  She currently plays with the Youth Orchestra of the Southern Finger Lakes, a local brass quintet, and a quartet, and she studies with David Earll, the tuba professor at Ithaca College.

Neha performed her solo with piano accompaniment on the January 11, 2019 Chamber Music Concert at the Rockwell Museum.  Brava, Neha!

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No winner was selected for the 2019 Doreen B. Hertzog Competition.