What: The UNT Symphony Orchestra performs in concert with the fall 2014 College of Music Concerto Competition winners. UNT Symphony Orchestra conductor David Itkin will direct the orchestra along with six graduate student conductors.

When: 8 p.m. March 11 (Wednesday)

Where: Winspear Hall in the Murchison Performing Arts Center, 2100 Interstate 35 Frontage Road, Denton. The concert will also be streamed online.

Tickets: $10 for adults; $8 for seniors, non-UNT students, children, UNT faculty, staff and retirees, and groups of 10 or more; free for UNT students with valid ID. UNT student tickets must be picked up in person at the Murchison Box Office. Purchase tickets online or by calling the Murchison Box Office at 940-369-7802.

More information: For a complete list of UNT College of Music events, including faculty and student recitals, visit the College of Music online calendar. Visit the College of Music Facebook page and on Twitter @UNTCoM.

DENTON (UNT), Texas – Nine of the College of Music's finest students who won the University of North Texas College of Music annual Concerto Competition in fall 2014 will be featured with the UNT Symphony Orchestra on March 11.

UNT Symphony Orchestra conductor David Itkin and six graduate student conductors will direct the orchestra during the concert.

The eight performers are Po-Hsuan Chen, alto saxophone; Kenny Davis, bass trombone; Samantha Kantak, soprano; Josip Kvetek, viola; Hannah Leffler, flute; Chengyin Lu, bass; Aaron Olguin, bass; Nathan Ryland, piano; and Jennifer Youngs, soprano. The six student conductors are Dami Baek, Robert Bott, Hyeyoun Jang, Conner McMains, Yuya Miyazaki and Kevin Pearce.

"This annual concert highlights some of the college's most outstanding soloists," said David Itkin, director of orchestral studies at UNT. "This year's winners are accomplished musicians and performers who will reflect the depth of talent here at UNT."

The program includes

• Tomasi's Saxophone Concerto, second movement, Po-Hsuan Chen and Dami Baek
• Tchaikovsky's Rococo Variations, Chengyin Lu and Kevin Pearce
• Stravinsky's No Word from Tom from The Rake's Progress, Samantha Kantak and Yuya Miyazaki
• York Bowen's Viola Concerto, first movement, Josip Kvetek and Hyeyoun Jang
• Chris Brubeck's Concerto for Bass Trombone, third movement, Kenny Davis and Conner McMains
• Frank Proto's Carmen Fantasy, Aaron Olguin and Dami Baek
• Rodrigo's Concierto Pastoral, second movement, Hannah Leffler and Kevin Pearce
• Donizetti's Regnava nel Silenzio from Lucia di Lammermoor, Jennifer Youngs and David Itkin
• Prokofiev's Piano Concerto No. 3, first movement, Nathan Ryland and Robert Bott

The performers

Po-Hsuan Chen, a native of Taipei, Taiwan, is a saxophone soloist, chamber and large ensemble musician. Chen has presented solo recitals in Taiwan and the United States. He has been awarded prizes at several competitions, including third prize at the Taiwan National Saxophone Competition. Chen is a saxophonist in the UNT Concert Band. He is pursuing his master of music degree in performance.

Kenny Davis, a Wisconsin native, is a freelance trombonist and educator in the Dallas/Fort Worth area. He has performed with award-winning ensembles and musicians such as Aretha Franklin, the Two O'Clock Lab Band, the UNT Latin Jazz Ensemble and the Juan Chaves Big Band. Davis was a long-time faculty member at the Shell Lake Arts Center in Wisconsin. He recently earned his master's degree in music performance from UNT and is pursuing his doctoral degree.

Samantha Kantak, from Webster City, Iowa, is a soprano who performed the title role in Suor Angelica at last summer's Amalfi Coast Festival. Kantak makes her debut with UNT Opera in the role of Giulietta in Les contes d'Hoffmann this spring. She is a first-year doctoral student in the studio of Carol Wilson and is a recipient of the Robert B. Toulouse Fellowship.

Josip Kvetek, a native of Croatia, was a winner and special prize recipient in the International Competition of Gorizia, National Competition for Students of Music and Dance in Varaždin, Croatia (first prize 2004, 2006, 2008, 2010), International Contest for Young Virtuosos in Zagreb (1st prize in 2005 and 2009), Rudolf Matz International String Competition in Dubrovnik, Sondeckis International String Competition, and others. Most recently, he won second place in the Lewisville Lake International Competition and the bronze medal at the International Crescendo Music Awards. Kvetek is a junior studying violin and baroque violin.

Hannah Leffler has held numerous flute faculty positions at schools in Iowa and performs frequently with the Oklahoma City Philharmonic. She is a Presser Scholar and was named the winner of the National Flute Association's Orchestral Audition Competition in 2012. She has been a featured soloist with the University of Northern Iowa Symphony Orchestra and Oklahoma City University Symphony Orchestra, among others. Leffler was a prizewinner in the Crescendo Music Awards and Coeur d'Alene Young Artist Competition. She is pursuing her doctoral degree in flute performance.

Chengyin Lu, a native of Tianjin, China, was appointed principal bassist of the China Youth Symphony Orchestra in 2005. He then became assistant principal bassist of the Hong Zhou Philharmonic Orchestra. In 2009 he won first prize in the National Double Bass Competition held by the Central Conservatory of Music. In 2011, he won first prize and special recognition of the American String Teachers Association National Solo Competition. Lu is pursuing his doctoral degree in double bass performance.

Aaron Olguin, a native Texan from The Colony, was named principal of the UNT Concert Orchestra early in his college career and now holds the co-principal position of the UNT Symphony Orchestra. He was selected to perform with Fantasmi, an early music ensemble, touring Germany, Austria and Croatia in 2014. Olguin was chosen as a semi-finalist for the $50,000 first prize of the Sphinx Competition for Young Black and Latino String Players. He will compete for the prize later this spring in Detroit. He is a junior.

Nathan Ryland was selected as a winner of the Jan and Beattie Wood Concerto Competition at the Brevard Music Center last summer. He was the second place winner of the Brevard Music Center Piano Competition. Ryland also competed in the Budapest Concert Division of the 2014 Los Angeles International Liszt Competition, receiving third prize. He is a sophomore.

Jennifer Youngs made her main stage Dallas Opera debut as Olimpia in Argento's The Aspern Papers and was seen in the role of Laurette in the Dallas Opera Outreach production of Bizet's Dr. Miracle. She was featured in recital with Elvia Puccinelli and Jake Heggie at the 2014 National Association of Teachers of Singing convention in Boston. On the concert stage, she recently made her Dallas Symphony debut. Youngs has been nominated for a Richard Tucker Foundation Career Grant, and is a winner of the Lois Alba Aria Competition, winner of the Kansas City District of the Metropolitan Opera Council Auditions, and a semi-finalist in the Loren Zachary Vocal Competition. She holds a master's degree from UNT and is pursuing a doctoral degree studying with soprano Carol Wilson.

The conductors

Dami Baek is a graduate from the Conservatory of Music at Wheaton College, where she received a bachelor of music education degree. She completed a master of music degree in orchestral conducting at Baylor University. Prior to completing her master's degree she taught music at the International Community School of Bangkok, Thailand. Baek is pursuing a doctoral degree in orchestral conducting.

Robert Bott, a native of Salt Lake City, has previously held positions as music director of the Celebration Chamber Orchestra and the Lincoln Youth Symphony, and as an assistant conductor with the Salt Lake Pops Orchestra and the University of Utah Philharmonia. Bott holds degrees from the University of Utah in music composition and instrumental conducting. He isa first-year doctoral student in orchestral conducting.

Hyeyoun Jang, a native of Busan, South Korea, studied composition and received both her bachelor and master of music degrees in music composition at Ewah Womans University. She received her master's degree in orchestral conducting at the University of Iowa. She has conducted the Kook-Min Chamber Orchestra and has arranged music for the Seoul String Ensemble. Jang is pursuing her doctoral degree in orchestral conducting.

Conner McMains, a native of Little Rock, Ark., was hired as a church music director at age 17 before attending Hendrix College in Conway, Ark., where he graduated with a bachelor's in vocal performance. McMains works at New World United Methodist Church, accompanying all services/ensembles and directing the handbell choirs, and also as a freelance composer/arranger, having works premiered both in the United States and abroad. He is pursuing his master's in orchestral conducting.

Yuya Miyazaki serves as the music director for the student symphony orchestra at the Texas Academy of Mathematics and Science High School. He graduated from the University of Nevada, Reno, with a bachelor of arts in music and studied orchestral and choral conducting. He also served as a cover conductor for the University of Nevada Reno Symphony Orchestra for three years. He is a second-year master's student in orchestral conducting.

Kevin Pearce, a native of northern Chicago, served from 2008-2013 as the inaugural director of orchestras at Cypress Lakes High School in the western suburbs of Houston. During his tenure, the Cypress Lakes Orchestras won multiple UIL Sweepstakes awards, as well as top honors in local and national festivals. Pearce received a bachelor's of music education from Indiana University and a master's in orchestral conducting from the University of Iowa. He in his second year of study for a doctoral degree in orchestral conducting.