OCEAN CITY – The sixth annual Esther Weil Student Music Competition included a record field with 26 students from 10 different high schools and two home-schooled students competing. The May 4 competition on the Ocean City Music Pier included $3,600 in prize money.
The event is part of the outreach program of the nonprofit Friends of the Ocean City Pops. It is named for Esther C. Weil, a well-known patron of music in Ocean City and Philadelphia. A piano teacher and vocalist herself, Weil and her husband, Paul, a former instrumental music teacher at Ocean City High School and instructor at the University of Pennsylvania, promoted the Philadelphia Orchestra, the Choral Arts Society of Philadelphia and the Ocean City Pops Orchestra. Her generous gifts funded the first three years of prize money for this contest.
This year’s winners included:
Instrumental Division
- 1st place: Aidan Seals, Saxophone, Mainland Regional High School, $1,000
- 2nd place: Beth Anne Castellano, Violin, Egg Harbor Twp. High School, $500
- 3rd place: Ryan Gattini, Guitar, Holy Spirit High School, $250
- 4th place: Roberto Steele, Piano, Homeschool, $100
Vocal Division
- 1st place: Fred Spiewak, Wildwood Catholic, $1,000
- 2nd place: Stella Schwartz, Ocean City High School, $500
- 3rd place: Amanda D. Chiaro, Lower Cape May Regional High School, $250
“We want to congratulate all the students that participated in the contest,” said Robert Snodgrass, competition coordinator. “The talent was truly amazing. The judges had quite a challenge to assess all these wonderful student musicians.”
Judges included Ocean City Pops Artistic Director and Conductor William Scheible, Andrea Herr, Ocean City Pops principal bassoonist, and Angel Loffredo, retired choral director at Mainland Regional High School. The Ocean City Pops opens its 88th season June 19, with a concert featuring Deana Martin at 7:30 p.m.. Please visit us at: OceanCityPops.org or call the Music Pier Box Office at 609-525-9248for tickets or information.
