Columbus State students to play Carnegie Hall

Two students from the Schwob School of Music have won separate competitions to play at Carnegie Hall this spring.

Elzbieta Tokarska, who plays the violin, and Victor Hernández, who plays the flute, will play the prestigious venue as a result of their high levels of performance.

Tokarska, a violin student of Sergiu Schwartz, is a graduate student who is originally from Poland. She was awarded her Carnegie debut as a winner of the American Fine Arts Festival International Concerto Competition. She will play Carnegie on March 4, and her additional prize is a recital with the Kostroma Symphony Orchestra in Russia this summer.

Tokarska won the award from the American Fine Arts Festival by recording and sending in a DVD of her playing the first movement of the Korngold Violin Concerto. Although there was not an official reported number of contestants, the competition is known to be extremely competitive.

Tokarska said she is thrilled to be playing Carnegie for the first time, and to have a special guest with her, as well.

“It will be my first trip to New York City and it is hard to believe that the performance at Carnegie Hall is the reason,” she said. “This concert is going to be really special for me not only because I get to play in the most famous concert hall in the world. but also because I get to share that stage with my brother, Kamil Tokarski. The competition committee agreed for me to bring my own pianist, which makes me really happy because it is the most wonderful thing when you get a chance to share your success with others.”

Hernández, a flute student of Andrée Martin, is originally from the Dominican Republic. His Carnegie concerts came as a result of him winning second prize in the Golden Classical Music Award Competition and first [rize in the American Protege International Competition. Both awards grant Hernández separate performances in Carnegie Hall. He will play Carnegie on March 13 as the Golden Award winner, and April 22 as the winner of the American Protege.

Both competitions required Hernández to submit a DVD of pre-recorded performances of selections from the flute repertoire. The two selections he won with are the Poulenc Flute Sonata and Francois Borne’s “Fantasie Brillante on Themes from Bizet’s “Carmen.” Each competition was judged by international judges.

In addition to the Carnegie Hall performances, Hernández has also recently been notified that he won two other competitions. He’s a winner of the 2017 Yamaha Young Performing Artist Competition. which will allow him to play at a symposium sponsored by Yamaha in Indianapolis later this year.

Hernández’ most recent award notification came in the form of another major performance opportunity. As a first prize winner of the Grand Prize International Music Competition, he will be playing April 12 at the Royal Albert Hall in London. He said he is looking forward to his upcoming concerts with great anticipation.

“I feel very fortunate to be surrounded by an incredible faculty and colleagues here at Schwob School of Music, especially of my teacher Andrée Martin,” he said. “I am also very happy to be able to represent my school and my country the Dominican Republic in some of the most important concert halls such as the Carnegie Hall in New York and the Royal Albert Hall in London.”

Columbus residents don’t have to travel abroad to see these two students in concert. They perform regularly at the RiverCenter for the Performing Arts with numerous ensembles at the Schwob School of Music. You can also see them perform as selected soloists in various concerts throughout the year.

For more information on their performance appearances, check the Schwob School of Music website or call 706-649-7225.

This story was originally published March 4, 2017 at 11:09 AM with the headline "Columbus State students to play Carnegie Hall."