Tessa Lark, Jinjoo Cho and Ji Yoon Lee each performed with the Indianapolis Symphony Orchestra. The contestants choose which piece to play. Tessa led Walton's "Concerto for Violin and Orchestra". Jinjoo led Korngold's "Concerto in D major for Violin and Orchestra, Op. 35" and Ji Yoon led Tchaikovsky's "Concerto in D major for Violin and Orchestra, Op 35". Conductor Joel Smirnoff explained in his pre-concert talk that he allows the contestant to set the pace and feel of the piece. He leads the orchestra to follow his or her lead. This was an interesting surprise for me. They all earned standing ovations. Of course, I stood through the entire concert at my tripod in a box at the back of the auditorium with a sound muzzle around my camera and a super-telephoto zoom. I got to watch in high magnification. What a thrill! I enthuse about practically all my assignments. This International Violin Competition is certainly one of my favorites!
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