2023
Young Performer Competition
Scholarship Winners
Laina Burris, Violin
TJ Stang, Piano
and
Grand Prize Winner
Lorelei Schoenhard, Violin
Laina Burris
Laina Burris is a senior at Saint John’s Preparatory School. She has been playing violin for seven years and studying with Michael Zellgert for the last four years. Laina is a part of the Central Minnesota Youth Orchestra and has played in the All State Orchestra for the past two years. She enjoys calculus, classical music, and making jewelry. She plans to study music and physics next year at Cedarville University.
TJ Stang
TJ is a sixteen-year-old pianist who enjoys playing the piano, coding on his computer, and volunteering his time at church. He is a member of the church worship team. He enjoys competing in local and state piano competitions, especially concerto contests. He is also a post-secondary student at St Cloud Technical and Community College working on his general education along with his high school classes. TJ hopes to study music in the future and make a career in the world of music.
Grand Prize Winner
Lorelei Schoenhard, Violin
Lorelei Schoenhard studies violin with Marion Judish, professor emeritus of Saint Cloud State University. She plays in the Central Minnesota Youth Orchestra and the Greater Twin Cities Youth Symphony. Earlier this season, she won the Music Teachers National Association competition – Minnesota junior strings division and the Minnesota String and Orchestra Teachers Association competition – intermediate division. With equal joy, Lorelei studies piano with Bonnie Sorensen-Ernst at her Saint Germain Music Studio. She has won multiple divisions of the Minnesota Music Teachers Association annual piano contest and consistently earned superior ratings in the Minnesota Federation of Music Clubs annual piano festival. She attends Saint John’s Preparatory School. When she’s not practicing, Lorelei likes to read novels and build Lego.
