2019 - 2020 Winners
Leon Burke III (2011-2013)
Leon Burke III is a native St. Louisan, where he attended Mc Bride High School and John Burroughs School. He holds music degrees from the Oberlin Conservatory and the University of Kansas. Burke studied as a Fulbright Fellow in Paraguay. Burke has served as Conductor/Music Director of the Lawrence Chamber Players, the Hutchinson Symphony, and the McPherson Symphony. He has been on the faculties of Baker University, Sterling College, Hutchinson Community College, and Webster University. Burke is an active member of Unitarian Universalists Musicians Network (UUMN). He served as a member of the UUA New Hymn Resource Task Force, which was appointed in the Fall of 2003 to create a new congregational hymn resource.
Jacob Hinton
First Place Winner
Jacob Hinton, cellist, is currently 17 years old and a senior at Lafayette High School in Wildwood, Missouri. He began his musical journey with piano at age 7 and started playing cello at age 9. Jacob has played with the St. Louis Symphony Youth Orchestra (2017-2020), the Missouri All-State Orchestra (2019), the NAfME All-National Honors Orchestra (2019), the St. Charles County Youth Orchestra (2016), and the Lafayette High School Symphonic Orchestra (2016-2020). Jacob has been very involved with the Preparatory Program of the Community Music School of Webster University from 2017-2020, of which he has been in a competition group for the past 2 years. He is currently studying with St. Louis Symphony Assistant Principal cellist, David Kim, through the Community Music School at Webster University. Additionally, Jacob participated in the Indiana University Summer Strings Academy in the summer of 2018 as well as the Bowdoin International Music Festival this past summer. Jacob earned Honorable Mention in the UMSL Young Artist Competition in both 2018 and 2019, and he has received scholarships from the Buder Charitable Foundation and Dr. Kenneth R. Mares. Jacob plans on attending a music conservatory in order to pursue his love of cello and classical music with the goal of either becoming a musician in a symphony orchestra or a college professor in cello or music theory. Jacob is our First Place Winner of the Young Artist Competition and will be performing with the ASO on February 23, 2020. He will also receive a certificate and cash prize.
Lucy Chen
Deborah Fox Guild Winner
Lucy Chen, 12 years old and in the 7th grade at Ladue Middle School. She has studied piano with Laura Schindler of St. Louis for 6 years. Lucy has received many piano awards, among them: 1st Place Trophy Winner for Piano Solo in the MMTA (Missouri Music Teachers Association) State Piano Competitions in 2nd grade, 5th grade; and 1rst Place Trophy Winner for Piano Ensemble in 3rd grade. Most recently, on November 10, Lucy was once again the 1st Place Trophy Winner for both 7th grade Piano Solo and 7th-9th grade Piano Ensemble at the MMTA State Piano Competition held at Missouri State University in Springfield, MO. Lucy has also received "Honorable Mention" in Division 1 of the 2019 St. Louis Area MTA Young Artist Piano Competition, performing in concert at Missouri Baptist University. She was also 2nd Place/Silver Medal Winner in the prestigious New York Steinway Piano Competition in both 2018 and 2019. On October 26 of 2019, Lucy performed "Jardins sous la pluie" by Debussy in Master Class for Dr. Thomas Rosenkranz of UMKC as a result of winning the SLAMTA Master Class Auditions. Besides piano, Lucy also plays violin in the Ladue Middle School Orchestra and enjoys reading and playing volleyball. Lucy is our Deborah Fox Guild Winner and will be performing with the ASO on December 7, 2019. She will also receive a certificate and cash prize.
Anne Luetkenhaus
First Place Runner-Up
Anne Luetkenhaus, currently a junior at Southern Illinois University Edwardsville where she studies flute performance with Dr. Shelly Monier. In high school, she participated in the Illinois All-District Band, and received Superior Solo and Ensemble competition scores. She also received the John Philip Sousa Award in her high school music program. In 2017, she received second place in the Flute Society of St. Louis (FSSL) High School Competition, and she was the first prize winner of the FSSL College Young Artist Competition in 2018. This past year, she was a finalist in the St. Louis Symphony Youth Orchestra Concerto Competition and was the winner of the SIUe Concerto and Aria Competition. She has attended summer music programs Passion Flute and Wildacres Flute Retreat, where she has had the opportunity to perform in masterclasses with notable teachers and performers such as Göran Marcusson, Stephen Preston, Angeleita Floyd, and Claudia Anderson. Anne also plays in a variety of ensembles. She is a current member of the St. Louis Symphony Youth Orchestra and is a member of The Waiting Place Woodwind Quintet. Additionally, she performs in the SIUe Orchestra, Wind Symphony, and Flute Choir. Anne is our First Place Runner-Up of the Young Artist Competition. She will receive a certificate and cash prize.