Young Artist Showcase
with VSO's Young Artist Competition Gold Medalists
Saturday, January 17, 2026 at 7:00 p.m. & Sunday, January 18, 2026 at 3:00 p.m.
Skyview Concert Hall, 1300 NW 139th St, Vancouver, WA 98685
What You'll Hear
Our annual Young Artist Showcase program opens with an exciting 2011 work by Mason Bates, his techno-inspired Mothership. We then feature the three winners of the Vancouver Symphony Orchestra’s Young Artist Competition. Pianist Wilson Liu plays the opening movement of Mozart’s Piano Concerto No. 20. Alto saxophonist Jacob Peizner plays Jacques Ibert’s Concertino da camera. Hana Gottesman plays Maurice Ravel’s Tzigane. The program also includes, as always, music that showcases the VSO itself, a pair of colorful works by Richard Strauss, the suite from the opera Der Rosenkavalier, and his symphonic poem Till Eulenspeigel’s Merry Pranks.
The 2025/26 Symphonic Series season is presented by United Grain Corporation.
About Wilson Liu
Wilson Liu (11) was admitted to The Juilliard School Pre-College Division, where he won the Bachauer Prize with full scholarship and Concerto Competition at the age of 7. He studies with Hung-Kuan Chen and Tema Blackstone. Wilson will be a ‘25-‘26 Fellow in From the Top Learning and Media Lab. He has participated in a film for “Now Hear This” presented by Great Performances on PBS.
Since his earliest training, Wilson has won numerous competitions, and he performed with Seen Worldwide NPO in Chicago Symphony Center at the most recent International Young Artists Concerto Competition. In his spare time, Wilson enjoys chess, swimming, and badminton.
About Jacob Peizner
Jacob Peizner (17) is a Senior at Oregon Episcopal School and a student of Phil Baldino and Kenneth Radnofsky. Jacob was one of ten saxophonists internationally selected for the 2024 BU Tanglewood Saxophone Workshop and was co-principal saxophone for the 2025 Tanglewood Young Artists Orchestra & Wind-Ensemble.
Nationally, Jacob was a finalist in the YoungArts Classical Competition and was an alto-saxophonist in Music-for-All’s Honor Band of America. He was the 2024 OSAA High-Saxophone State Champion. Additionally, Jacob plays principal saxophone in the Portland Youth Philharmonic and accompanies piano with a middle school choir. Beyond music, Jacob plays tennis, enjoys reading, and is an avid Pacific-Northwest sports fan.
About Hana Gottesman
Hana Gottesman (16) earned top honors including first prize at the Royal Maas International, UK International (Absolute Prize), Coeur d’Alene National Young Artist, MTNA National, and Seattle Young Artist Music Festival (Festival Medal) competitions. A Postacchini International Competition finalist, Hana soloed with several orchestras such as the Northwest Symphony Orchestra, Philharmonia Northwest, and SEEN Orchestra of Chicago. She has performed on King FM radio and NPR’s Live Sessions.
Hana studies with Jan Coleman, Simon James and is a student at the Seattle Chamber Music Society Academy. She enjoys swimming and languages and holds certification and medals in Abacus mathematics.
Program
Bates Mothership
Ravel Tzigane*
Ibert Concertino Da Camera**
Strauss Till Eulenspiegel's Merry Pranks
Intermission
Mozart Piano Concerto No. 20***
Strauss Der Rosenkavalier Suite
*Hana Gottesman, violin
**Jacob Peizner, alto saxophone
***Wilson Liu, piano
Pre-Concert Talk:
An hour before each performance, 6 p.m. on Saturday and 2 p.m. on Sunday, all ticket holders will enjoy an educational pre-concert talk from VSO's Greg Scholl and VSO Music Director and Conductor Salvador Brotons. Don’t miss this special opportunity to learn all about the history of the music that will follow!
All ticket holders will receive a secure email link in order to access the live stream performances.
Our tech support team will be available to assist you if you encounter any issues logging in during the performances.
Tickets
- Available below or by calling (360) 735-7278
- All current season ticket holders will receive a secure email link in order to access live-stream of the performances
- Single tickets to view the live-stream are on sale now. A secure individualized email link will be emailed to each single ticket buyer.
- Our tech support team will be on standby to assist you if you have any issues logging in during the performances.
How to View the Livestream Performance
Viewing the online concert is very easy.
- Purchase tickets to receive the livestream link and password.
- When it is time for the concert, log in to the live streaming event page by clicking the "Live Concert Link" above and view the concert from anywhere with a computer and internet connection.
Download Concert Hall Map
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Da Capo
Hosted by Greg Scholl and Ashley Johnson, this exciting pre-show will broadcast on the VSO concert live stream 30 minutes before the concert performance. Full of fascinating information about the repertoire and plenty of laughs, you won’t want to miss it!
Ashley Johnson
Ashley Johnson has been with the Vancouver Symphony Orchestra since October of 2019. Since December of 2019 she has been the host and producer of The Vancouver Symphony Orchestra Podcast, interviewing prominent VSO figures and guests as well as sharing past VSO performances in the special series VSO Encore. Ashley graduated from Western Washington University in 2013 with a degree in English Literature, and has been active in the Vancouver arts community for over 15 years. She was formerly the music director for the Young Slocum House Players in 2011, and was on the Board of Pacific Stageworks Theater Company from 2019-2023.
Outside of saying flowery things about recordings of classical music Ashley co-hosts a film podcast, produces independent films, and spends time with her daughter Imogen and her husband Will (the superhero who keeps Skyview Concert Hall running).
Greg Scholl
Greg Scholl has played trombone in the VSO since 1993 - he became principal trombone in 1995. He is also principal trombone in the Portland Columbia Symphony and the Newport Symphony. Greg also plays locally in the Portland Brass Quintet and the Portland Festival Symphony. He has performed with the Oregon Ballet Theater, the Oregon Symphony, the Portland Opera, the Salem Chamber Orchestra, the Portland Chamber Orchestra, the Portland Symphonic Choir, the Willamette Master Chorus, and the Portland Gay Men's Chorus. He has performed with the Oregon Repertory Singers and the Portland Symphonic Choir. Greg was formerly second trombone in the Austin Lyric Opera.
Greg is the trombone and low brass instructor at Pacific University. He obtained a trombone performance degree at the University of Texas at Austin, where he studied with Donald Knaub. Prior to that he studied with Peter Kline and David Brown in San Antonio, TX. Greg plays in the Portland modern jazz duo Dos Hermanos de Hale Bopp. He also plays guitar and trombone in a variety of styles with local bands and performers such as the Rhythm Dogs, Goombahttsi, and Elvis Presley Tribute Artist Justin Shandor.
After rejecting the millions of dollars people offered him to play the trombone, Greg obtained a law degree in 1995 from Lewis & Clark Northwestern School of Law. During most business days he can be found practicing law as the director of the capital case team at the Metropolitan Public Defender. He enjoys spending time with his family and dogs, reading, camping and hiking, collecting things like Conan the Barbarian comic books, LP records, and concert recordings of the Grateful Dead, and being married to incredible principal bassoonist Margaret McShea. Their son Ben is now in college - he was practically raised at VSO rehearsals back in the day.