DYAO is exciting to announce the winners for the 2024 Concerto Competition:
String Ensemble - Breanna Duffy, Violin
Conservatory Orchestra - Joe Sanso, Violin
Young Artists Orchestra - Sadie Han, Violin
Congratulations to the winners and to all those who competed! Read more about Breanna, Joe, and Sadie below.
Breanna Duffy, String Ensemble
Breanna is 12 years old and has been playing the violin since age 4. She is currently attending Noteworthy School of Strings. She has played in the String Ensemble of The Denver Young Artist Orchestra of 2022-2023 and was the Concert Master for multiple concerts.
Recently, she attended the Suzuki Association of Colorado event where she performed the Master Class. Aside from her passion in music she is also passionate about art, specifically in drawing anime and always tells her stories in her drawings. She was influenced by manga anime.
In her spare time, she enjoys gaming online on her VR and Nintendo Switch. She will be joining the Colorado Suzuki Institute Camp this Summer to explore and gain more experience and the opportunity to deepen her skills.
Joe Sanso, Conservatory Orchestra
Joseph Sanso, thirteen, is at Bradford Middle School in Littleton, Colorado. He started playing the violin when he was 4 years old. He is currently studying violin with Heather Gruis. In addition to his classical music repertoire, he started learning fiddle music with Christopher Luther. His musical journey includes winning first prizes at the American Protégé International Music competition at Carnegie Hall in October 2023 and the Colorado State Competition held by the Music Teachers National Association ( MTNA) in November 2023. Joseph served as a concertmaster in the Denver Youth Conservatory Orchestra in 2022 and recently won the concerto competition with the Denver Young Orchestra in December 2023.
Joseph is currently actively engaged in his school orchestra, and he served as concertmaster with the Colorado Jeffco Honor Orchestra this year. Besides playing violin, Joseph is equally dedicated to sports. He plays competitive soccer with the Colorado Rush soccer club. Joe loves to learn languages. He speaks fluent Russian and started to learn Spanish. Joseph’s commitment extends to community service as he plays violin for the Russian community in Kavod senior assistance living. He has played violin for MiCasa- a South American nonprofit organization and the American Veteran Group in Littleton, CO.
Joe loves to play violin for people. He is passionate about traveling and playing for people. When he travels, he plays at many famous landmarks. In Saint Petersburg, Russia, he played in parks and palaces. In Paris, he played at the Eiffel Tower. In London, he played with a group of street musicians, at the gates of Buckingham Palace, and Big Ben. Joe had the honor of meeting and playing for one of his favorite musicians, Augustin Hadelich, who made an indelible impression on him, and his dream is to become a solo performer.
Sadie Han, Young Artists Orchestra
Sadie Rhodes Han began her violin studies with Margaret Gutierrez at the age of 4. She currently studies with Claude Sim, Associate Concertmaster of the Colorado Symphony Orchestra. Sadie’s first public performance with an orchestra was at the age of 10 and she has since attended the Peaks to Plains Music Institute and The Lamont Summer Academy where she was chosen to perform on the honors solo and chamber recitals both summers she attended.
Sadie has attended Denver School of the Arts since the 6th grade and served as Concertmaster of the Sinfonia Orchestra. She is now a freshman and just returned from a tour of Italy, where the orchestra performed in Rome, Florence and Venice. She placed 3rd in the Lakewood Symphony Concerto Competition in 2023 and will perform in May with the Broomfield Symphony Orchestra after winning 1st prize in their Young Artists Concerto Competition High School division.
When she is not playing violin, Sadie also enjoys playing the piano and guitar, traveling with her family, baking cakes, and watching old movies with her mom and 2 dogs.
