High School Music Contest Taking Place In Ocean City

OCEAN CITY, N.J. — High school students can compete in the Esther Weil Student Music Competition at 4 p.m. May 1 at the Ocean City Music Pier. The contest features three categories: vocal, instrumental and piano.

The event, sponsored by the Friends of the Ocean City Pops, is free and open to the public. The top three winners in each category will receive cash prizes of $1,000, $500 and $250. Competitors must live in or attend high school in Cape May county or Atlantic County.

Judges for the competition will be Bill Scheible, conductor emeritus; Angel Garland, retired choral director; and Greg DiBona, graduate of the Manhattan School of Music with a degree in piano performance.

Local retired school superintendent Stephen Gring will be the event's master of ceremony. Scott Breiner will accompany musicians on piano.

Here are last year's top finishers:

2018 Voice Winners:
Zachary Taglioli, 1st place, $1,000, Hammonton HS
Grace Mozitis, 2nd place, $500, Mainland Regional HS
Alan Rendzak, 3rd place, $250, Middle Twp HS
Hannah Rose Zoltowski, $150, Middle Twp HS

2018 Instrumental Winners:
Aiden Seals, 1st place, Saxophone, $1,000, Mainland Regional HS
Dennis Xu, 2nd place, Piano, $500, Mainland Reg HS
Hans Derek Yu, 3rd place, Piano, $250, Egg Harbor Twp HS
Quine Mei, 4th place, Piano, $150, Egg Harbor Twp HS

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