Our 2026-27 Future Stars Scholarship Winner

Jerry Gan - Violin

Jerry Gan is a rising senior at Christ Church Episcopal School with over a decade of experience

on his instrument. He has studied with Mary Irwin for 10 years, following his studies with Betsy

Fee. Throughout his high school career, Jerry has served as the concertmaster of the 2024

SCMEA Region II Honors Orchestra and the assistant concertmaster of the 2025 SCMEA All-

State Orchestra. He has recorded four years of service with both the Carolina Youth Symphony

and the Greenville County Youth Orchestra, the latter of which he also serves as

concertmaster. Jerry has been recognized as a Piccolo Spoleto Rising Star, a finalist at the

Honors Performance Series at Carnegie Hall, and a finalist at the Southern Violin Association

Concerto Competition.

In his free time, Jerry plays the fiddle in his high school band and is an ardent fan of the Carolina Panthers. He is also an amateur singer and mandolin player.

Future Stars Scholarship Competition

$1,000 Scholarship – Featured Soloist with Foothills

Foothills Philharmonic is pleased to announce the Future Stars Scholarship Competition. Winners of the competition will receive a $1000 scholarship and perform as a featured soloist on one of the Masterworks Orchestra Concerts during the 2027-28 Season. Both rising high school juniors and seniors are invited to apply – string, woodwind, brass, percussion players, and pianists – are all welcome.

Competition Auditions:

Musician’s will perform a five-minute audition in February 2027 (location and exact times will be officially announced in January 2027). All applications must be submitted/postmarked no later than January 1, 2027. If you choose to mail in an application, please mail it to: Foothills Philharmonic P.O. Box 3001 Greenville, SC 29602. From these entries, we will have one winner, who will be formally announced at our 2027 March concert. In addition to the $1,000 scholarship to be used towards college expenses, the winner will perform with Foothills Philharmonic at one of our Orchestra concerts during the 2027-28 season. Foothills Philharmonic is a community orchestra that serves the Upstate region of South Carolina. It performs six orchestral concerts and five chamber concerts each year. For more information contact:

artistic.director@foothillsphil.org.

The winner of this year's Future Stars scholarship will be announced at the Spring Orchestra Concert on March 20, 2027

2025-26 Future Stars Scholarship Winner Olvia Lee

2025-26 Future Stars Scholarship Winner Olivia Lee

Official Future Stars Rules

I. Eligibility

A. Age – The competition is only for rising juniors and seniors. Winners from all past competitions are ineligible to apply on the same instrument.

B. Location – High school applicants must live in one of the following counties: Pickens, Oconee, Anderson, Greenville, Laurens, Greenwood, or Spartanburg (Governor’s School students may apply only if their hometown is in one of these counties).

C. Winner – One performer will be selected to perform with the orchestra. Winner must perform the audition work at one of the Masterworks programs. Selection of the performance date must be communicated to the Artistic Director by March 1 following the audition. Winner will be announced at the March Foothills Philharmonic performance. Winner will be asked to submit a head shot and bio to be used to publicize their performance.

D. Music – Applicants may submit any work, pending availability of the music and feasibility of its performance as determined by Artistic Director Vrieze. Preference will be given to longer and more demanding works, therefore it is strongly recommended that contestants prepare a work that is at least ten minutes in length.

II. Application Procedure

All applications must either be submitted electronically or by mail by no later than January 1, 2026. The competition will be held on February 7, 2026, with the exact time in which you will perform along with the location of the competition itself being announced via email in early January 2027. Please be at least a half hour early, so that we can keep the process moving forward.

III. Rehearsals

Orchestra rehearsals occur Tuesday Evenings from 7:00 until 9:00 PM and on the day of the concert from 9:30am to 12pm. Rehearsals for the Future Star’s Masterworks performance begins the Tuesday six weeks prior to the concert date and will continue until the concert date. Artistic Director Vrieze will contact the soloist regarding the actual rehearsal times at the start of the rehearsal cycle in which they will perform. The soloist should be prepared to attend at least three rehearsals.

IV. Performance

The winner will perform with Foothills Philharmonic at one of the Masterworks concerts during the 2026-27 season. Decision of which performance must be made by the Future Star by March so it can be announced at the March 2026 Foothills performance. The scholarship check will be presented on stage to the Future Star after their performance (2026-27). If possible, it is requested that the student's teacher be a part of the award ceremony at the concert.

V. Other Information

A. If you have any questions, contact Artistic Director Vrieze: artistic.director@foothillsphil.org

B. All dates and rules are firm. In fairness to all applicants, strict adherence to all rules – especially to the dates – is essential.

C. All decisions made by Artistic Director Vrieze and the judges are final.

Our 2026-27 Future Stars Scholarship Winner

Jerry Gan - Violin

Future Stars Scholarship Competition

$1,000 Scholarship – Featured Soloist with Foothills

Application for Future Stars Scholarship

Official Future Stars Rules

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