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 Concerts during the 2026-27 Season. Both rising high school juniors and seniors are invited to apply – string, woodwind, brass, percussion players, and pianists – are all welcome. Winners of the competition will win a $1000 scholarship and perform as a featured soloist on one of the Masterworks concerts during an upcoming season.

Competition Auditions:

Musician’s will perform a five-minute audition on Saturday, February 14, 2026 (location and exact times will be officially announced in January 2026.) All applications must be submitted/postmarked no later than January 1, 2026. 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 2026 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 Masterworks concerts during the 2026-27 season. Foothills Philharmonic is a community orchestra that serves the Upstate region of South Carolina. It performs seven orchestral concerts and five chamber concerts each year. For more information contact:

artistic.director@foothillsphil.org.

Foothills 2026 Future Star

Olivia Lee

Violinist Olivia Lee will perform Saint-Saens’ Introduction and Rondo Capppriccio at Foothills Philharmonic's Masterworks Concert March 28, 2026.

Olivia Lee is an accomplished rising senior at James F. Byrnes High School in Duncan, South Carolina. A dedicated musician and scholar, she has studied both violin and piano for over 13 years. Olivia plans to pursue a double major in Accounting and Violin Performance at the collegiate level.

She currently studies violin under Mary Irwin, having previously trained with Joanna Mulfinger. Olivia has served as Concertmaster of the South Carolina Music Educators Association (SCMEA) Region Orchestra for three consecutive years and has been a member of the SCMEA All-State Orchestra since sixth grade. Since 2020, she has performed with the Piedmont Chamber Orchestra, where she was the youngest musician ever invited to join. Additionally, she has been a member of the Carolina Youth Symphony for 10 years and presently serves as its Assistant Concertmaster. She is also the Concertmaster of the James F. Byrnes High School Orchestra.

Beyond her musical achievements, Olivia is actively involved in student leadership, currently serving as Student Body President at Byrnes. Academically, she ranks within the top 2% of her class. Olivia is the youngest of three siblings, with her older brothers, Payton and Preston, also sharing a strong musical background.

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 14, 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.

Future Stars Scholarship Competition

$1,000 Scholarship – Featured Soloist with Foothills

Application for Future Stars Scholarship

Foothills 2026 Future Star

Olivia Lee

Official Future Stars Rules

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