CLASSIC STYLE GIRLS STRING TOGETHER WINS.

Byline: Daily News

LANCASTER - Five young musicians who won the annual classical music competitions sponsored by the Antelope Valley Symphony Orchestra and Master Chorale will perform Feb. 25 at the Lancaster Performing Arts Center.

Nineteen-year-old pianist Xin Ti of Los Angeles, winner of the Gail Newby Concerto Competition, will perform Movement 1 of Grieg's ``Piano Concerto in A Minor'' with the symphony.

Cellist Yoo-Jung Chang, 25, of Northridge, the second-place finisher, will perform Tchaikovsky's ``Variations on a Rococo Theme.''

In a 7 p.m. recital prior to the concert, three first-place winners in the Bach Competition will perform. They are Jeanny Kang, 15, of Hawaiian Gardens; Christine Lin, 12, of Irvine; and Christina Chen, 15, of Irvine. The Bach Competition was started seven years ago to promote achievement in the arts by young people, according to David Newby, the symphony's artistic director.

The Gail Newby Concerto Competition is in its third year and is open to any young musicians. The concerto competition was started after the death of Newby's wife, Gail, the principal keyboard player for the symphony for many years.

Ti and Chang received scholarships for $400 and $200. The three winners in the Bach Competition each received a $200 scholarship.

Lancaster's Evan Luo, 8, was awarded an honorable mention for his performance in the Bach Competition, Level I instrumental, for performers 12 and younger.

Others receiving recognition in Level I instrumental were Sayuri Kuroda, 8, of Arcadia, who took second place; and honorable mentions went to Katie Nakamura, 10, of Long Beach and Sofia Kim, 12, of Granada Hills.

In the Bach Competition for piano, Level 1, Lauren Diaz-Yi, 11, of Thousand Oaks received honorable mention.

In Level II for musicians ages 13 to 18, Gloria Yen, 13, of Tustin received an honorable mention.

Sponsorship funding for the symphony's youth programs is provided by the Boeing Company, Lancaster West Rotary Club, Lancaster Performing Arts Center Foundation and donor Michael Lemos.

The Feb. 25 symphony concert will also include Ludwig van Beethoven's Overture in C Major and Steve Reich's ``The Desert Music'' with the Antelope Valley Ballet and the Antelope Valley College Civic Orchestra.

The symphony concert begins at 8 p.m. Tickets are $18 for adults, $16 for seniors and $9 for youths. The Performing Arts Center is at 750 W. Lancaster Blvd. The box office telephone number is [phone].

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6 photos

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(1 -- color) Five musicians won the classical music competitions sponsored by the Antelope Valley Symphony Orchestra and Master Chorale.

(2 -- color) Having won the Gail Newby Concerto Competition, Angeleno Xin Ti, 19, will perform Movement 1 of Grieg's Piano Concerto in A Minor with the Antelope Valley Symphony Orchestra on Feb. 25.

(3 -- color) One of three first-place winners in the Bach competition, flutist Jeanny Kang, 15, will perform with her fellow honorees in a special recital on Feb. 25.

(4 -- color) Twelve-year-old Christine Lin will join the other first-place finishers in the Bach Competition in a recital with the Antelope Valley Symphony Orchestra on Feb. 25.

(5 -- colo) Finishing in first place in the annual Antelope Valley Symphony Orchestra's Bach Competition, pianist Christina Chen, 15, will join her fellow winners in a recital Feb. 25.

(6 -- color) For finishing second in the Gail Newby Concerto Competition, Northridge cellist Yoo-Jung Chang, 25, will perform Tchaikovsky's ``Variations on a Rococo Theme'' with the Antelope Valley orchestra.

Jeff Goldwater/Staff Photographer