Win a $1,000 scholarship and perform with the Butler County Symphony Orchestra!
An invitation was extended to instrumentalists and vocalists to participate in the Butler County Symphony Orchestra Association Collegiate Concerto Competition on Sunday, January 26, 2025. The Competition was held at Swope Music Hall, Slippery Rock University, Slippery Rock, PA. The winner of the Competition was awarded a $1,000 scholarship and performed with the Butler County Symphony Orchestra, on Saturday, March 8, 2025 at 7:30PM.
Cooper Sluka – 2025 Collegiate Concerto Competition Winner
Cooper Sluka is a junior collegiate saxophonist and aspiring music educator at Slippery Rock University. He is currently serving as President of the Saxophone Club at SRU. Cooper also serves as Vice President of SRU’s Pennsylvania Collegiate Music Educators Association and Vice President/Social Media Manager of the Jazz Ensemble. He is currently a member of the university’s Wind Ensemble, Jazz Ensemble, and ARC Saxophone Quartet.
Cooper has been exposed to multiple opportunities pertaining to both music performance and education as part of these organizations. In July of 2023, he participated in a 10-day tour in Italy and France as a member of the SRU Jazz Ensemble alongside the SRU choirs. The trip involved performing at various worldwide jazz festivals such as the Umbria Jazz Festival and Jazz C Juan. In July of 2024, he attended the MedeSax International Saxophone Festival to perform in masterclasses with saxophonists such as Javier Valerio, as well as view traditional Latin-American concerts. In both 2023 and 2025, he performed with the SRU ARC Saxophone Quartet at the Navy Band International Saxophone Symposium in Washington, D.C. As part of the SRU Jazz Ensemble, Cooper has also performed alongside various world-renowned artists, such as saxophonist Patrick Bartley and trombonist Wycliffe Gordon.
Cooper also has multiple first-hand experiences with education and volunteer work. Through the Early Childhood Music Education Initiative at Slippery Rock University, he has volunteered in campus events such as Sing Move Play, Tuneful Tales, and Fiddlesticks with the Pittsburgh Symphony Orchestra. Recently, Cooper served on the marching band staff at Deer Lakes High School in Russellton, PA, as a saxophone and woodwind tech (2023). Currently, he is on marching band staff at Kiski Area High School in Leechburg, PA, serving on both the music and visual teams.
Taylor Pastore – 2024 Collegiate Concerto Competition Winner
Taylor Pastore is a collegiate flutist and aspiring music educator. She has been playing the flute for over ten years. A native of Canonsburg, Pennsylvania, Taylor is a graduate of Canon-McMillan High School, where she earned the John Phillip Sousa award and was a member of the Tri-M Honors Society. Throughout her years in high school, she was the drum major of the Big Mac Marching Band, a member of the symphonic band, pan and percussion ensemble, and pit orchestra. Studying under Natalie West, the piccoloist of the Washington Symphony Orchestra, she has worked with the Washington Symphony Orchestra and the Washington Community Theater Pit Orchestra. Taylor currently studies music education and psychology at Slippery Rock University. She participates in many ensembles and organizations, including the orchestra and flute ensemble. She studies privately under Dr. Cassandra Eisenreich and is a member of the Slippery Rock Flute Studio and the Honors Flute Ensemble. At Slippery Rock University, she is involved in many music education organizations and events. She participates in many ensembles and organizations, including the orchestra and flute ensemble. She studies privately under Dr. Cassandra Eisenreich and is a member of the Slippery Rock Flute Studio and the Honors Flute Ensemble. At Slippery Rock University, she is involved in many music education organizations and events. This includes Early Childhood Music Education events such as Tuneful Tales, Sing Move Play, and Fiddlesticks with the Pittsburgh Symphony Orchestra. She also serves as the Fundraising Chairperson of PCMEA. She has attended many professional development workshops such as Modern Band Pedagogy, Eurhythmics, Dalcroze, and Orff. Taylor has been awarded the Kris Chaplin Memorial and Steele Terry Memorial scholarships and is an active member of the Slippery Rock Honors College and a merit scholar. She has also performed with the Pittsburgh Creator’s Project Symphonic Winds. Taylor recently won the National Flute Association’s Collegiate Flute Choir Competition and performed in Phoenix, Arizona.
Past Concerto Competition Winners:
Michelle LeFevre 12/01/1979 Viotti Violin Concerto No. 22 in A minor
Teresa Cowin 12/6/1980 Mozart Flute Concerto No. 2
Linda Gresh 12/06/1980 Rubenstein Piano Concerto No. 4: Mvt 1
Tawnee Bakuhn 12/05/1981 Haydn Flute Concerto in D Major
Randall Meagher 4/20/1983 Mozart Concerto in B flat major for Euphonium
Carla Gumpp Book 05/05/1984 Mendelssohn Piano Concerto No. 1
Elizabeth Tinker 4/27/1985 Crusell Clarinet Concerto in F minor
David Conner 04/26/1986 Kuka Concerto for Marimba
Karen Ord 05/02/1987 Griffes Poem for Flute
Michael Stanton 04/01/1989 Haydn Concerto for Trumpet
Jeffrey Stock 03/31/1990 Vivaldi Concerto for Sopranino Recorder
Jenny Rose Spence 11/03/1990 Ten Year Old Violinist- Family Concert
Zara Kenjebulatova 05/02/1992 Mendelssohn Piano Concerto No. 1
Jason Park 10/31/1992 Greig Piano Concerto Mvt 1
Jodie Lynne Coyle 03/19/1994 Greig Piano Concerto in A minor
Benjamin Smith 11/05/1994 Copland “Old American Songs” Family Concert
Erica Saley 03/16/1996 Vieuxtemps Violin Concerto #4 in D minor
Angela Schehr & 11/02/1996 Cimarosa Concerto in G major for two flutes
Stephanie Crouch
David H. Kennedy 05/02/1998 Arias by Puccini, Giordano and Mozart
Lauren A. Sparrow 11/07/1998 Lalo Cello Concerto in D minor
Megan McCoy 03/25/2000 Arutiunian Concerto for Trumpet
Matthew Shaffer 03/17/2001 Rachmaninoff Piano Concerto No. 1, mvt 1
Aaron Patterson 3/16/2002 Scaramouche for Alto Saxophone – Milhaud
Ross Snyder 3/22/2003 Barber Concerto for Violin Op. 14 mvt 1
Glenna Marie Cypher 03/20/2004 Puccini & Donizetti soprano arias
Camille O’Connor 3/19/2005 Bizet “Carmen” two arias for mezzo-soprano
Cassandra 03/18/2006 Cimarosa Concerto in G major for two flutes
Rondinelli & Sarah Crouch
Edward Leonard 03/17/2007 Conducting Schumann Overture 2 mvts
Andrew Ho 03/15/2008 Saint-Saens Intro & Rondo Capriccioso for Violin
Justin Ryan 03/14/2009 Claude Smith “Fantasia” for Alto Saxophone
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Michel Tsang 03/13/2010 Saint-Saens Piano Concerto No. 1 mvt 1
Tom Mahovski 03/12/2011 Wilby Concerto for Euphonium 2 mvts
Hanna Che 03/10/2012 Prokofiev Piano Concerto No. 1 mvt 1
Kylee O’Donnell 03/09/2013 Chaminade Concerto for Flute
Sophia S. Lee 03/08/2014 Gliere Concerto for Harp in E Flat Major
Sarah Hetrick 04/11/2015 Maurice “Tableaux de Provence” Alto Sax
Nathaniel Chen 04/09/2016 Ravel Piano Concerto in G Major mvt 1
Angela Renninger 04/08/2017 Tomasi Concerto for Alto Saxophone
Enoch Hsiao 04/14/2018 Rachmaninoff Piano Concerto No. 2
Ellary Mede 03/02/2019 Songs by Handel, Mozart and Gershwin
Justin Choo 03/07/2020 Rhapsody on a Theme by Paganini, Rachmaninoff
Calista Heidkamp 03/06/2021 Concertino op. 107 by Cecile Chaminade
Emma Kim 03/05/2022 Prokofiev Piano Concerto No. 1 mvt 1
Thomas Bachert 03/04/2023 Jacques Ibert: Concertina de Camera
Taylor Pastore 03/02/2024 Albert Perilhou: Ballade for flute
Cooper Sluka 03/08/2025 Henri Tomasi: Concerto for Alto Saxophone
