Another week, another D-FW classical music competition.
Tuesday night, just a week and a half after the Van Cliburn International Piano Competition named its winners in Fort Worth, the Dallas International Violin Competition presented its three finalists in concert at Moody Performance Hall, then announced their prizes.
The $2,500 first prize went to American violinist Laurel Gagnon, currently studying at the Yale University School of Music. The prize also includes a future solo engagement with the Dallas Chamber Symphony, which presented the competition.
The $1,500 second prize and $500 audience choice award went to Hong Kong native Hiu Sing Fan, who’s pursuing a doctor of musical arts degree at Northwestern University.
The $1,000 third prize was awarded to Alice Lee, a Canadian studying at New England Conservatory.
In the concert, each of the finalists played a violin concerto with the Chamber Symphony, led by guest conductor Peter Bay, music director of the Austin Symphony Orchestra. Gagnon performed the Brahms concerto, Fan and Lee the Sibelius.
The biennial competition is open to violinists 18 to 35. From applications and video recordings, 16 violinists were selected for the in-person competition. The first two rounds were held June 12 and 13 at the Murchison Performing Arts Center at the University of North Texas in Denton.
Each quarterfinalist performed a violin concerto with piano accompaniment, after which nine semifinalists performed recitals of unaccompanied solo violin works. A jury of three professional violinists/teachers picked contestants for each round.
It’s impressive that even a newer and lower-visibility competition could attract players of such technical authority and interpretive sophistication as the three heard Tuesday. Different listeners might have ranked them very differently.
All three occasionally overdid gruff bowings of fortissimo double-stops, at least for a 700-seat hall about one-third the size of most orchestra halls. This bothered me more in the Brahms, where it’s better to err on the side of reserve. And for me Gagnon’s choice of the over-the-top Fritz Kreisler cadenza overloaded the concerto.
But she’s an accomplished and expressive musician, and after Bay and the orchestra — principal oboist Elise Belk especially — eloquently introduced the slow movement, Gagnon tapped right into their timing and tapered phrases. The finale was a little more deliberate than I was expecting, but Brahms does qualify his “happy allegro” marking with “but not too lively.”
Both Fan and Lee delivered Sibelius’ scurries, double-stops and leaps into high pianissimos with impressive assurance, but differently. Not for Lee the Nordic cool often heard in the piece — hers was a passionate account, by turns earthy and ethereal, with considerable freedom in the built-in cadenza. Fan’s Sibelius was more conventionally cool, with a fine focus throughout.
With wind and brass sections as large as would be deployed in a 2,000-seat hall, although far fewer strings, Bay had his work cut out to keep the orchestra in balance. Apart from an occasional spot when flutes and clarinets or horns were a little too prominent, he and the players maintained impressive equilibrium. Always attuned to the soloists, Bay shaped the music securely and sensitively.
This would have been a good opportunity to ask the audience not to applaud after every movement, as it did Tuesday. And prolonged late seating during the slow movement of Lee’s Sibelius was unfortunate.
The Dallas Mavericks are in a tough spot. Through the early stages of the 2025-26 campaign, the Mavericks are a mere 4-12 and have one of the worst records in the NBA.
An unbalanced roster and plenty of injuries are making it more and more likely that the Mavericks won’t be able to dig out of this hole, even if Kyrie Irving is able to return from an ACL injury.
At this point, focusing on the future should be Dallas’s primary objective. The franchise only controls one of its own first-round picks through 2030, and that selection will fall this summer.
READ MORE: Mavericks deliver tough season-ending update on failed Nico Harrison signing
If there’s a path to regaining assets, the Mavericks must explore possibilities, including major moves that would break up the current team.
It’s no real secret that the Mavericks would part with just about any player on their roster for the right price, including Anthony Davis and Klay Thompson.
According to Dallas Hoops Journal’s Ashish Mathur, Davis and Thompson are aware there’s reportedly “a high chance” the franchise trades them. Both players have been quite disappointing since being acquired by the Mavericks.
Davis was obviously the “crown jewel” in the trade that sent Luka Doncic to the Los Angeles Lakers. He’s only played in 14 regular-season games since the deal due to a variety of injuries.
So far this year, Davis has appeared in five games, averaging 20.8 points, – tied for the second-lowest mark of his career – 10.2 rebounds, 2.2 assists, 1.6 steals, and 1.2 blocks. He’s missed the last 11 outings due to bilateral Achilles tendinosis and a calf strain.
Davis is signed through the 2027-28 season and is making north of $54 million this season. The 32-year-old is a 10x NBA All-Star and won a championship with the Lakers in 2020.
Thompson is in the second season of a three-year/$50 million contract, joining the Mavericks via sign-and-trade from the Golden State Warriors in 2024.
The veteran sharpshooter has fallen off a cliff this season. Thompson was removed from the starting lineup earlier this season. He’s averaging a career-low 9.7 points, 2.5 rebounds, and 1.8 assists. Thompson is only shooting 34.7% from the field and 31.3% from three-point range.
Thompson is a 5x NBA All-Star and he won four titles with the Warriors.
Parting ways with a handful of veterans would give the Mavericks an opportunity to fully focus on building around Cooper Flagg.
READ MORE: NBA expert believes Mavericks’ situation is most ‘dire’ it’s ever been
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Major League Soccer today announced FC Dallas’ 34-match schedule for the 2026 MLS regular season. FC Dallas opens its 31st season at Toyota Stadium on Saturday, Feb. 21, against Toronto FC.
Beginning in 2026, all FC Dallas MLS matches will be available to stream for Apple TV subscribers at no additional cost.
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Long road stretch: Dallas will play nine consecutive road matches during Toyota Stadium renovations, the longest stretch in club history. This will kick off before the league’s pause for the 2026 World Cup in May and wrap up at the end of August.
FIFA World Cup break: The league will pause its schedule for the World Cup from May 25 through July 16.
No interrupted playoff schedule: Following Decision Day 2026 on November 7, the league will observe the November FIFA window before beginning one month of uninterrupted 2026 MLS Cup Playoffs action, culminating in 2026 MLS Cup. The complete postseason schedule will be announced at a later date.
First time against Charlotte: While the two clubs met in the 2023 Leagues Cup, FC Dallas will get its first match against Charlotte FC in league play when they visit the Queen City in early October.
Against the East: Including Charlotte and the opener against Toronto, Dallas will also face Nashville SC, D.C. United, the New York Red Bulls, and the Columbus Crew. Dallas last faced Toronto, D.C. United and the Red Bulls in the 2024 regular season and last faced Nashville and Columbus in 2023. Dallas will visit Charlotte FC for the first time.
Copa Tejas: There will be a pretty long stretch between games against the Houston Dynamo in 2026, with the first coming in March and the follow up in Houston in October. On the other hand, Dallas will see Austin twice within a month’s time.
Halloween game: Yes, Dallas will play a game on Halloween night. I believe this could be the first league game for Dallas on Halloween, but don’t hold me to that.
Wednesday night soccer: There will be seven mid-week games in the regular season for FC Dallas in 2026.
DALLAS – A Dallas police officer has been placed on administrative leave as the department’s Internal Affairs Division investigates a fatal crash from earlier this year.
An attorney representing the victim’s family says a lack of transparency has only fueled their frustration.
What we know:
According to Dallas Police Chief Daniel Comeaux, Senior Corporal Jaime Castro was placed on administrative leave last Friday. The department would not provide further details, saying only that the internal investigation remains active and ongoing.
The backstory:
The case dates back to March 15, when Atianna Washington was struck and killed while crossing the 2500 block of West Northwest Highway. Police said the vehicle involved stopped at the scene.
FOX 4 cameras captured Castro, wearing a white T-shirt, speaking with other officers and shaking hands at the scene that night.
Castro, a 26-year veteran of the department, joined the Dallas Police Department in 1998 and is currently assigned to the Operational Technology and Alarm Unit.
He was elected president of the Dallas Police Association in January after serving on its executive board since 2016.
What they’re saying:
Attorney Scott Palmer, who represents Washington’s family, said the family has struggled to get answers from police.
“When there’s an investigation into one of their own, an internal affairs investigation, we typically don’t get a lot of information,” Palmer said. “We don’t get reports, we don’t get body cams. So, it’s frustrating.”
Palmer said questions about who was driving the vehicle that hit Washington have lingered since the night of the crash.
“There’s always been an open question in my client’s mind, and in ours, as to who was driving,” he said. “The crash report says it was the girlfriend,” said Palmer.
Police have not identified Castro’s girlfriend, and no criminal charges have been filed in the case.
Dig deeper:
When contacted by FOX 4 on Thursday, Castro’s attorney declined to comment.
Palmer said he believes the internal affairs investigation is now gaining traction but expects the process to move slowly.
“There’s a lot of questions, very few answers,” he said. “She is the victim here. She’s young. She’s no longer able to speak for herself. That’s why the reports and the witness statements are all important. But we have a loss of life here, and this is critical, this is serious.”
What’s next:
Dallas police have not said whether the internal affairs investigation is directly related to the March crash.
FOX 4 has requested body camera video, incident reports, and internal police records connected to the case.
The Dallas County District Attorney’s Office has not yet said whether the case will be presented to a grand jury.
The Source: Information in this article was provided by FOX 4’s Casey Stegall.
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