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Review: Dallas International Violin Competition presents its winners

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Review: Dallas International Violin Competition presents its winners


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.

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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.

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Thomas Adès arrangements of Couperin joined works by Bizet and Saint-Saëns.

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Pianist Christopher Goodpasture supplied great flair in works by Liszt and Turina.

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.

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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.



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Dallas, TX

Drivers in North Texas struggle with Friday floods

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Drivers in North Texas struggle with Friday floods


Drivers both human and autonomous across the North Texas region experienced heavy flooding, with several becoming trapped along roadways that had filled with several inches of rainwater. FOX 4’s Shaun Rabb has more on the waterlogged morning.



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Dallas, TX

25,000 free Dallas teen passes available June 29 for museums, zoo and more

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25,000 free Dallas teen passes available June 29 for museums, zoo and more


Dallas Parks and Recreation will distribute 25,000 all-access passes that give Dallas teens free admission to cultural and recreational attractions across the city throughout July.

Passes will be available beginning June 29 on a first-come, first-served basis at City of Dallas recreation centers.

The program, now entering its fifth year, is open to Dallas residents ages 13 to 17. City leaders say the initiative, which launched in 2021, helps promote positive engagement opportunities for teens and reduce crime during the summer months.

Teens must register in person and provide proof of Dallas residency to receive a pass.

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The city says the program is made possible through partnerships with local cultural, recreational, and entertainment organizations.

Participating attractions include:

  • African American Museum
  • Bahama Beach
  • Bath House Cultural Center
  • Latino Cultural Center
  • South Dallas Cultural Center
  • Oak Cliff Cultural Center
  • Dallas Museum of Arts
  • Community Art Pop Up Cultural
  • Dallas Arboretum
  • Dallas Holocaust and Human Rights Museum
  • Dallas Park and Recreation Summer Fitness
  • Dallas Zoo
  • Frontiers of Flight Museum
  • Golf Dallas
  • Reunion Tower
  • Shakespeare of Dallas
  • State Fair of Texas
  • Southern Skates Roller Rink
  • Texas Discover Garden
  • The Sixth Floor Museum At Dealey Plaza
  • Trinity River Audubon

A full list of participating attractions and recreation centers distributing passes is available at DallasParks.org



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At least 4 injured after vehicle drives into Dallas crowd, driver arrested

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At least 4 injured after vehicle drives into Dallas crowd, driver arrested


At least four people were injured after a vehicle drove into a crowd of people in Dallas on Thursday evening.

Dallas police responded to an “Assist Officer call with an Ambulance” at approximately 7 p.m. in the 300 block of West Davis Street.

Authorities learned that a vehicle drove into a crowd, injuring multiple people. At least four have been taken to a local hospital for treatment. Police said no one was in critical condition.

The driver of the vehicle was arrested at the scene, police said. Authorities are still working to determine if this driver could have been drunk or if this could have been a medical episode.

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According to police, there is no indication that the crash was terrorism related.

The investigation is ongoing.

This story will be updated as we learn more.



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