CLARKSVILLE, TN – The Austin Peay State University Department of Music, with support from the Center of Excellence for the Creative Arts, has named Giancarlos Jose Carvajal Fonseca and Tyler Orendorff as the winners of the 2025-26 Concerto & Aria Competition, with an honorable mention awarded to Cal Luzzo.
This annual CECA-sponsored event allows winning students to be featured as soloists with one of the music department’s large instrumental ensembles (the APSU Symphony Orchestra or the APSU Wind Ensemble). The competition is externally judged to ensure a fair selection process.
Fonseca will perform Mozart’s Clarinet Concerto (Movement I) with the APSU Symphony Orchestra at 7:30 p.m. on Feb. 25, while Orendorff will perform Ingolf Dahl’s Concerto for Alto Sax & Wind Ensemble (Movements I & II) with the APSU Wind Ensemble at 7:30 p.m. on April 13. Both performances will take place in the George and Sharon Mabry Concert Hall.
“For me, it is a big honor to be selected from among other talented musicians at the university,” Fonseca said. “It is an opportunity to show the work I have been doing with Dr. [Spencer] Prewitt (professor of clarinet) during my first year, and a moment to enjoy music and have the wonderful opportunity to play as a soloist with the Symphony Orchestra. This is a dream I have been working for, and I will enjoy it as much as I can.”
The competition exemplifies the concerto tradition of featuring accomplished soloists alongside orchestral ensembles, providing APSU students with a professional-caliber performance that allows them to demonstrate their artistic growth.
“To me, being selected to perform as a soloist with the Wind Ensemble is simply the highlight of everything I’ve worked for here at Austin Peay,” Orendorff said. “I really cannot express my gratitude for this opportunity, and I am absolutely thrilled to be able to share a piece that has meant so much to me for so long with such an incredible group.”