Each year, the Haas Memorial Concerto Competition gives musicians at Lexington High School the opportunity to become a soloist and perform a concerto for a panel of judges and a live audience. This year’s winner was violinist Samuel Lee, a freshman at LHS, whose performance of Franz Waxman’s Carmen Fantasie stood out among a group of talented finalists. 

Waxman’s piece, originally part of his score for the film Humoresque, is based on parts of George Bizet’s opera Carmen. Lee selected the piece in part because of his long-standing familiarity with the opera and the way the composition reinterprets its themes for violin. 

“I really enjoyed the main themes of the original [piece]. I even went to a performance of the entire opera when I was younger. It was interesting because there’s not much music that incorporates an opera style with the composer’s own interpretation of it,” Lee said. 

For Lee, performing has long been a central part of his connection to music. 

“My earliest memory of playing the violin would probably be the day of my first recital, when I was around six years old. That was when I started to find a passion for it, and I realized how much I like to be on the stage and tell stories to the audience,” Lee said. 

Lee explained that though he had performed in competitions before, few of them were concerto competitions. Preparation for the competition required persistence, especially during moments when practicing felt difficult.

“The most important thing is just being consistent,” Lee said. “Even doing it for a minute is better than not doing it at all.”

Lee also emphasized the importance of feeling comfortable on stage. 

“As time passes, you’ll naturally get more comfortable with the stage and with the hyper-focused environment that you’re in,” Lee said. He further noted the importance of communicating the setting and mood of a piece during a performance. 

After hearing the other finalists perform, Lee said he was surprised when he learned that he had won.

“I didn’t expect to get chosen because there were so many other good people that I saw in the audience. I was just like, ‘Wow, LHS is very, very talented,’” Lee said. 

For others, the competition served as a valuable learning opportunity. LHS senior Zichen Wang, one of the competition’s finalists, highlighted the approachable format of the competition.

“It’s a special experience because you’re not competing with all kinds of professional people from other places. You’re competing with the people from our school, so it’s a pretty good place to start if you have not done competitions,” Wang said. 

Beyond the results, Lee highlighted that the competition is an opportunity for students to receive feedback from experienced musicians.

“Eif you don’t win, you get personalized feedback from professional musicians on what you can improve in the future and what you did well,” Lee said. “Every opportunity like this is going to be a learning experience.” 

As the winner, Lee will perform the concerto with the LHS Chamber Orchestra. In preparation, he has been seeking feedback from teachers, peers, and other musicians.

“You can always learn from people who are more experienced than you because they are the ones who want to help you get to where you want to go,” Lee said.