MHS junior Simon Bakos won the 2019 Instrumental category in the Overtures Award Instrumental, a program that recognizes, encourages and rewards excellence in the arts among Greater Cincinnati students in grades 9-12. The Overture Awards are the region's largest solo arts competition.
Bakos' award included a $4000 scholarship. A member of the MHS Wind Symphony, Bakos has studied clarinet and bass clarinet for five years. He currently participates in the clarinet section of the Cincinnati Symphony Youth Orchestra, and was principal clarinet in the 2019 Ohio All-State Orchestra. Watch his audition for the Honor Band of America.
"Simon has excelled as a soloist especially for his age. He won the Mason Wind Symphony concerto competition as a sophomore and the Overture awards as a junior. These two honors are most often attained by older students. The Overture awards are rarely won by a student on a woodwind instrument. Past winners have often been pianists and string players. Simon's road to winning the Overture Awards was paved by many hours of practice and private lessons," said Ed Protzman, MHS Director of Bands.
Notably, 13 Mason High School students advanced to the semifinals of the Cincinnati Arts Association’s Overture Awards Competition. MHS semifinalists included senior Connor Buczek (Visual Art), senior Megan Cui (Instrumental Music), senior Brianna Findley (Visual Art), senior Christian Galang (Instrumental Music), senior Alexandra Lisa (Creative Writing), junior Elizabeth Marie Mitan (Theater), sophomore Claire Northcut (Theater), senior Sara Patrick (Visual Art), senior Tanner Pearson (Visual Art), sophomore Meera Rajeev (Dance), Senior Kaavya Ramachandhran (Creative Writing), senior Kevin Song (Instrumental Music), senior Fiona Xie (Instrumental Music).
"We are so proud of all of these Mason students who were chosen to participate in the Overtures! Our community and schools highly value the arts, and these students all beautifully demonstrate the power of our students pursuing their passion," said Mason City Schools Public Information Officer Tracey Carson.