Salt Lake City violinist Will Hagen, 19, is one of eight finalists in the Pittsburgh Symphony Orchestra's Concerto Competition.
The winner of the competition will perform with the orchestra Nov. 30 and Dec. 2.
In the first-ever YouTube concerto competition, the PSO is attempting to mix technology with artistry. Winners are determined by online votes.
Will needs your votes to become the winner of the competition. Go here to see him play an excerpt from the Brahms Violin Concerto and vote: www.pittsburghsymphony.org/competition
The Pittsburgh competition came at a hectic time for Will, who was in the thick of preparing for a performance of the Tchaikovsky Violin Concerto when he submitted his video of the Brahms. But he didn't want to let this opportunity pass. His mother said, "He walked down the hall at school after a run-through of the Tchaikovsky, found an empty dance studio, set up the tripod and played 10 minutes of Brahms just before the competition deadline. The judges must not have put much emphasis on presentation, or that garbage can would have knocked him right out of the running."
The Tribune's Celia Baker profiled Will before his Utah Symphony Masterworks Series debut in 2010, and Jennifer Barrett shadowed him for a profile in 2006.
