APSU music students to perform as soloists after winning Concerto & Aria Competition
By: Dr. Korre Foster February 19, 2026
Winners of APSU’s Concerto & Aria Competition have the opportunity to be featured as soloists alongside large instrumental groups like the Wind Ensemble, pictured performing during the Fall 2024 semester. | Photo by Ralph Acosta
CLARKSVILLE, Tenn. - 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.”
About the Department of Music
The Austin Peay Department of Music hosts more than 100 performances each semester. Events take place in the 600-seat George & Sharon Mabry Concert Hall, the Recital Hall in MMC 147, the Heydel Hall in the Art + Design Building, and other venues across campus and in the local community.
Performances feature APSU student and faculty soloists, chamber, and large ensembles. Performances also feature guest artists sponsored by the Center of Excellence for the Creative Arts.
About the Center of Excellence for the Creative Arts
Since 1985, the Center of Excellence for the Creative Arts (CECA, or "seek-ah") has been providing students, the Clarksville community, and the Middle Tennessee region with engaging experiences through the Art + Design, Creative Writing, Music, and Theatre & Dance programs at APSU. CECA brings as many as 85 guest artists to Clarksville each year and presents up to 100 public arts and culture events annually, including concerts, exhibitions, artist lectures, master classes, artist residencies, and more. In addition, CECA provides the arts faculty at APSU with research opportunities to enhance their professional growth as well as numerous student scholarships each year to support APSU's own emerging artists. To learn more about CECA, contact Dr. Andrea Spofford at spofforda@apsu.edu.