TOM BAKER YOUNG ARTISTS COMPETITION
2022 Competition Information
The 2022 competition will be held on Saturday, November 12 at Shore Cultural Center. Please check this page in late August for competition rules and entry form.
Congratulations to pianist Daniel Colaner, winner of the 2021-2022 competition!
Daniel Colaner, 16, from Akron, Ohio, captured international media attention at the age of 12 with his performance on piano at Carnegie Hall and on organ at St. Patrick’s Cathedral on the same day. Since then, his talents have been showcased on ABC World News Tonight, Good Morning America, The Harry (Connick Jr.) Show, and the BBC World Service Newsday. As a pianist, Daniel has been the winner of numerous competitions and awards including the American Protégé Piano Competition, the OhioMTA Buckeye Piano Competition, the Steinway Junior Piano Competition, and the Cleveland Institute of Music Preparatory Concerto Competition.
As an organist, Daniel has been featured on the NPR radio show From the Top (Show #377), performing “Jupiter” from Gustav Holst’s The Planets, and on PBS, performing Doxology Variations with the American Pops Orchestra in One Voice: The Songs We Share – The Sacred. He was the recipient of the prestigious Jack Kent Cooke Young Artist Award in 2020 and named a 2021 National Young Arts Winner in Classical Music. He was also the 1st Prize and Audience Prize Winner in the Sursa American Organ Competition (HS Division) in 2019. Most recently The Diapason magazine named him among their “20 Under 30” Class of 2021, a select group of young adults at the forefront of the organ field. Diagnosed with stage IV cancer as an infant, exposure to music as cognitive therapy combined with his love of sound, unleashed his passion for the piano at age 5 and organ at age 10. Daniel continues to actively promote the study of classical music on television and radio and has helped raise thousands of dollars for music education and music therapy for a variety of non-profit organizations. Daniel studies piano with Sean Schulze at the Cleveland Institute of Music and organ with David Higgs of the Eastman School of Music. In addition to being an avid chamber musician, Daniel currently serves as Organ Scholar at Cleveland’s Trinity Episcopal Cathedral under Todd Wilson and as an auxiliary organist at St. Paul’s Episcopal Church in Canton, OH. Outside of music, Daniel’s passions include computer programming, repairing electronics, jazz improvisation, playing tennis, and spending time with his calico cat, Imogene. |
About the competition

In the 2019-2020 season, the Euclid Symphony Orchestra held its inaugural Young Artists Competition, named after long-time friend, donor and board member of the ESO Tom Baker.
The competition is open to students age 18 and younger who are advanced musicians (instrumental or vocal) capable of playing appropriate level repertoire, including concerto-level (or equivalent) virtuosic works.
The competition winner will receive a $500 cash prize and a performance with the Euclid Symphony Orchestra.
The competition is open to students age 18 and younger who are advanced musicians (instrumental or vocal) capable of playing appropriate level repertoire, including concerto-level (or equivalent) virtuosic works.
The competition winner will receive a $500 cash prize and a performance with the Euclid Symphony Orchestra.
Previous Competition Winners
2021 Daniel Colaner, piano: Saint-Saëns' Piano Concerto No. 2
2020 Samuel Dishon, saxophone: Glazunov's Concerto for Saxophone and String Orchestra
2019 Katarina Davies, cello: Tchaikovsky's Rococo Variations
2021 Daniel Colaner, piano: Saint-Saëns' Piano Concerto No. 2
2020 Samuel Dishon, saxophone: Glazunov's Concerto for Saxophone and String Orchestra
2019 Katarina Davies, cello: Tchaikovsky's Rococo Variations
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Euclid Symphony Orchestra |
Euclid Symphony Orchestra
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