Emerging Artists Grand Prize Winner Victor Shlyakhtenko Comes to Panama City

PANAMA CITY, FL –  On Saturday, February 8, Victor Shlyakhtenko, Grand Prize Winner of the Panama City Symphony’s 2024 Emerging Artists Competition, will perform Tchaikovsky’s Piano Concerto No. 1. Afterward, the full orchestra will perform Tchaikovsky’s unforgettable Symphony No. 5. 

The Panama City Symphony’s inaugural Emerging Artists Competition in June 2024 sought to identify, adjudicate, and celebrate the talents of young artists. Young musicians across the country applied, and the Grand Prize winner received a unique opportunity of performing a public solo recital in Panama City as well as a featured performance with the Panama City Symphony during their 2024-25 season. 

A student at Oberlin College & Conservatory, one of the highest-ranking liberal arts colleges in the world, our Grand Prize Winner Victor learned Tchaikovsky’s Piano Concerto No. 1. at a young age. “It is a very special piece,” he expresses. “One of my childhood memories is of my parents playing a recording of Tchaikovsky’s Piano Concerto No. 1 by Sviatoslav Richter, a titan in Soviet piano playing. When I was five years old, my piano teacher played it in an orchestra... I was in the audience. I can still remember her dress! It was an incredible experience.”

After making his concerto debut in 2014, Victor collaborated with orchestras in concerti by Beethoven, Chopin, Grieg, Liszt, Mendelssohn, Mozart, Tchaikovsky, and Clara Schumann. Victor was a recipient of  the U.S. National Chopin Foundation Scholarship from 2016-2019 and a Young Scholar of the Lang International Music Foundation from 2018-2020.
And now he is looking forward to bringing his lifelong passion to Panama City. “Coming to perform with the Panama City Symphony is a wonderful opportunity,” he shares. “It’s not common for a young person to get to play with an orchestra.” Victor stays busy by studying and playing piano five to six hours a day, composing, and conducting. He also enjoys teaching. “My favorite part is when I get to share music with other people – playing and talking about it. My hope, in life, is to make great music and to make great music come alive.”

Join Panama City Symphony Maestro and Conductor, Sergey Bogza, for two unforgettable concerts, and immerse yourself in the timeless beauty of Tchaikovsky. Musically Up Close will take place at City Hall Rotunda, 501 Harrison Avenue, Panama City, on Friday, February 7 at 2:30 pm; tickets are complimentary. Tribute to Tchaikovsky will be performed the following evening, Saturday, February 8 at 7:00 pm at the Barbara W. Nelson Fine Arts Center, Bay High School, 1200 Harrison Avenue in Panama City. Less than 20 seats are available; secure your seat now at panamacitysymphony.org