The finalists in the category tuba

Of the 6 participants in the 3rd selection examination in this subject, Igor Martinez (Venezuela), Richard Bence Masa (Hungary) and Florian Wielgosik (France) reached the final round, which will take place on Thursday, 12 May 2022, 7.00 p.m. in the Musikhalle Markneukirchen.
The three candidates will present themselves with the Concerto for Tuba and Orchestra (1978) by Edward Gregson accompanied by the Clara-Schumann-Philharmoniker Plauen-Zwickau conducted by Vladimir Yaskorski. Tickets for this event can be purchased at the box office for 3 euros.

In addition to the experienced ladies and gentlemen of the international jury, the audience is also called upon to vote for their favourite on this evening and the following evening. The audience prize-winner will then be announced at the prize-winners' concert on Saturday, 14 May 2022, 7.00 p.m. in the Markneukirchen Music Hall and, if it is a horn player, will receive a natural horn made by the Markneukirchen metal wind instrument maker Gerhard Wolfram. If the winner is a tuba player, he or she will receive a "Prof. Jörg Wachsmuth" mouthpiece series from Werner Chr. Schmidt, Markneukirchen. In both cases, the Sparkasse Vogtland will donate the prize worth up to € 2,500.

The finalists in the tuba category

Igor Martinez (Venezuela), born 07.06.1994

Igor Martinez began his musical education in Jose Antonio Abreu's "el Sistema" programme. At the Propatria School of "el Sistema" he gained his first experience in the children's choir at the age of 11 before switching to the tuba a few weeks later. As a soloist, he performed the Venezuelan premiere of Frank Bencriscutto's Tuba Concertino (2011), and the South American premiere of the tuba concerto "BANDSTERIX & TUBELIX" for tuba and wind orchestra by the Spanish composer Ferrer Ferran under his direction (2012). This version is the first ever recorded and released on CD. He also performed R.V. Williams' Concerto for Bass Tuba with Canadian-Venezuelan conductor David Cubek (2018) and his Concerto for Brass Trio and Symphony Orchestra with the Simon Bolivar Symphony Orchestra of Venezuela and the Bolivar Brass Trio conducted by Gonzalo Hidalgo (2018). For six years Igor Martinez was principal tuba and leader of the Simon Bolivar Youth Symphony Band, where he participated in various tours in Venezuela, Colombia and Europe, and can also be heard as principal tuba on the SBYSB's debut album "Mambos y Fanfarrias" (2012), conducted by Thomas Clamor. In 2014, he won the audition for the position of principal tuba with the Municipal Symphony Symphony Orchestra of Caracas conducted by Rodolfo Saglimbeni before joining the Simon Bolivar Symphony Orchestra of Venezuela a year later and began touring the world under the baton of Gustavo Dudamel. He studied tuba and composition at the Simon Bolivar Conservatory of Music. He is currently completing his Master's degree in Performance at the Haute Ecole de Musique in Geneva (Switzerland) with Fabien Wallerand and was recently awarded 2nd prize at the Concours Tuba Paris - Prestige category.

Richárd Bence Masa (Hungary), born 16.08.1998

Richárd Bence Masa began his musical education at the Vántus István Music High School in Szeged and has been continuing it at the Hochschule für Musik in Karlsruhe since 2018. He also took part in master classes with Dirk Hirthe and Roland Szentpáli.
Richárd Bence Masa has already won several first prizes at international competitions. These include the 27th Leoš Janáček Tuba Competition in Brno, the 41st International Tuba Competition Debrecen and the 14th International Tuba Competition in Brno. He also received a first prize at the 12th National Tuba Competition in Budapest.

Florian Wielgosik (France), born 02.05.1995

Florian Wielgosik studied at the Hochschule für Musik Karlsruhe with Dirk Hirthe, at the CNSM in Paris with Gérard Buquet and André GiIbert, and at the CRR of Amiens Métropole in the subjects of tuba and chamber music with François Thuillier.

Since January 2015 Florian Wielgosik has been principal tuba of the Orchestre Philharmonique de Monte Carlo. Prior to this appointment, he gained orchestral experience with the Franco-German Philharmonic Orchestra, the French Youth Orchestra, the Orchestra Philharmonique de Marseille, the Intercontemporary Ensemble, the Picardy Orchestra, the Paris Brass Band and the Copper Orchestra of Amiens.

In addition to his orchestral activities, Florian Wielgosik teaches regularly. At the request of Gérard Buquet, he gave a master class at the CNSMDP, held a workshop on breathing at the Rainier III Academy in Monte Carlo, taught at the summer course "Cuivre Attitude" and acted as a substitute at the conservatories of Nice, Antibes and Amiens.

Florian Wielgosik can already look back on numerous competition successes, including first prizes at the "Jeju International Brass & Percussion Competition" in South Korea and at the international "ConcoursTubaTours" Prestige Class 2017. In July 2019 he was a participant in the Tchaikovsky Competition in Russia.

His CD "HOME" was released under the label Klarthe.