C.W. Post Graduate Wins a Place on Stage at Tilles Center

Brookville, NY – The dream of most graduates is to land a job right out of college. All East Patchogue native Victoria Rinaldi, wanted was a gig. And she got one. Rinaldi, a soprano, has been selected as the First Prize Winner of the 24th Annual C.W. Post Concerto Competition for her performance of Puccini’s "La Canzone di Doretta" from La Rondine. Her reward? A featured spot with the C.W. Post Orchestra during the 2004-2005 concert season at the Tilles Center for the Performing Arts on the C.W. Post Campus of Long Island University in Brookville.

Rinaldi, who received her Bachelor of Music degree in Music Education with a concentration in vocal performance from C.W. Post on May 9, 2004, is no stranger to success. As a teenager attending Bellport High School, she had already appeared in an Off-Broadway AIDS Benefit performance of Tony and Tina’s Wedding. She’s been busy during her time at C.W. Post as well—singing in ensembles and as a soloist throughout the metropolitan area. A member of the C.W. Post Madrigal Singers and Chamber Singers for four years, she toured with the group through Canada in 2003. That spring, she also received the award for Most Outstanding Vocal Performance.

Rinaldi was also accepted into the Summer Institute for the Dalcroze method at the Julliard School of Performing Arts, where she was invited to perform in numerous master classes with Dr. Robert Abramson. For the past eight years, she has entertained senior citizens in the Village of Bellport with her vocal skills and effervescent personality. This summer, Rinaldi will visit the British Isles with the Madrigal Singers and Chamber Singers and will also appear in the voice festival, Songfest, in Washington State.

Sponsored by the C.W. Post Orchestra and Department of Music, the annual Concerto Competition is open to all undergraduate and graduate students currently attending C.W. Post. This year, almost a dozen students from singers to instrumentalists competed. Judges included Steven Behr, Orchestra Manager of the New York Youth Symphony; Monica Erb Benstock, Band Director at West Hollow Middle School in Half Hollow Hills; and Michael Dadap, Artistic/Music Director and principal conductor of the Children’s Orchestra Society for 20 years.

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