Orin O'Neal, a 12-year-old trumpeter, will solo with the Coronado Philharmonia Orchestra at the Coronado Performing Arts Center on Saturday, Oct. 24.
O'Neal is one of three winners of the orchestra's annual Youth Concerto Competition, which invites musicians ages 7 to 18 from Coronado and San Diego County to audition for the chance to perform with a professional-level ensemble. He will play Hummel's Trumpet Concerto, according to the Coronado Times.
O'Neal began playing trumpet at age seven. He performs with the San Diego Youth Symphony, the Young Lions Jazz Conservatory and Jacobs Big Band, and studies with San Diego Symphony trumpeter Tim Saeger.
He was selected for the 2026 YOLA National Festival, a program run by the Los Angeles Philharmonic for young musicians enrolled in El Sistema-inspired programs, according to the LA Phil's website. He also earned first chair trumpet in the 2026 SCSBOA All-Southern California Middle School Symphonic Honor Band.
Joining O'Neal on stage will be Maya Brisard, 14, a violinist from Solana Beach. Brisard studies with Dr. Moni Simeonov at the Colburn School and has been a member of the Mainly Mozart Youth Orchestra since 2017.
She has served as concertmaster of three ensembles, earned top prizes in national and international competitions and performed at Carnegie Hall.
The third winner, Jun Kim, 17, is a clarinetist from San Diego and a senior at Canyon Crest Academy. Kim performs with the San Diego Youth Symphony and was featured as a From the Top Fellow on NPR.
He has attended the Music Academy of the West and the Boston University Tanglewood Institute. He also serves on the leadership team of the Carmel Valley Summer Symphony, which provides free music education to San Diego students.
The concert, titled "Concertos and Symphonies," opens the Coronado Philharmonia's fifth season under the direction of Ozvaldo Mendoza. The program also includes Mozart's "The Marriage of Figaro Overture" and "Clarinet Concerto," Prokofiev's "Classical Symphony" and Grieg's "Peer Gynt Suite No. 1," according to the Coronado Eagle & Journal.
Mendoza told the Eagle & Journal that seeing young people experience live orchestral music for the first time is what drives the work. "When we do a concert with kids … it's the 1st time they hear the music with the live orchestra, just to see their eyes," he said.
The concert begins at 7 p.m. at 650 D Ave. Tickets are available at coronadophilharmonia.org. The orchestra's next performance is a Christmas concert on Dec. 12 at St. Paul's United Methodist Church, featuring selections from Handel's "Messiah."
