Xayvion Davidson, a 19-year-old bassoonist from Nashville and student at Rice University’s Shepherd School of Music, has won the First Place and Audience Favorite Awards at the inaugural Cynthia Woods Mitchell-Ima Hogg Young Artist Competition—a new collaboration between the Immanuel and Helen Olshan Texas Music Festival (TMF) and the Houston Symphony, whose individual, long-time young artist competitions were recently merged.
Davidson said he felt “grateful and glad”—as well as stunned—to learn that he had earned both honors for his performance of Rossini’s Bassoon Concerto in the competition’s Final Round on June 11, as part of TMF at the University of Houston.
“I remember thinking and stammering in my own thoughts, Oh my gosh. I won. I actually won. Oh my gosh. This is unreal. I won. Oh my gosh,” he said in an email to Houston Arts Journal. “I am not lying when I say the shock and disbelief lasted for at least another 20 minutes.”
Davidson takes home a $2,000 cash prize—$1,500 for First Place plus $500 for being voted Audience Favorite—and two solo performance opportunities: one with the TMF Orchestra on June 24 and another with the Houston Symphony during its 2023-24 season.
UH’s Texas Music Festival is a selective three-week summer academy for emerging, advanced orchestral musicians, who are pursuing a career in classical music. Organizers say that 81 young artists were accepted from 273 applicants for this year’s festival. Of those 81 TMF musicians, 25 auditioned for the Mitchell-Hogg Competition, and only five finalists made it to the last round.
Finalists included flutist Lorien Britt, a 19-year-old Dallas native and Manhattan School of Music student (Second Prize, $1000); violinist Momoko Uchida, a 22-year-old New York native and recent graduate of the Mannes School of Music (Third Prize, $750); harpist Lily Primus, a 20-year-old Denver native who attends Rice’s Shepherd School of Music; and double bassist Colin Roberts, a 19-year-old Seoul, Korea-born Houstonian who has studied at Baylor University and who will join UH’s Moore School of Music this fall.
Houston Arts Journal reached out to First Prize and Audience Favorite Winner, Xayvion Davidson, for the following interview:
Houston Arts Journal: Congratulations on your win, Xayvion! When did you start playing bassoon? What drew you, and continues to draw you, to this instrument?
Xayvion Davidson: Thank you! I am unique in the regard that I started on bassoon in fifth grade. I have been playing for nine years. Most people start on clarinet or flute, but the bassoon looked fascinating, had a unique sound, and looked quite difficult. Originally, I thought it was an oboe, which funnily enough was my second choice and all I have to say is, “Thank GOODNESS my mom corrected me!” Imagine having to make oboe reeds for life. Can you imagine all that time wasted on something that probably won’t even work? Sadly, I can relate because I’m doomed to make reeds, thanks to the bassoon.
I got serious about music once I heard of regional band and met my first teacher Dr. Maya Stone, who helped me get into the regional band. When I was there, I enjoyed the social aspect and making music with people as passionate as I was about music and that was what made me want to go pro. What draws me to the bassoon now is the range of the instrument, which is about 3.5 octaves, and the wide range of characters it can portray, from the comedic Sorcerer’s Apprentice to Tchaikovsky’s downright depressing Sixth Symphony.
HAJ: Who are your bassoon heroes or musical heroes?
XD: As for bassoon heroes, Mr. Benjamin Kamins, Dr. Stone, and my fellow studiomates are heroes. Mr. Kamins continues to inspire me, and I have learned a lot from just one year of studying under him because he is a phenomenal teacher. I also learned that he is truly a mentor in every sense of the word. I recall him once saying to me, “Xayvion, I will help you with your reeds until the day I croak.” Though I found it comical, he has helped me and students who have graduated with reeds and continues to check up on them. When he can, he will go to students’ performances and cheer enthusiastically. If his students are around Houston, they will drop by Rice to introduce themselves or sit in on a class.
Though I only studied with her for one year, Dr. Stone is a hero to me because she continues to be a mentor and is there for me when I need it. I am eternally grateful for the support that she has and will continue to give me.
Last but certainly not least, my studiomates are a constant source of inspiration because we are supportive of each other. When I see my studiomates grow and succeed over the year, it is proof that I am in the right spot to accomplish my dream of being an orchestral musician, and I get inspired to work harder.
HAJ: Can you describe how you felt the moment you won the Cynthia Woods Mitchell-Ima Hogg Competition?
XD: Oh, I think everyone who was in the reception hall Sunday could have EASILY answered that one. The one word I immediately felt when I was announced as the winner was shock, followed by disbelief, and it DEFINITELY showed. My mouth was WIDE open after I was announced the winner, when I walked up to the stage with my mouth open, and when I turned around for another ten seconds—maybe more—still gaping. I remember thinking and stammering in my own thoughts, “Oh my gosh. I won. I actually won. Oh my gosh. This is unreal. I won. Oh my gosh.” I am not lying when I say the shock and disbelief lasted for at least another 20 minutes.
HAJ: In addition to the prize money, you’ve won performance opportunities with the TMF Orchestra and the Houston Symphony. What’s most important to you as a performer? What are you trying to communicate or achieve each time you go on stage?
XD: What is important to me is trying to get a message across to my audience because as I have heard from my parents, amongst others, the impression you leave is the most important thing. It is rare to play a technically perfect audition, but if you left a memorable impression on the committee, you still stand a chance of winning. For example, when I was performing the Rossini, I thought about being an opera singer because the concerto sounds very operatic. To me, the first movement sounded like it was about a singer professing his love, and to try to be in the right headspace, I thought of singing to my girlfriend. I love her, and when I was singing my ideas with sappy made-up lyrics, I had fun preparing this.
HAJ: What are your goals or dreams as a musician?
XD: As of right now, my goal is to win an orchestral job, preferably before I graduate, and become a great private instructor.
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Xayvion Davidson begins his sophomore year this fall at the Shepherd School of Music at Rice University, studying under Professor Benjamin Kamins. Davidson is an alumnus of the Nashville Symphony’s Accelerando program and NYO2. In 2022, he served as alternate bassoonist and apprentice manager for the National Youth Orchestra of the USA. His honors also include winning the 2022 Curb Youth Symphony Concerto Competition. When he is not practicing the bassoon or making reeds, he enjoys watching TV with his family or playing Splatoon 3.
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