This year’s final concert featured Vivaldi’s Le quattro stagione, each movement of which was played by this year’s and the three previous years’ concert competition winners. Four students who had beat out dozens of other excellently qualified string players played the solo parts in Vivaldi’s most popular work. The group, founded in 1993, has recently inched its way toward Boston from the suburbs, and has now claimed a loyal audience at New England Conservatory’s Jordan Hall.

Cortese, whose local credentials stem from a proud tenure at the Boston Symphony, sees the Vivaldi performance as an important step for NESE. "The young person’s competition is a good idea for a couple of reasons," he believes. "It demonstrates NESE’s commitment to education and it provides an important goal for young, emerging musicians." Each movement was played by a different winner. "Vivaldi is a good choice for these students because it offers good performance practice challenges," Cortesi believes. "The kind of bowing Vivaldi preferred, the imitative sounds of the wind and nightingale, are all educational features for the students to learn," he adds.

In an ideal world Cortesi sees New England String Ensemble players being able to switch between early and contemporary instruments. He’s a strong advocate of the importance of accurate, historical interpretation.