BEST BET

Tired of the dissonance of urban life? If so, check out Sunday’s final round of the 1990 Pasadena Instrumental Competition--an evening of youth and talent guaranteed to be music to your ears.

The Garland Theater of Polytechnic School will be filled with the sounds of youthful virtuosity as 10 budding artists, between the ages of 16 and 23, vie for $16,000 in cash prizes and an opportunity to perform with the Los Angeles Philharmonic.

The competition is open to string, brass and woodwind players, who will perform works by composers ranging from Bach to Mozart to Hindemith.

The annual competition,

sponsored by the Pasadena Junior Philharmonic Committee, has served in the past as a launching pad to international competitions and overseas concert appearances for its winners. Last year’s grand prize winner, David Chan of San Diego, went on to win a Violinist Laureate award at the Ninth International Tchaikovsky Competition in Moscow, one of the most prestigious musical events in the world.

The finalists’ concert is free and open to the public. It will be held from 6 to 10 p.m. at the Garland Theater of Polytechnic School, located on the corner of Cornell and Wilson streets in Pasadena. A reception will follow.