{"id":58155,"date":"2025-02-05T10:25:00","date_gmt":"2025-02-05T15:25:00","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/emu.edu\/now\/news\/?p=58155"},"modified":"2025-02-04T21:31:11","modified_gmt":"2025-02-05T02:31:11","slug":"musicians-make-emu-history-by-becoming-first-trio-to-win-annual-concerto-aria-competition","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/emu.edu\/now\/news\/2025\/musicians-make-emu-history-by-becoming-first-trio-to-win-annual-concerto-aria-competition\/","title":{"rendered":"Musicians make EMU history by becoming first trio to win annual Concerto\/Aria Competition"},"content":{"rendered":"\n

Music so precise, they named winners thrice.<\/em><\/p>\n\n\n\n

That\u2019s the quick rhyme behind last week\u2019s annual Concerto\/Aria Competition, which awarded top honors to three student-musicians for the first time in its six-year history. The winners of the competition, Miriam Rhodes<\/strong>, Rafael de Tablan<\/strong> (who also won in 2023), and Naomi Kratzer<\/strong>, have earned one of the most prestigious accolades on campus for musicians: the chance to perform as soloists alongside the EMU Orchestra during its spring Concerto\/Aria Orchestra Concert.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

Don\u2019t miss it!<\/strong>
What<\/strong>: Concerto\/Aria Orchestra Concert
Date<\/strong>: Friday, April 25
Time<\/strong>: 7 p.m.
Location<\/strong>: Lehman Auditorium
Cost<\/strong>: Free (no registration needed)<\/td><\/tr><\/tbody><\/table><\/figure>\n\n\n\n

Benjamin Bergey<\/strong>, assistant professor of music at EMU and conductor of EMU\u2019s Orchestra, Chamber Singers, and University Choir, credited the historic moment to the strong performances of the seven student-musicians who competed.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

\u201cIt was a challenge to choose only two winners,\u201d he said. \u201cAfter extra deliberation, we decided that the orchestra could accommodate three winners this year, but that\u2019s something we don\u2019t intend to do again in the future.\u201d<\/p>\n\n\n\n

The three winning musicians took a moment to answer a few questions from EMU News in between practicing for April\u2019s big show. <\/p>\n\n\n\n

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Miriam Rhodes<\/strong><\/h2>\n\n\n
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Year:<\/strong> Junior
From:<\/strong> Rockingham County, Virginia
Major:<\/strong> Music and peacebuilding<\/a>; elementary education
Instrument: <\/strong>Violin<\/p>\n\n\n\n

Which piece of music did you choose?<\/strong>
I played the first movement of Max Bruch\u2019s \u201cConcerto No. 1 in G Minor.\u201d My violin teacher Maria Lorcas<\/strong> introduced me to the piece near the end of my freshman year at EMU, and I\u2019ve been working on it, on and off, ever since. I\u2019ve spent a lot of time with this piece over the past couple years, analyzing its theory and history, and performing it several times, but I still haven\u2019t gotten tired of it. <\/p>\n\n\n\n

What was running through your mind when you found out you had won?<\/strong>
I was surprised that the judges had picked three winners and immediately got excited. A lot of my passion for making music comes from the joy and relationship-building that happens when you collaborate with other musicians, so I\u2019m super excited to perform this piece with the orchestra and bring it to life together.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

How will you be preparing for April\u2019s concert?<\/strong>
I\u2019ve always had some performance anxiety. After my last performance, I felt like I had already achieved a personal victory by pushing myself out of my comfort zone and improving my performance mindset\u2014something my teacher, Maria Lorcas<\/strong>, and the music professors at EMU have helped me learn to do. I plan to continue preparing mentally through positive self-talk and visualization.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

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Rafael de Tablan<\/strong><\/h2>\n\n\n
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Year:<\/strong> Junior
From:<\/strong> The Philippines
Major:<\/strong> Music performance
Instrument: <\/strong>Piano<\/p>\n\n\n\n

Which piece of music did you choose?<\/strong>
I played the second movement of Maurice Ravel’s \u201cPiano Concerto in G Major.\u201d I chose this piece because it\u2019s something out of the ordinary. Fast and grand movements are usually selected for competitions, rather than slow ones. But, I chose this slow movement as a sincere dedication to my mom and dad, who nicknamed me \u201cRavel.\u201d<\/p>\n\n\n\n

What was running through your mind when you found out you had won?<\/strong>
I was confident the judges wouldn\u2019t choose a slow piece to win, but boy, was I wrong. When the three winners were announced, I was shocked by the history-making moment. I hugged and congratulated the other two winners. Realizing that my dedicatory piece will be performed with the orchestra, I started welling up with tears thinking about how I could give even more love to my parents.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

How will you be preparing for April\u2019s concert?<\/strong>
Definitely practice, practice, practice. I need to polish it even more and review the judges’ feedback. One thing I love to do while practicing is to follow along with someone else’s recording of the same piece. (His piano teacher is Dr. David Berry, director of the music program at EMU<\/em>)<\/p>\n\n\n\n

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Naomi Kratzer<\/strong><\/h2>\n\n\n
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Year:<\/strong> Junior
From:<\/strong> Goshen, Indiana
Major:<\/strong> Music performance and history
Instrument: <\/strong>Piano (she also plays viola and sings<\/em>)<\/p>\n\n\n\n

Which piece of music did you choose?<\/strong>
I played the first movement of Edvard Grieg’s \u201cPiano Concerto in A Minor, Op. 16.\u201d My professor, Dr. David Berry<\/strong>, chose the piece for me, but I\u2019ve loved preparing it over the past seven months. This is the only piano concerto Grieg ever wrote, which makes it even more special to perform. It\u2019s also a piece that plays to my strengths as a pianist, so it\u2019s been fun to hone those skills. <\/p>\n\n\n\n

What was running through your mind when you found out you had won?<\/strong>
I was glad they finally came to a decision. The process was the longest in EMU history: one whole hour. It was awesome to win with my friend Miriam and my co-conspirator-in-piano, Rafael. <\/p>\n\n\n\n

How will you be preparing for April\u2019s concert?<\/strong>
I\u2019ll keep chipping away at the shakier parts of the movement and make sure I have the entire piece under my fingers, but I also need to start preparing my junior recital repertoire. It\u2019s going to be a full semester, for sure. <\/p>\n\n\n\n

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Bergey said Rhodes played with \u201cconfidence and finesse\u201d in a thrilling performance of Bruch\u2019s violin concerto. \u201cShe is our concertmaster in the orchestra, so it will be wonderful to feature her in this concert,\u201d he said.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

He described de Tablan as captivating the room with his \u201cexquisitely musical playing\u201d of the slow movement of Ravel\u2019s piano concerto: \u201cThis deceptively difficult movement exuded his musicality, and you could hear a pin drop at the end.\u201d<\/p>\n\n\n\n

Bergey recognized Kratzer for tackling one of the most iconic concertos of the night. \u201cShe expressed such command of the instrument through her technical playing,\u201d he said. <\/p>\n\n\n\n

Mezzo-soprano Cassidy Williams<\/strong> received runner-up honors. Other musicians competing at the event were Elie Hoover<\/strong>, Riley Quezada<\/strong>, and Jacob Loya<\/strong>. Lise Keiter <\/strong>and Eric Guinivan<\/strong> served as guest judges for the competition. Harold Bailey<\/strong> and David Berry<\/strong> were piano accompanists. <\/p>\n\n\n\n

Read coverage of the event in the Daily News-Record<\/em> here<\/a>.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

For write-ups of previous years\u2019 competitions, click on the links below:<\/p>\n\n\n\n

Watch a video recording of the competition here<\/a> on the EMU Department of Music Facebook page.<\/p>\n\n\n\n