Lawrence University student Trevor Litsey earned first-place honors in the recent International Tuba and Euphonium Association’s “Mock Orchestra Audition Competition” held at the Brucknerhaus in Linz, Austria.
A junior tuba performance major from Birmingham, Ala., Litsey was named the winner from among four finalists, earning a first-place prize of 600 euros. He later performed in concert with the North Austrian Wind Ensemble during the ITEA’s international conference June 23-30.
Litsey was one of 20 musicians invited to Austria from among nearly 60 applicants worldwide who auditioned originally via taped recording. The semifinals and finals were adjudicated by judges representing orchestras in Germany and the United States, including Carol Jantsch, principal tubist with the Philadelphia Orchestra.
A student in the tuba studio of Lawrence lecturer in music Marty Erickson, Litsey is the fourth Lawrence tubist in the past six years to win a prize in a major national or international competition.
On the heels of his winning performance in Austria, Litsey is spending July in Washington, D.C., as the only tuba player selected for the National Symphony Orchestra’s Summer Music Institute. He is participating in chamber music activities at the John F. Kennedy Center for the Performing Arts and receiving private lessons with National Symphony tubist Steven Dumain.
During the month-long program, Litsey is performing in side-by-side concerts with the National Symphony in the Kennedy Center Concert Hall. He was chosen for the prestigious program based on a recorded orchestral excerpt presentation.
About Lawrence University
Founded in 1847, Lawrence University uniquely integrates a college of liberal arts and sciences with a world-class conservatory of music, both devoted exclusively to undergraduate education. Ranked among America’s best colleges by Forbes, it was selected for inclusion in the book “Colleges That Change Lives: 40 Schools That Will Change the Way You Think About College.” Individualized learning, the development of multiple interests and community engagement are central to the Lawrence experience. Lawrence draws its 1,450 students from nearly every state and more than 50 countries. Follow Lawrence on Facebook.
