APPLETON, WIS. — Lawrence University sophomore Kyle Traska will reprise his winning performance Sunday, April 22 for Wisconsin Public Radio’s Neale-Silva Concert of Young Musicians at Madison’s Chazen Museum of Art after earning first-place honors in the recent 12th edition of the annual competition.
The concert will be broadcast live statewide as a special edition of “Sunday Afternoon Live from the Chazen” from 12:30 – 2 p.m. on the WPR’s classical music network.
Traska, a percussionist from Oregon, Wis., was named one of five winners in the WPR-sponsored competition. Finals were conducted Saturday, March 31 in Madison. It was the seventh time in the past nine years that a Lawrence student has won or shared top honors in the event.
The competition is open to instrumentalists and vocal performers 17-26 years of age who are either from Wisconsin or attend a Wisconsin college. This year’s competition attracted 25 soloists and ensembles. Eleven individuals and one ensemble were invited to perform as finalists.
Playing the marimba, Traska performed Aldir Guinga’s “Unha & Carne” and “Melodia Branca,” Federico Chueca’s “Los Paraguas,” and “Mvt. 1” by Toshimitsu Tanaka in the competition finals. He is a student of Associate Professor of Music Dane Richeson. In addition to the radio broadcast, Traska received $300 for his winning performance.
Seven other Lawrence musicians joined Traska in the competition finals. Sophomore pianist Jestin Pieper advanced as did sophomore Garth Neustadter, who competed in two categories, violin and voice. The Lawrence wind quintet of juniors Sheri Muneno (flute) and David Meichle (horn) and sophomores Charles Ging (clarinet), Robert Furlong (bassoon) and Cayden Milton (oboe) also qualified as finalists.
Joining Traska as 2007 first-place winners were percussionist Daniel Paul Pingrey, UW-Madison, vocalist Mary Elizabeth Mackenzie, Manhattan School of Music, pianist Erik Saunders, UW-Madison and Shorewood High School student Yisha Chen, who plays the Chinese guzheng.
The Neale-Silva Young Artists’ Competition was established to recognize young Wisconsin performers of classical music who demonstrate an exceptionally high level of artistry. It is supported by a grant from the estate of the late University of Wisconsin Madison professor Eduardo Neale-Silva, a classical music enthusiast who was born in Talca, Chile and came to the United States in 1925.
