Lawrence University student musicians captured top honors in a pair of recent state music competitions.
Pianists Cameron Pieper and Elizabeth Vaughan earned first- and second-place honors, respectively, in the Wisconsin National Federation of Music Club competition, which is conducted via submitted audio recording.
Pieper, a senior from Fond du Lac, received a first-place prize of $1,000. His winning recording included Bach’s “Prelude and Fugue in G major Book 1,” Beethoven’s “Piano Sonata op. 110 in A-flat Major I, Moderato cantabile molto espressivo” Chopin’s “Scherzo no. 1 in B minor op. 20,” Rzewski’s “Piano Piece no. 4,” and Franz Liszt’s “Transcendental Etude no. 10 in F minor.”
As the state champion, he will represent Wisconsin in the National Federation of Music Club national competition later this spring. It was the second-winning performance this year for Pieper, who was awarded first place honors last month in the Schubert Club’s Carlson Student Scholarship Competition in St. Paul, Minn.
Vaughan, a senior from Highland Park, Ill., received $750 for her runner-up recording.
The competition is part of the Wisconsin Federation of Music Clubs’ mission to promote music and dance through arts advocacy, student festivals, competitions and scholarships.
Pieper and Vaughan both study in the piano studio of Professor Catherine Kautsky.
Erec VonSeggern, a sophomore from Idyllwild, Calif., won the Wisconsin State Flute Festival held in Madison. He was awarded a first-place prize of $350. It was the third straight year a Lawrence student has won the state flute festival competition.
For his 15-minute finals performance, VonSeggern played Georges Hüe’s “Fantaisie Pour Flûte et Piano, ” “Night Music for Solo Flute, 1. Night Music I” by Vanraj Bhatia and Otar Gordeli’s “Concerto for Flute and Orchestra, Op. 8.”
Senior Heather Jost, a senior from Pewaukee, also qualified for the finals and earned third-place honors.
The Wisconsin Flute Festival is a one-day educational event for flute players and flute enthusiasts of all ages and abilities.
VonSeggern and Jost are students in the flute studio of Assistant Professor Erin Lesser.
About Lawrence University
Founded in 1847, Lawrence University uniquely integrates a college of liberal arts and sciences with a nationally recognized conservatory of music, both devoted exclusively to undergraduate education. It was selected for inclusion in the Fiske Guide to Colleges 2015 and the book “Colleges That Change Lives: 40 Schools That Will Change the Way You Think About College.” Engaged learning, the development of multiple interests and community outreach are central to the Lawrence experience. Lawrence draws its 1,500 students from nearly every state and more than 50 countries.
