Anthony Padilla

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Pianist Elizabeth Vaughan Wins State Music Competition

Lawrence University pianist Elizabeth Vaughan earned first-place honors Saturday, Oct. 15 in the 2013 Music Teachers National Association (MTNA) Wisconsin state competition conducted at UW-La Crosse.

Elizabeth-Vaughan_newsblog
Elizabeth Vaughan ’15

Vaughan, a junior voice and piano performance major from Highland Park, Ill., won the Young Artist (19-26 years of age) competition. She advances to the MTNA’s five-state East Central Division competition Jan. 10-11 at Baldwin Wallace University. Winners at the division competition advance to the MTNA’s national competition March 22-26, 2014 in Chicago.

Vaughan is the 13th Lawrence student in the past 15 years to win the Wisconsin MTNA piano competition. She is a student in the studio of Professor Catherine Kautsky.

Lawrence pianists dominated the competition, which featured a total of 12 students. Besides Vaughan’s first-place finish, senior Thomas Lee, Chicago, Ill., earned alternate (second place) honors while seniors Max Feldkamp, Appleton, Jonathan Gmeinder, Hartland, Daniel Kuzuhara, Madison, and junior Laetitia Lehman-Pearsall, Bainbridge Island, Wash., each were accorded honorable mention honors.

Gmeinder and Laetitia also study in Kautsky’s studio. Lee, Feldkamp and Kuzuhara are students of Associate Professor Anthony Padilla.

The MTNA performance competitions recognize exceptionally talented young artists and their teachers in their pursuit of musical excellence.

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 2014 and 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 1,500 students from nearly every state and more than 50 countries.

Lawrence Spotlights Latin American Music, Art, Culture in Week-Long Festival

An artist-in-residency by award-winning Puerto Rican-born composer Roberto Sierra and the Arcos Trio highlight a week-long celebration of Latin American music, art and culture Nov. 4-12 at Lawrence University.  All festival events are free and open to the public.

The Latin American Chamber Music Festival will feature more than a half dozen performances by the Arcos Trio during the week, including the world premiere performance of Sierra’s piano trio composition “Trio IV ‘La noche’” Thursday, Nov. 10 in Harper Hall of the Music-Drama Center. Sierra will discuss his works in the context of Latin American music in a pre-concert address at 6:30 p.m.

The concert also will feature works by Brazilian composer Oscar Lorenzo Fernandez, Uruguayan composer Miguel del Aguila and arrangements of the popular tangos by Argentinian composer Astor Piazzolla. A reception with Latin American cuisine provided by Appleton restaurant Antojitos Mexicanos follows the concert.

Roberto Sierra

Sierra’s works have been part of the repertoire of many of the leading orchestras, ensembles and festivals in the United States and Europe for more than 30 years. His “Fandangos” was performed at the inaugural concert of the 2002 world renowned Proms in London by the BBC Symphony Orchestra in a concert that was broadcast by both the BBC Radio and Television throughout the United Kingdom and Europe.

His music has been performed by many of the leading orchestras in the country as well as the Royal Scottish National Orchestra, the Tonhalle Orchestra of Zurich, the Spanish orchestras of Madrid, Galicia, Castilla y León and Barcelona, among others.

“Roberto Sierra is representative of a dynamic cultural phenomenon created by one of the fastest growing demographic groups in the United States,” said Professor of Music Anthony Padilla, who has organized the festival. “His compositions are characterized by the cross-fertilization of American and Latin American music. Trio IV ‘La noche’ creates a fantastic tone picture of a tropical night in Puerto Rico, evoking the mysterious atmosphere of dusk, the sounds of creatures of the night and Caribbean dance rhythms. It will help fill an increasing demand in America for concert works that reflect and celebrate the contributions of Latin American culture.”

In addition to performing the premiere of “Trio IV ‘La noche’” the Arcos Trio will conduct a master class and perform several “preview” concerts in the community.

Arcos Trio — Seunghee Lee, Carl Donakowski and Anthony Padilla

Arcos Trio — pianist Padilla, violinist Seunghee Lee and cellist Carl Donakowski — was formed in 2005 with a mission to present an expanded canon of standard piano trio repertoire.  The Latin American Chamber Music Festival is the trio’s current project and will be reprized with performances in Michigan and Virginia.

The complete schedule includes:

• Friday Nov. 4 — Steinway and a Sandwich Series: Arcos Trio preview performance: Heid Music, Appleton, 12 noon.

• Saturday, Sunday Nov. 5-6 — Arcos Trio preview performances, St. Therese and St. Pius X Catholic Churches weekend masses, Appleton.

• Sunday, Nov. 6 — Arcos Trio preview performance, Neenah Public Library, 2 p.m.,

• Monday–Friday, Nov. 7–11 —Mexican print collection display: Quirk Print Study Room, Wriston Art Center Galleries, 8 a.m. – 4 p.m.  Digital reproductions of this collection will be shown in Harper Hall lobby, Music-Drama Center.

• Monday Nov. 7 — Arcos Trio community outreach preview performances: Appleton East High School, 8:45 a.m. and 9:40 a.m.

• Tuesday, Nov. 8 — Arcos Trio community outreach preview performance: Appleton Classical School, 12:50 p.m.

• Tuesday, Nov. 8 — Master Class: Arcos Trio, Harper Hall, Music-Drama Center, 4:30 p.m.

• Wednesday, Nov. 9 — Preview Performance: Arcos Trio and Lawrence Conservatory students play works by Latin American composers, Harmony Café, downtown Appleton, 7 p.m.

• Thursday, Nov. 10 —Pre-concert lecture: Guest composer Roberto Sierra discusses his works in the context of Latin American music, Harper Hall, Music-Drama Center, 7 p.m.

• Thursday, Nov. 10 —Arcos Trio Concert: Premiere performance of “Trio No. 4 ‘La noche’” (2011), by Roberto Sierra, Harper Hall, Music-Drama Center, 8 p.m. Reception with Latin American cuisine from Antojitos Mexicanos follows.

• Friday, Nov. 11 —Question-and-answer session with guest composer Roberto Sierra, Harper Hall, Music-Drama Center, 4:30–5:30 p.m.

• Saturday, Nov. 12 — Spanish department and Latin American studies program presentations:  Gustavo Fares, professor of Spanish, “Tango! And nation building”; Jake Frederick, assistant professor of history, “The ‘New World’ of Latin America”; and Javier Guerrero, postdoctoral fellow in Spanish, “Sangrita Mexicana: Blood Weddings in Contemporary Mexico,” Harper Hall, Music-Drama Center, 1 p.m. A reception with Latin American cuisine from Antojitos Mexicanos follows.

• Saturday, Nov. 12 —Student recitals: Lawrence students perform works by Latin American composers, Harper Hall, Music-Drama Center, 3 p.m.

The Latin American Chamber Music Festival received collaborative financial support from the National Endowment for the Arts, the Fox Valley Community Arts Fund within the Community Foundation for the Fox Valley Region, and the Wisconsin Arts Board with funds from the State of Wisconsin.

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, 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 1,445 students from 44 states and 35 countries.

Three Lawrence University Musicians Win State Competition

Lawrence University students Alenka Donovan, Kelly Eshbaugh and David Keep earned first-place honors Saturday, Oct. 23 in the 2010 Music Teachers National Association (MTNA) Wisconsin state competition conducted at Lawrence.

Donovan, a violin performance and history major from Washington, D.C., won the young artists (19-26 years of age) strings division. She is a student of Wen-Lei Gu.

Eshbaugh, a trombone performance and music education major from Greenfield, won the young artists brass division. She studies in the studio of Nick Keelan.

Keep, a piano performance major from Traverse City, Mich., won the young artists piano competition. Keep is the 11th Lawrence piano student in the past 13 years to win the Wisconsin MTNA piano competition. He is a student of Anthony Padilla.

Donovan, Eshbaugh and Keep advance to the MTNA’s five-state East Central Division competition January 7-9 at Ball State University. Winners at the division competition advance to the MTNA’s national competition March 26-30 in Milwaukee.

The Lawrence saxophone quartet — senior David Davis (soprano), Sussex, senior Sumner Truax (alto), Chicago, Ill., sophomore Phillip Dobernig (tenor), Mukwonago and junior Will Obst (baritone), St. Paul, Minn. — was the only entry in the chamber music division and also was selected to represent the state at the division competition. The quartet studies with Steven Jordheim.

Other Lawrence student recognized in the state competition included:
• Junior violinist Gina Bordini, De Pere, alternate in the young artists strings division.

• Freshman Anthony Capparelli, River Falls, alternate in the senior (15-18 years of age) piano Division.

• Junior clarinetist Kinsey Fournier, Conway, Ark., alternate in the young artist woodwinds division.

• Junior James Maverick, Baton Rouge, La., alternate in the young artists piano competition.

• Sophomores Andrew Kim, Colorado Springs, Colo., and Alex Hurlburt, Wausau, honorable mention honors in the young artists piano division.

Musicians selected as alternates will attend the January division competition if the winners are unable to. A total of 23 students from around the state participated in the competition.