Music students vie for solo with UM symphonic groups

The 28th Annual Concerto/Aria Competition will take place Saturday afternoon in the Music Recital Hall, offering a diverse selection of student performance experience and a chance at playing with a University of Montana symphonic group.

“They’re stretching and challenging themselves to a higher level of performance,” said UM cello professor Fern Glass.

Three judges will sit in on solo student performances and select one or more winners who will go on to perform a solo piece with either the UM Symphony Orchestra or the Symphonic Wind Ensemble in a concert this spring. Up to three winners will be chosen from the roughly 26 students competing this year, UM flute professor Maggie Schuberg said.

Two of the competition’s judges hail from Missoula County: Richard Alderson, a former voice and opera professor at Northwestern University in Illinois, and Brooke Ferris Florence, a private saxophone teacher. The third judge, Rebecca Hartka, works as an assistant adjunct professor of cello at Montana State University.

“It’s very subjective, but the judges have a list of criteria to help them select the best performer,” Glass said of judging solo performances. “It’s really about selecting the most compelling performance of the day.”

The winners will be drawn from a wide variety of musicians. Viola and violin players, woodwind musicians, brass players, pianists and even a marimba player will compete, Schuberg said. Only students currently enrolled in University music lessons can compete at the event.

“This is high (number of students) for the contest. Just about every instrument is represented,” Glass said.

Each soloist must be accompanied by another performer, usually on piano. Students will play musical pieces that are less than 20 minutes in their full form, and each musician plays for only 12 minutes during the competition, Glass said.

“They’re recorded and get a judge’s feedback,” Glass said. “It’s a fabulous experience for younger musicians on campus.”

All pieces in the Concerto/Aria Competition must be played by memory, a task that can be both daunting and rewarding.

“You really have to know the piece inside and out,” said Traci Kutzleb, a junior who is performing a flute piece in this year’s competition. “It’s a greater feeling of accomplishment. You get to experience the music better and feel the music.”

“I’m nervous,” Alissa Hannah, a UM junior and viola player, said. “But it’s good to be nervous. It gives you that edge.”

For some, memorable and compelling performances draw on the emotions of the audience themselves.

“I think the best reason to perform is to excite the audience and see that they enjoy what you do,” said Steven Olson, a sophomore in piano performance and music education.

“Music was written for a purpose – to communicate an emotion or meaning,” Alderson said. “Performing is a chance to solidify that moment in a person’s life.”

The competition begins at 12 p.m. on Saturday and lasts until around 5 p.m. Admission is free.