Luther College to host fifth annual Distinction in Accompanying Award recital April 27
Luther College will host its fifth annual Distinction in Accompanying and Collaborative Keyboard Performance Award recital Sunday, April 27 at 4 p.m. in the Noble Recital Hall of the Jenson-Noble Music Hall on the campus of Luther College.
The competition recital will feature performances by three Luther music student finalists: sophomore Sarah May and juniors Zachary Busch and Brett Cooper.
Each contestant will perform 10-15 minutes of music with solo artists of their choosing. Winner of the competition will receive a $1,000 scholarship.
The recital will be followed by an award ceremony and reception. The program is open to the public with no charge for admission.
This year’s panel of judges will include guest judge Robin Guy, nationally known soloist, collaborator and teacher, and Luther faculty members Eric Kutz and Andrew Whitfield.
The competition highlights the scope and importance of the accompanist’s role and is open to Luther sophomore and junior pianists who have excelled in the art of collaborative performance.
Finalists must demonstrate that they have studied and performed a large number and wide range of works, can contribute equally with the soloist in rehearsal and performance, and are able to support, lead and follow in performance as the situation demands.
Keyboard players who meet these standards are called “collaborative artists” as well as “accompanists,” said Jessica Paul, collaborative pianist and vocal coach on the Luther faculty.
The college’s keyboard faculty created the Distinction in Accompanying and Collaborative Keyboard Performance Award to recognize and promote student keyboard players who accompany vocalists and instrumentalists in music studies and performances.
Competition judge Guy is an active soloist and collaborator throughout the United States and has performed with such notables as Henry Charles Smith, Eric Ruske, Tom Bacon and Dan Perantoni. Her guest appearances have included A Prairie Home Companion with Garrison Keillor and several international festivals in Brazil and Ecuador.
Guy studied privately with Marilyn Matousek Montie at the Cleveland Institute of Music and received the bachelor of music in education from the Baldwin-Wallace Conservatory where she studied with George Cherry. She continued her studies with Jane Abbott-Kirk at Baylor University where she earned the master of music degree. She earned the doctor of musical arts degree at the University of Arizona where she studied with composer-pianist Richard Faith.
Guy is on the faculty of the University of Northern Iowa, where she has served since 1990. She spends her summers performing and teaching piano at the world-famous Interlochen Center for the Arts in Michigan.
Sarah May ’10, the daughter of Harold and Susan May of Rockford, is majoring in music at Luther. She is a 2006 graduate of Boylan Central Catholic High School in Rockford.
Zachary Busch ’09, the son of Betsy and Gerald Busch of Delafield, Wis., is majoring in music at Luther. He is a 2005 graduate of Kettle Morain High School in Wales, Wis.
Brett Cooper ’09, the son of Brenda and John Cooper of Marion, Iowa, is majoring in music at Luther. He is a 2005 graduate of Linn-Mar High School in Marion.