On Nov. 18 this month, Asbury University’s Music Department is hosting a competition for its students to further their careers in music. In an event they call the “Concerto Competition,” the department allows music majors to explore and showcase their talents to both their professors and other judges.
Dr. Nathan Miller, who serves as an Associate Professor of Music in the Music Department, is heading the competition. “It’s a competition for students to get the opportunity to play with the orchestra and get to play their own works,” Miller said. “Very rarely does a young musician, or really anybody, get to play a concerto with an orchestra, and this competition allows them to do that.”
The official name of the event is the Concerto and Aria Competition, where professors allow students to compete in both styles of music. Concerto music typically features a solo vocalist accompanied by an orchestra, whereas an Aria focuses more on an Opera that students orchestrate themselves. The competition will officially happen Nov. 18 this semester, with the award winners likely being announced the same day. The department is also allowing students to use a wide variety of musical instruments for the event as well, including piano, violin, trumpet, trombone and others. Dr. Michael Hudson, a music professor and conductor at the University of Kentucky, has been invited by the department to serve as a guest adjudicator for the event.
Miller shared the opportunities that students have encountered from participating in the event. “We’ve had pianists, such as former student Chang Mei, who have performed and had great and successful careers following this event.” Miller followed, “We have a former student who won this competition who went on to have a significant career in Europe, performing on the world’s largest opera stage. That’s what I hope for students today competing in this, I hope they’ve used their gifts to inspire this campus and the world through music programs, and this competition helps with fostering that gift.”
Following the performances this November, the winners from this competition will perform again next spring, on Feb. 23. If students are interested in seeing the winners from this competition before then, they can follow Asbury’s Music Department on their Facebook page, where they plan to announce them later this month.
Photo courtesy of Nathan Miller.
