By Sarah McMillin, Staff Writer
The Susquehanna University Concerto Competition was held on Oct. 27 in Stretansky Concert Hall.
Five students competed in the competition: senior Carissa Sweet performed on marimba, junior Emma Mooradian performed on alto saxophone, junior Brennan Rudy performed on trumpet, senior Luke Duceman performed on alto saxophone and sophomore Hayden Stacki performed on marimba.
All were accompanied by Jaime Namminga, lecturer in music, on piano.
Sweet performed “Soar: Concerto No. 1 for Marimba and String Orchestra” by Indonesian-born Australian composer Robert Oetomo, Mooradian performed “Concerto for Alto Saxophone and Orchestra” by American composer Lee Actor, Rudy performed “Concerto for Trumpet in A-flat major” by Armenian composer Alexander Arutiunian, Duceman performed “Concerto for Alto Saxophone and String Orchestra” by Russian composer Alexander Glazunov and Stacki performed “Concerto for Marimba and Orchestra” by Brazilian composer Ney Rosauro.
Stacki was named the winner of the competition and will get to perform a solo piece at a concert next semester.
The judges were assistant professor of music Gregory Grabowski, Jonah Kappraff and Andrew Kozar.
Grabowski teaches conducting classes at Susquehanna and conducts the orchestra and pit band. He has conducted and directed many other orchestras outside of Susquehanna as well.
Kappraff is a trumpet player based in Lewisburg. According to his website, Kappraff is versatile in his music and “specializes in orchestral, solo and chamber music performance, in addition to musical theatre and commercial styles.”
He was a freelance musician in Boston for a time, performing with the Boston Pops and the Lorelei Ensemble. Since moving to Pennsylvania, he has performed with orchestras such as the Williamsport Symphony and the York Symphony.
Kozar is a trumpet player based in New York City. He has traveled all over the world with his music, playing at various venues with varying orchestras. He also conducts, composes and teaches in his field.
While only one winner could be chosen from the five, many attendees noted the amount of talent from all the students who participated.
“The caliber of their performances was completely out of this world,” said sophomore Charlotte Wood.
Sophomore Ali Hordseki agreed and said, “It was a fantastic buffet of SU talent.”
However, both agreed that Stacki deserved first place.
“[Stacki] is mesmerizing as a performer,” Wood said. “I could watch him perform for hours. He is fabulous.”
Hordeski agreed and said, “He gives it his all, every time,” Hordeski said.