The sounds of student achievement flowed from the Katzen Arts Center this weekend as violinist Josiah Lambert, a junior in the College of Arts and Sciences, and mezzo-soprano Laura Petravage, a senior in CAS, were named the co-winners of this year's American University Orchestra and Aria Competition. Cellist Adam Hansen, a sophomore in CAS, came in third.
Lambert and Petravage were two of five contestants to advance from the preliminary round on Saturday to the final round on Sunday in the Abramson Family Recital Hall. Lambert and Metravage, both accompanied by pianist Matthew Van Hoose, beat out a field of six other contestants and with the victory gained the right to be featured soloists with the American University Symphony Orchestra during the spring season.
The contest featured judges primarily in the AU music department critiquing the student musicians in categories including musicality, accuracy of pitch, accuracy of rhythm, technical command, interpretation of musical pieces and stage presence. The competitors represented a diverse family of instruments and were accompanied during their piece by a pianist. Lambert played the selection of "Allegro" from the "Violin Concerto, Op. 14" by Samuel Barber. Meanwhile, Petravage sang two pieces: "Parto! Ma tub en mio" from "La clemenza di Tito" by Wolfgang Amadeus Mozart and "Va! Laisse Couler mes larmes" from "Werther" by Jules Massenet.
Also participating in the competition were soprano Sara Altman, a senior in CAS, Caryn Devins, a freshman in the School of Public Affairs, on the clarinet, soprano Kristin Kersey, a freshman in SPA, Sheena Kauppila, a graduate student in CAS, on the tuba and Lucie Jaronowski, a freshman in SPA, on the violin.
Around 50 people attended each performance of the two-day event, which featured final round contestants reprising their winning selections from the previous day.
The winners of this year's competition have been active in the AU classical music scene long before their victories. During the 2005-2006 year Josiah Lambert was the principal second violinist for the AU Symphony Orchestra, and during the 2006 "All-Mendelssohn Program," Petravage was a featured mezzo-soprano in "Symphony No. 2 in B Major, Op. 52 'Lobesang."
