Catherine Barrett and Nuiko Wadden, recent award winners from Yolanda Kondonassis' Harp Studio.
			Yolanda Kondonassis' Harp Studio Takes the Spotlight; Two Students Receive National Honors Story and Photographs by Claire Chase
	Yolanda Kondonassis		MAY 25, 2000-- It's been a good year for the harp studio of Yolanda Kondonassis. Although Kondonassis, the successor of famed harp heroine Alice Chalifoux, was appointed to the faculty just two years ago, her studio has already made significant strides into the professional spotlight. Two Kondonassis students--sophomore harp performance major Nuiko Wadden (Willmette, IL) and senior Catherine Barrett--recently nabbed top prizes at two noted national competitions, the American String Teachers Association Competition and the Kingsport Symphony Young Artist Competition, respectively. Nuiko Wadden In mid-May, Wadden won the Senior Harp Division of the American String Teachers Association (ASTA) Eleventh Biennial National Solo Competition. According to Wadden, the competition process began last October when she traveled to Kent State University to compete in the preliminary round. Wadden was then selected to make a semi-final tape of her chosen repertoire--"Sarabande and Tocatta" by Nino Rota and "Variations" by Salzedo--for participation in the final competition held at Indiana University from May 9-14, 2000. After her performance in Indiana, Wadden was singled out as the sole first prize winner of the Senior Harp Division, and was awarded a cash prize of $1,400. From the live statewide preliminary round, through the taped semi-final round, to the final competition at a national level, Wadden's reflections on the competition experience were dubious. "I go back and forth, because I hate competition. Honestly, it's a lot of stress and harp competitions are often about technical precision more than music. But I love music, and for me, it's always about music. It has to be. When I perform, I want people to receive something from it, not just 'Well, this is me, here I am.' I try to focus, be really relaxed with what I'm doing, happy with what I'm doing, and pretend that there is actually an audience trying to listen to me. After I played in the final round, no one clapped. They weren't allowed to." Wadden's determination to play musically regardless of the conventions of the competition procedure clearly paid off. "I was very surprised, and impressed, with the judges' selections in other string categories. They chose very musical, very convincing performers, and I was happy to be a part of that group." The Winners' Concert, which followed the competition on May 12, was quite a contrasting experience for Wadden. "I really enjoyed it. The audience was there with me. You could hear a pin drop during the pianissimo sections, and I felt very connected. It was a real concert, there were people there, listening, absorbing, responding. That's what it's all about for me." Wadden's upcoming endeavors include participation in the finals of the American Harp Society's annual competition in June, held in Cincinatti, OH. Catherine Barrett Catherine Barrett, a senior from North Egremont, MA, took first prize earlier this year in the String Division of the Ohio Federation of Music Club's 2000 Statewide Competition in Columbus, OH. And if that wasn't enough, Barrett recently seized another first prize in the Elizabeth Harper Vaughn Concerto Competition held in Kingsport, TN. Barrett was selected as a finalist on the basis of a tape she submitted in December, 1999, and was subsequently invited to Kingsport, TN, along with four other instrumentalists from conservatories around the country. "When I found out I got into the finals, Yolanda and I talked about repertoire for the final round, and we decided on Ginastera's Concerto for Harp and Orchestra, which is a great, flashy piece. She encouraged me to play it on my senior recital so that I knew it, inside and out, by the time I got to Kingsport. "The Ginastera is such a huge piece in every way. It has really molded and changed my playing over the last few months. I saw Yolanda perform it last year, and her performance was dynamic and inspiring. I learned so much from just watching her play. She's figured it all out, not only how to play the harp but how to transport the audience. That's how she wants us to play, and she makes it happen like no other harpist I've ever seen." At the competition, Barrett says she felt secure, prepared and focused. "It felt good. The competition experience was more of a performance than it was a competition, because I played the piece from beginning to end without interruption, with an audience there." In addition to the cash prize awarded when she was selected as the sole winner, Barrett has been invited to perform the Ginastera Concerto in January, 2001, with the Kingsport Symphony. Oberlin's Harp Studio: On the Rise "I'm very proud of the studio," says teacher of harp, Yolanda Kondonassis. "Students like Nuiko and Catherine give me great satisfaction as a teacher, not only because they have limitless potential as harpists; they both have that magical combination of talent and incredibly strong work ethics." From the other end, the feeling appears to be mutual. "Yolanda is fabulous," Wadden says. "She's pretty amazing," seconds Barrett. "It's cool to see her talk about how to do things, as any good teacher does, and then really see her do those things in performance. It's so rare to have a teacher who's in the middle of it all, and who is also so willing to give her time and her energy to her students." Kondonassis holds high hopes for Wadden and Barrett. "It's very special for me to have students like Nuiko and Catherine. They've already gone beyond the notes on the page, and are able to really say something artistically. They will both be able to do whatever they want to do with their lives and with their careers."