Bach to Bach...Three Connies Sweep Prizes

Is it something in Oberlin's water?

Two current Conservatory students and one recent alumnus have danced off with the top three prizes at the International Baroque Violin Competition, sponsored by the American Bach Soloists (ABS) and held as part of the Berkeley Festival and Exhibition at Berkeley, California in June.

Simos Papanas ('99 Greece) won first prize and $3,000; Heidi Powell, ('01 Maine) master's degree student, won second prize and $2,000, and Emily Fowler ('01, Calgary, Alberta, Canada) won third prize and $1,000. Marilyn McDonald, professor of violin, has taught all three on Baroque violin, and says she was "delighted" that all of her students were chosen as finalists.

"Since there were three prizes, I could just hope that they would all play their best," she says. "Each of these students is very different in musical personality, and each is interesting in his or her own way. It seems that the judges were not looking for a set approach, or all three would not have been chosen. I think this is the mark of a fair and well-run competition."

For McDonald, seeing her students win competitions--even three of them in one fell swoop--is not what gives her the greatest pleasure as a teacher. "Seeing a student do his or her best and enjoying the discovery process is really more meaningful for me."