Spotlight on Strings: Student and Alumni Laureates

	Photo courtesy of Carl Nielsen Competition.

This was a stellar year for the Conservatory's string division, as several current students joined the ranks of recent alumni to garner top prizes at competitions at home and abroad.

Violinists Leave Their Mark in Denmark

Violinist Ui-Youn Hong '07, already a Wieniawski and Corpus Christi laureate, won third prize in the 7th Carl Nielsen International Violin Competition last June. The competition, which celebrates the famous Danish composer Carl Nielsen (1865-1931), was held in Odense, Denmark. A student of Professor of Violin Milan Vitek, Hong was one of only four finalists to outlast 32 musicians from 19 countries during the intensive nine-day competition. For the final rounds she performed violin concertos by Carl Nielsen and Jean Sibelius with the Odense Symphony Orchestra.

As her prize, Hong was offered an engagement with the Sorø International Music Festival. She also received a cash award of more than $8,000.

Hong, from ChungJu, Korea, has also studied with Associate Professor of Violin Kyung Sun Lee.

Violinist David Bogorad '08, who also studies with Milan Vitek, is a native of Denmark. He Top Prize Winner at Oeresunds returned to his homeland to win a finalist spot in the Oeresunds Soloist Competition this March. A student of Professor of Violin Milan Vitek, Bogorad placed second for his performance of the first movement of the Tchaikovsky Violin Concerto. His prize was DKR 1,000, or approximately $1,000. The competition's judges-Morten Zeuthen, cello (Denmark); Christina Aastrand, violin (Denmark); Joergen Svennson, violin (Sweden); and Bjorn Arnholdt-Nielsen (Sweden)-also awarded him a special prize: the opportunity to perform with the Danish Radio Symphony (DRS) on September 24, 2005.

According to Vitek, the Oeresunds is a new competition, the result of expanded cultural and economic cooperation between Sweden and Denmark. "To be a soloist with the DRS is a great thing," says Vitek. "It is a respected and renowned orchestra."

	(L. to R.) Maestro Osmo Vänskä, Wadden, and WAMSO President Teri Popp. Photo by Kimberly Autz.

Harpists Yinuo Mu and Nuiko Wadden Win Top Honors

Harpist Yinuo Mu '02 of China won first prize and $7,000 in the 13th biennial American String Teachers Association (ASTA) National Solo Competition, held on the campus of Southern Methodist University in Dallas, Texas, last March. Harpist Nuiko Wadden '00 of Wilmette, Illinois, won first prize in the 49th annual WAMSO Young Artist Competition, held in January in Minneapolis's Orchestra Hall. Both studied with Assistant Professor of Harp Yolanda Kondonassis, and Mu continues to work with her as a graduate student at the Cleveland Institute of Music, where Kondonassis is also on the faculty.

Wadden received the $3,000 WAMSO Young Artist Award, the $2,250 WAMSO Achievement Award, a performance with the Minnesota Orchestra conducted by Osmo Vänskä, a taped performance on WQXR in New York, and the Erma Strachauer medal. She earned a master of music degree in 2004 at Rice University. WAMSO is the name of the Minnesota Orchestra Volunteers Association.

Paul Dwyer Wins Hellam Young Artists

Cellist Paul Dwyer '08 of Hamburg, Germany, won the ninth annual Hellam Young Artists' Competition, held in Springfield, Missouri, in March. A student of Professor of Cello Peter Rejto, Dwyer performed Edward Elgar's Concerto for Cello in E minor to take the first prize award of $4,000 and the opportunity to perform with the Springfield Symphony Orchestra during the 2005-06 season. Last year violinist Maria Bessmeltseva '05 took third place in the Hellam competition.