Students representing Missouri State University’s Department of Music won several awards at the Missouri Music Teachers Association (MMTA) and Music Teachers National Association (MTNA) auditions, held Nov. 2-5 at University of Missouri-Kansas City.

MMTA auditions are yearly, state-level auditions held at different universities across Missouri every November.

Nineteen MSU students competed in a field of over 500 students in this year’s events.

Participation yields continued excellence

Christopher Kemp, a senior music major, was named MTNA’s Young Artist Brass winner. He now advances to the next round of the competition.

“MSU has been participating for many years now,” said Dr. Jason Hausback, professor of music at MSU and president of MMTA. “In the last five to eight years, our institution has had a strong presence and has recently dominated the competitions as the strongest-placing school in the state.”

“Participation provides a lot of visibility to our programs here,” Hausback added. “Having consistent success shows that MSU is a destination campus for the arts, and particularly music.”

Process gives competitors valuable feedback

Students start preparing for the November competition during the summer, according to Hausback.

“It may sound exhausting, but our students experience tremendous improvement during this period,” he said.

Kemp noted that the auditions are a great opportunity for MSU’s young musicians to sharpen their skills and develop a wide variety of music at a distinguished level.

He also credits the auditions as having helped him “achieve success in music through this inviting competition process.”

Hausback, who previously served as judge for the competition, compared the auditions to mini recitals. Students benefit from the experience while also receiving valuable feedback from professors across the country.

“It’s an excellent opportunity for young musicians to showcase their abilities while receiving critical feedback from judges,” Kemp said.

MSU MMTA Award Results

Collegiate Woodwind Lower Level

Winner: Emmitt Rieffer. Teacher: Dr. Grant Peters.
Runner-up: Brady Perkins. Teacher: Dr. Jason Hausback.

Collegiate Brass Lower Level

Winner: Emily Schmidt. Teacher: Dr. Grant Peters.

Collegiate Piano Duet

Winners: Juchan Lee and Chaihun Kim. Teachers: Drs. Hye-Jung Hong and Wei-Han Su.

Collegiate Piano Lower Level

Winner: Sanjana Dhabasekaran. Teacher: Dr. Hye-Jung Hong.
Runner-up: Suyeon Yang. Teacher: Dr. Hye-Jung Hong.

Brass Graduate Level

Winner: Alexander Ryan. Teacher: Dr. Jason Hausback.
Runner-up: Ethan Sherer. Teacher: Dr. Jason Hausback.
Honorable Mention: Frankie Harrison. Teacher: Dr. Jason Hausback.

Collegiate Piano Upper Level

Winner: Jiyeon Lee. Teacher: Dr. Hye-Jung Hong.

Piano Graduate Level

Winner: Chaihun Kim. Teacher: Dr. Wei-Han Su.
Runner-up: Daniel Corredor Silva. Teacher: Dr. Hye-Jung Hong.

Collegiate Strings Lower Level

Runner-up: Orion McKenzie. Teacher: Dr. David Hays.

Collegiate Strings Upper Level

Runner-up: Nathan Price. Teacher: Dr. David Hays.

MSU MMTA Brass competitors are (Back Row, L-R) Maxwell Brower, Alex Ryan, Ethan Sherer, (Front Row, L-R) Dr. Jason Hausback, Emmitt Rieffer, Frankie Harrison, Emily Schmidt, Brady Perkins, and Dr. Grant Peters. Photo credit: Chris Madden.

MSU MTNA Award Results

Young Artist Brass

Winner: Christopher E. Kemp. Teacher: Dr. Jason Hausback.

Young Artist Piano

Alternate: Shawn Jian Yue Lee. Teacher: Dr. Wei-Han Su.

Young Artist Woodwinds

Honorable Mention: Jessica Baird. Teacher: Dr. Jill Heyboer.
Honorable Mention: Conlan Boatman. Teacher: Dr. Matthew Tracy.

Young Artist Strings

Alternate: Elise Thierbach. Teacher: Dr. Daniel Ketter.

 

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