|
Friday, June 18 - 8:00 am. ITG, Solo Competition Finals
Elisa Koehler, Reporter A sizeable crowd gathered at 8:00 a.m. for the final round of the ITG Solo Competition. Following a brief sound check, Michael Tunnel introduced the judges and alerted the audience to the parameters of the competition: each finalist would play the required selection (Vizzutti’s Cascades) and their featured work in an order of their choosing. They would also be allowed to walk offstage between selections.
First to perform was Gareth Flowers, a student of Mark Gould and Ray Mase from the Juilliard School of Music. Flowers chose to perform the Vizzutti first and dazzled the audience with his formidable technique and dramatic flair, especially his resonant low note punctuations. His chosen work was Berio’s Sequenza X, accompanied by Rebecca Wilt (by depressing certain keys along with the damper pedal to provide a resonant backdrop for certain passages, rather than actually playing). Flowers navigated the gladiatorial demands of the piece with abundant confidence and artistry. Covering a whole array of extended playing techniques, Flowers mastered the complete range of the instrument including flutter tonguing, growling plunger work, pedal tones, and the previously mentioned afterglow effect of playing loud, short notes into the resonating piano. The next competitor was Alex Noppe, a student of William Campbell from the
University of Michigan. Noppe also chose to perform the required Vizzutti Cascades first, impressing the audience with his warm, dark sound and blazing finger work, despite a few unresponsive low notes. His chosen work, the Arutunian Concerto was again accompanied by Rebecca Wilt who played the difficult orchestral reduction with remarkable power and emotion. Noppes, playing from memory, displayed stunning double tonguing and a wealth of finely shaped phrases. Most notably, he chose to play the second lyrical section on a flugelhorn rather than muted as indicated in the music, a most effective and creative change. Adam Bhatia, a student of Jens Lindemann from the University of California at Los Angeles, performed third, and was the only finalist who chose not to begin with
the required Vizzutti work. Instead, he came out and launched directly into a striking performance of Peter Maxwell Davies’ Sonata. Performing from memory on a D trumpet, Bhatia played with confidence and excitement, earning a second bow from the appreciative audience. Returning to the stage with a B-flat trumpet, Bhatia played the Vizzutti Cascades from memory. Despite some response problems, Bhatia performed with dash and fire at a brisk tempo. Last to perform was Kevin Gebo, a student of William Campbell from the University of Michigan. Gebo also performed the Vizzutti from memory and impressed the audience with his technique and expressive drive. For his chosen piece, Gebo performed the Tartini Concerto on piccolo trumpet, also from memory. Rebecca Wilt, the unsung hero of the morning, accompanied this pre-classical work with wit and grace. Following a brilliant first movement, Gebo spun a seductive cantabile in the second that entranced the audience, and finished with an extremely fast finale replete with quicksilver virtuosity and ringing high notes. The appreciative audience rewarded Gebo with an enthusiastic ovation.
Given the wide variety of repertoire and the high performance level of the finalists, the judges (James Ackley, David Kuehn, and Fred Mills) were left to make some hard decisions. |
|
|||||||||||||
