Two Lawrence students have proven their musical accomplishments in separate competitions in Wisconsin. Tristan Eggener won the 17th annual Lakeshore Wind Ensemble Association’s Young Artist Competition on November 20 of last year. Burcu Goker won the 19th annual Concord Chamber Orchestra Concerto Competition on December 18.
This achievement is one in a long and impressive list for Burcu Goker, a sophomore music theory and violin performance double major from Istanbul, Turkey. She has been studying music since the age of eight, and has been winning competitions since 1997, after she graduated from high school at the age of 14. Goker attended the Verona Music Festival in Italy, and played as assistant concertmaster while representing France in the National Youth Orchestra of Ireland. She met Stephane Tran Ngoc, one of the violin professors here at Lawrence, in 2002 while participating in workshops throughout France.
The 19th annual Concord Chamber Orchestra Concerto Competition was open to string, brass, woodwind and percussion players ages 25 and younger. Held in Glendale, Wis., the competition accepted 16 contestants, including Goker. She won with Aram Khachaturian’s “Violin Concerto,” which she will be performing with the Concord Chamber Orchestra on March 9 and 12.
The Lakeshore Young Artist competition, held on the UW-Manitowoc campus, attracted undergraduate students from Lawrence University, St. Norbert, UW-Whitewater, and UW-Stevens Point. The competition also had a high school division, and was open to woodwind and brass wind ensemble instrumentalists, as well as pianists and mallet percussionists.
The Lakeshore Wind Ensemble was founded in 1983 by Professor Michael Arendt, and enjoyed much success, performing in 1990 at the convention of the Wisconsin chapter of the National Band Association. The history of the competition includes a familiar face. Sara Kind, a senior saxophone performance major here at Lawrence, won the competition in the 2000-2001 school year as a senior at West Oshkosh High School.
Tristan Eggener, a senior at Lawrence, won the competition with Ralph Vaughn Williams’ “Concerto for Bass Tuba.” According to Eggener, it was originally intended to be a piece for harmonica, but then was changed to be a tuba piece. It is one of the few solo pieces written for tuba and a large ensemble. Eggener will perform the concerto with the Lakeshore Wind Ensemble on Saturday March 12 in Manitowoc.
LU students win concerto competitions -rws ptg -jcr -dlh
