2003-2004 MTNA National Student Competitions winners

American Music Teacher, June-July, 2004

Student Composition Competitions

Sponsored by Warner Bros. Publications, Inc. Elementary Composition

Zachary Garcia, of Ada, Oklahoma, is in the fourth grade. He studies piano with W.T. Skye Garcia. Zachary previously has won three state and two regional composer competitions and earned second place in a national competition. He has achieved six consecutive superior ratings for solo piano in the NFMC festivals, placing first in his division in 2003. Zachary also enjoys drama, sports and reading.

Second Place: Margareta Curuci, Southern Division (North Carolina); Juliusz Bujalski, teacher

Third Place: Maurissa Jane Weight, Southwest Division (Utah); Laurisa Ward Cope, teacher

Junior Composition

Gabrielle Haigh, age 11, began piano, theory and composition lessons in 1997 with Mary Ann Griebling and added cello in 2001. For five years she has received awards in MTNA, NFMC and NGPT composition contests, including first prize in the 2003 MTNA elementary division. Since 2001, she has sung with the Cleveland orchestra Children's Chorus and in three operettas at Laurel School of Theater. A seventh-grade member of the swim team at Laurel, Gabrielle enjoys studying Latin and algebra, as well as reading, drawing and acting.

Second Place: Natasha Kirin Sinha, Eastern Division (Massachusetts); Alia Elana Cohen, teacher

Third Place: David Kolar, West Central Division (South Dakota); Paul Kolar, teacher

Senior Composition

Calvin Chang is an engineering major at UCLA. He studies with Carlton Liu. Calvin began studying keyboard at age 8 with Yamaha Music. He later began taking private lessons for piano and composition. Calvin hopes to continue studying music as a minor, or maybe as a second major.

Second Place: Krystal Barghelame, Northwest Division (Washington); Sharon Van Valin, teacher

Third Place: Sam Peters, Eastern Division (Delaware); David Brown, teacher

Young Artist Composition

Carlo Vincetti Frizzo holds a B. A. degree in keyboard studies from Murray State University and studied piano with Stephen Brown. He is pursuing a master of music composition degree at Louisiana State University, where he studies composition with Dinos Constantinides. Carlo won second place in the collegiate level of the 2003 MTNA National Student Composition Competition, and his work Sfogato for Solo Flute was recorded on Magni Publications with flutist Iwona Glinka.

Second Place: Robert Ash, East Central Division (Michigan); David Gillingham, teacher

Third Place: Seth Custer, West Central Division (North Dakota); Elizabeth Rheude, teacher

MTNA Junior Performance Competitions

MTNA Junior Brass Competition Sponsored by the MTNA FOUNDATION FUND

Drew Prichard, of Hendersonville, North Carolina, is in the ninth grade at Hendersonville High School. He studies tuba with John Sizemore. Drew is active in the Hendersonville High School Marching Band and the Ashville Community Band. In 2003, Drew received the Band Masters Award at Rugby Middle School. He has been named to the All-District Band several times, and in 2003, he was named to the North Carolina Honors Band.

Second Place: Steven Sharp, West Central Division (Missouri); Malcom McDuffy, teacher

Third Place: Meghan Wiley, Northwest Division (Montana); Gary Tangen, teacher

MTNA Junior Percussion Competition Sponsored by the MTNA FOUNDATION FUND

Kelsey Tamayo, of Radcliff, Kentucky, is a freshman at John Hardin High School in Elizabethtown, Kentucky. Kelsey, a student of B.J. Morton, participates in student council, KYA, BETA Club and the JHHS Marching Band. She also is a member of the Louisville Youth orchestra, and serves as a musical ambassador to local hospitals, nursing homes and schools. Kelsey recently performed on xylophone with the Bowling Green Chamber orchestra and has won regional and national awards for her musical compositions, piano and percussion.

Second Place: Elizabeth Hoover, West Central Division (Iowa); Barry Larkin, teacher

Third Place: Kelly Breese, Southern Division (Florida); Beth Gottlieb, teacher

MTNA Junior Piano Competition Sponsored by Baldwin Piano, Inc.

Grace Ma, of Phoenix, Arizona, is a sixth-grade student at Altadena Middle School. She studies piano with Fei Xu. Grace received the Winners' Showcase Award of the 2003 Arizona Young Artist Piano Competition and was a scholarship recipient to International Institute for Young Musicians summer camp. in 2002, she received the outstanding Festival Performance Award of the same competition. Grace also received the Medalist with Distinction Award of the 2003 ASMTA Piano Competition.

Second Place: Monica We, Southern Division (Virginia); Nancy Breth, teacher

Third Place: Lauren Johnson, Northwest Division (Washington); Peter Mark, teacher

MTNA Junior String Competition Sponsored by Yamaha Corporation of America--Orchestral Strings Department

Benjamin Bellman, age 14, of Ann Arbor, Michigan, is an eighth-grade student at Tappan Middle School. Benjamin began his violin studies at age 5 and is a student of Almita and Roland Vamos. His musical accomplishments include first prize in the 2004 Walgreens Concerto Competition and top awards in the Society of American Musicians' competitions. Benjamin also has appeared on NPR's From the Top program and in recital at the Skokie Library's Young Steinway concert series.