Pianists Sophia Zervas and Joseph Piontek will compete in the West Central Division of the Music Teachers National Association competition in January.
Two College of Music pianists will begin 2016 on stage with an elite group of competitors. Second year MM Joseph Piontek and first year BM Sophia Zervas are moving on after competing in the听Music Teachers National Association听(MTNA)听state competition听in Denver. 听
This isn鈥檛 the first time at MTNA for either student: Piontek, who won first place in the Young Artist Division, competed at the state level last year. 鈥淚t鈥檚 one of the biggest competitions in the country. Plus, the state round is close to Boulder so it's fun for us too,鈥� Piontek says of the state finals, which are held at the Lamont School of Music at the University of Denver. This is Piontek鈥檚 first time moving on to the regional competition.
Zervas was an alternate in the Colorado Senior Division last year, but in her last year of eligibility, she won the division in October. 鈥淚 felt settled in with my repertoire this time, and really enjoyed the experience,鈥� she says.
In contrast to some other competitions, MTNA places a relatively long听limit on performance time for each competitor. 鈥淵ou don鈥檛 get nervous because you don鈥檛 feel like the judges are going to cut you off,鈥� says Piontek. 鈥淚t鈥檚 almost like a mini-recital.鈥� Piontek performed pieces by Fr茅d茅ric Chopin, Aaron Copland and Claude Debussy; Zervas played Lowell Liebermann, Ludwig van Beethoven, Johannes Brahms and Johann Sebastian Bach.
With hundreds of composers and wind, string, voice and piano musicians competing every year, MTNA offers invaluable exposure and practice to young performers like Piontek and Zervas.听鈥淎fter a certain point you have to stop worrying about winning, and just treat it as a performance opportunity, and a chance to play in front of different people,鈥� says Piontek.
鈥淚鈥檓 a really competitive person, so I enjoy having a goal to work toward, but I also want to play well and have fun,鈥� Zervas says.
As an added bonus for Piontek, the West Central Division finals are in Wichita, Kansas, which is just a few hours from his hometown of Kansas City. 鈥淢y family is planning to come watch since they weren鈥檛 able to make it for the state round,鈥� he says. Zervas, whose family lives in Denver, says at least one of her parents will also make the trip to Wichita with her.
Regardless of what happens, Piontek and Zervas say they feel prepared for the competition, in large part because of the training of the keyboard faculty at the College of Music. 鈥淥ur professors are seasoned performers, so they鈥檝e given us a lot of advice about performing,鈥� says Piontek.听
鈥淚t helps to play in front of our studios so much, and have opportunities to get into pressure situations and improve our resiliency as performers. It鈥檚 a very encouraging environment,鈥� says Zervas. Piontek's primary instructor is听Professor Andrew Cooperstock; Zervas' is听Professor David Korevaar.
College of Music piano students have always had a strong showing at MTNA: Isaac Holbrook, Katie Mahan, Hyejim Kim, Grace Lee, Chris Jordan, Peter Mathys,听Andrew Ramos鈥攖o name just a few鈥攈ave won听the state level competition in the past. Alumnus Nathan Brandwein won the national grand prize in 2004.
The MTNA West Central Division competition is Jan. 8-10, 2016, at Wichita State University. Winners move on to the听National Finals听during the MTNA National Conference in April in San Antonio.
