On Friday the 20th, I went down to Carnegie Mellon University with Ji and Hyun Joo to compete in the Pittsburgh Concert Society Major Artists Competition. Our brief pre-performance run-through was encouraging; we knew our repertoire so well we can immediately solve any problem that arises.
Going into Kresge Hall to meet our juror - conductor Harvey Felder from UConn - I felt surprisingly calm. Not even the usual concert nerves. Spending so much time in stuffy practice rooms makes you appreciate the acoustics of such a nice performance space.
We got to pick our first piece, so we chose Jun Nagao's Paganini Lost, the piece that got our group together in the first place. It shows off technical virtuosity, lyrical sensitivity, and rhythmic integrity while running the gamut in volume and style.
Mr. Felder was instructed to cut us off after twenty minutes, but he chose to listen to our entire half-hour program. As we thanked him upon leaving the hall, there was a huge smile on our adjudicator's face.
A competition administrator told us they would call the winners the following evening. We knew we'd get that call. We'd never felt so good about a performance.
Not only did we get that call and a November 4th recital at Kresge, we got an invitation to play on another concert series in Johnstown, PA on October 20th.
It seems Besozzi is already starting to take off! Last weekend bodes well for our recital at Duquesne this Sunday and for the Fischoff in May. I'm blessed to be part of such a wonderful group.