UpDate - Vol. 11, No. 26, Page 5
April 9, 1992
Top student soloists to perform at gala on Tuesday

     Music competitions expand my repertoire and help me set goals. I
realize that I will not win every competition I enter, but as long as
my understanding of the piano is furthered I will consider myself a
winner."
     Last month, Chuck Betters, a junior majoring in music, found that
the judges of the ninth University of Delaware Student Concerto
Competition also considered him a winner.
     Betters was one of six undergraduates selected as 1992 winners in
this annual competition, sponsored by the Department of Music. Other
winners are Lincoln Abbott, Andrea Arena, Steve Hambright, Cheryl
Hampson and Leah Hur.
     The six will appear as soloists in a gala winners' concert at 8
p.m., Tuesday, April 14, in Loudis Recital Hall of the Amy E. DuPont
Music Building.
     They will perform works by Handel, Gluck, Guilment, Creston,
Quantz and Rachmaninoff. The concert is free, with seating on a
first-come, first-seated basis and will be followed by a reception
honoring the winners.
     The competition, established in 1984, gives talented young
musicians the opportunity to perform as soloists with a symphony
orchestra.
     Each year, three regionally known artists are invited to campus
to serve as judges.
     This year's competition auditions, held on March 1, were judged
by Charles Holdemann, bassoonist with the Delaware Symphony; Douglas
McNames, cellist with the Brandywine Baroque; and vocal coach Lorraine
Fleming.
     According to Professor Michael Steinberg, who has directed the
competition for a number of years, "the annual Student Concerto
Competition has traditionally provided a most important focal point in
the school year's activity for our best students to be judged worthy
of a solo appearance with a fine professional orchestra."
     Whether they chose to major in music or concentrate in other
areas, competition winners tend to be committed young musicians, who
are not only talented but also dedicated to working at being the best.
     For some of the winners like Betters, who studies piano with
Steinberg, competitions are a way of life.
     The young man has entered many such events and won the 1991-92
Newark Symphony Concerto Competition.
     For Hambright, however, this year was his first entry into the
winners' circle.
     A marimba student of Harvey Price, Hambright has a double major
in music and electrical engineering, plus minors in jazz and computer
science.
     Headed toward graduate study in performance, he is aware that a
successful career in music is often difficult to achieve.  But, he
said, he wants "to give a musical career a fair try while I'm still
young and energetic enough to meet the great challenges involved in
reaching musical excellence and in marketing myself as a performer."
     Hampson, a senior music major who studies voice with Marie
Robinson, knew by the time she was 13 that she wanted to be a singer.
In addition to preparing for her performance in the Winners Concert,
she is also rehearsing her role in Gianni Schicchi, one of two operas
to be performed by the U.D. Opera Workshop on May 1 and 2.
     Abbott, a sophomore psychology major who studies trombone with D.
Jay Hildebrandt, is applying to the new University's Medical Scholars
Program affiliated with Jefferson Medical School. The goal of the
program is to provide future doctors with courses in philosophy and
the arts and humanities to expand their horizons beyond the usual
concentration on the sciences and clinical practice.
     "I'm an idealistic person," Abbott said, "and it seems to me a
doctor should be a complete individual. That's why the Medical
Scholars Program appeals to me."
     He has been playing trombone since seventh grade. "I play because
I love it and I plan to keep on playing until I keel over! I was
greatly inspired by the head of cancer research at the medical center
in my hometown of Bloomsburg. He is not only a talented physician but
also a great trumpet player in our local community orchestra. I figure
I will always be able to find some time for music in my life."
     Many of the winners play active roles in campus musical
ensembles. Hur, a junior who studies flute with Eileen Grycky, is an
English education major who has also made music a vital part of her
life. She holds the prestigious first flute chair in the University
Wind Ensemble.
     Mezzo soprano Arena, a student of Melanie DeMent, was recently on
tour in Czechoslovakia with the University of Delaware Chorale.
     This year there is insufficient funding for orchestral
accompaniment for the student soloists, and piano accompaniment will
be provided by Julie Nishimura, Linda Henderson and Steinberg.
     "We are hopeful that we can secure funding sources to restore the
orchestra next year," said music department Chairperson David Herman,
"but we are determined to provide a festive event for this year's
wonderfully talented winners. We hope the University community will
support these deserving students by coming out to hear and applaud
them on their big night. I know the audience will be rewarded by a
very special musical experience."
     -Elaine Brenchley