11 Jacobs’ students advance in contest

Eleven Jacobs School of Music students are semi-finalists in the Latin American Music Center’s annual competition, Performance of Music from Spain and Latin America.

The semifinal competition begins at 10 a.m. Saturday, but is not open to the public. The final competition, however, is free and open, taking place 6 p.m. Sunday in the Merrill Hall Recital Hall.

The music school and the center are working in collaboration with the Office of Education of the Embassy of Spain.

Veronique Mathieu, a doctoral student in violin performance, will participate with her trio, which includes André Micheletti, doctoral student in cello performance, and Jasmin Arakawa, doctoral student in piano performance.

“It seemed like a great opportunity for us to work toward a public performance and to learn new repertoire,” Mathieu said.

In the competition’s 12th year, three different categories are featured with cash prizes offered. There is an open interpretation category with the first prize totaling $1,200, a special focus category with a first prize of $1,500, and best performance of a solo piano work by a Brazilian composer worth a first prize of $500.

Students who make it into the final round and win their category not only win the prize money but also get to experience something most musicians do not.

“After the competition is over the winners make a CD and have the opportunity to travel all over the U.S. playing their music,” said Luiz Lopes, the center’s research coordinator and the competition’s stand-in moderator.

The trio features Mathieu on violin, Micheletti on cello and Arakawa on piano. Since Arakawa is a previous winner, she cannot win the prize, but she can help her fellow players. They will compete in the special focus category.

“If we win this competition, we will use the money to buy scores and to participate in chamber music residencies in order to prepare for future performances,” Mathieu said.

I-Jeng Yeh, a doctoral student in flute performance, and senior pianist Evan Mitchell will compete against each other in the open interpretation category.

“I really enjoyed the preparation for this competition, which is quite different from other flute competitions in terms of the style of the pieces and the different perspectives of the musical and technical virtuosity,” Yeh said.

Mitchell said he spent a good deal of time last semester looking through scores and listening to recordings in the music library before finally settling on which pieces he wanted to play.

For performers to stand out, they need not only to show their musical ability, but they also must tap into the mental thought that a piece can hold, Lopes said.

“Every year the judges are selected from IU School of Music faculty members,” Lopes said. “The judges evaluate how creative the performers are, the quality of their work as well as the ability to showcase their research in the pieces they chose.”

With the competition focusing on a certain style of music, Mitchell said the competition introduces many classical musicians and classical music fans to works by composers they might never have heard or whose works aren’t frequently performed.

According to its Web site, the center has one of the most comprehensive university-based archives of Latin American music in the world.

“I think it is important to propagate the worldwide music throughout the campus,” Yeh said. “Music from different parts of the world has its own characteristics. It’s important not only for musicians but for everyone to experience the diversity of the music from the world.”