Latin music competition finals announce winner

As the full, luscious melodies of the violin, guitar, cello and piano echoed through Auer Hall, the audience enjoyed the talent and skill of the finalists in the 13th Annual Competition in the Performance of Music from Spain and Latin America.

The final rounds of the competition were held at 4 p.m. Sunday and welcomed an audience full of faculty members, students and fans of Latin-American music.

The event featured two categories of competition. The special focus category featured a specific instrument, the violin, while the open interpretation category featured a more varied repertoire of guitar, cello and piano.

Matvey Lapin, a student in the Jacobs School of Music, was the only competitor in the special focus category for the semifinal and final rounds this year.

Lapin said part of being in any  competition is learning about new music and understanding it.

“On one hand, you have to immerse yourself in this music,” he said. “On the other hand, you have to play at the highest quality.”

Lapin took second prize in the special focus category and was awarded $500. No first prize was given in this category.

With the first prize money left, however, an honorable mention prize of $200 was awarded to cellist Francisco Villa for what the jury called research and creativity in his selection of pieces.

In the open interpretation category, three prizes were given. Two second place prizes of $800 were awarded to the two guitarists in the competition, Jonathan Godfrey and Erol Ozsever.

First prize was given to pianist Matthew Cataldi, who received $1,200 and will record a documentary CD.

Cataldi, a graduate student in the Jacobs School, said he was happy to be part of a competition that featured great, although less widely-known, music.

“When you have the opportunity to explore this corner of the repertoire, I think it’s a wonderful thing,” he said. “It’s great that the competition has been providing this opportunity.”

Cataldi received cheers from the audience after he played “Rudepoema” by Heitor Villa-Lobos without using sheet music. He said he spent two months of the fall semester perfecting the 41-page piece.

“It’s like a workout regimen,” he said. “If you take it easy for a day, you end up losing time. Consistency is very important.”

Espen Jensen, a competition juror, said the audience reaction to Cataldi’s piece contributed to their decision. He also said compared to other years, this year’s competition had a more diverse repertoire.

“We had more variety of instruments,” he said. “The variety was excellent, and the level of talent was excellent.”

The talent level impressed the audience as well. Matthew Bilik, a freshman in the Jacobs School, said he attended because he has a strong passion for Latin-American music and culture.

“The main reason I came today was because I just want to hear good music,” he said.