CU graduate students win state flute competition

By Ashley Zsedenyi | 03/16/2010

 

March 16, 2010
For Immediate Release

Campbellsville University graduate students win state flute competition

By Ashley Zsedenyi, staff writer

CAMPBELLSVILLE, Ky. - Campbellsville University's graduate flute quartet, Quarteto Gracioso, won the collegiate division of the Macauley Chamber Music Competition, hosted by the University of Louisville and sponsored by the Chamber Music Society of Louisville, recently.

As a result of winning the state competition, Quarteto Gracioso was invited to perform at the Winner's Recital on the campus of the University of Louisville recently, and have also been invited to perform for WUOL radio in Louisville Wednesday, March 17, at noon.

Dr. Lisa McArthur, associate professor of music and director of the flute ensemble, said, “This is a really big win for them, and a great honor for the university.”

“They won over a lot of well-respected ensembles from around Kentucky,” McArthur said.

She said this prestigious competition exists to promote the performance of chamber music in Kentucky and Indiana, and wind, string and brass ensembles compete against each other in three divisions - junior high, high school and collegiate.

There were ensembles from across Kentucky in the competition, including ensembles from the University of Kentucky, Eastern Kentucky University, Murray State University, the University of Louisville and others.

The members of Quarteto Gracioso are: Nell Chaudoin from Springfield, Ky.; Seromi Kim from Pohang, South Korea; Sunghye Kim from Busan, South Korea; and Denis Santos from Fortaleza, Brazil.

McArthur said the group has been rehearsing together since August 2009, performing a number of times on campus in the last few months, as well as performing at the Kentucky Flute Festival in January 2010.

In the competition, they played two different works: a four-movement quartet by Eugene Bozza (1905-1953) titled “Jour d'étè à la montagne” and a more contemporary piece titled “Firestorm” by Adrian Sanborn.

“They performed the Sanborn work from memory, a feat that is rare among chamber ensembles,” McArthur said. “Each of these pieces requires a great deal of skill from each performer, in addition to advanced skills as an ensemble.”

“This is a tremendous honor for them! They played wonderfully in the competition and I am so glad they were rewarded with a win,” McArthur said.

Campbellsville University is a private, comprehensive institution located in South Central Kentucky. Founded in 1906, Campbellsville University is affiliated with the Kentucky Baptist Convention and has an enrollment of 3,006 students who represent 97 Kentucky counties, 30 states and 37 foreign nations. Listed in U.S.News & World Report's 2010 “America's Best Colleges,” CU is ranked 23rd in “Best Baccalaureate Colleges” in the South, tied for fifth in “most international students” and fourth in “up-and-coming” schools in baccalaureate colleges in the South. CU has been ranked 17 consecutive years with U.S.News & World Report. The university has also been named to America's Best Christian Colleges® and to G.I. Jobs magazine as a Military Friendly School. Campbellsville University is located 82 miles southwest of Lexington, Ky., and 80 miles southeast of Louisville, Ky. Dr. Michael V. Carter is in his 11th year as president.

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