Music students take top honors in string competitions
Jan. 21, 2004
KALAMAZOO--Two string students from the School of Music at Western Michigan University took top honors in recent collegiate competitions in Michigan and Indiana.
Lukasz Pawlik, a sophomore cellist from Warsaw, Poland, took first place in the Michigan American String Teachers Biennial Solo Competition, held in November 2003 at Eastern Michigan University. His prize included $750 cash and a Coda Cello Bow donated by Shar Products of Ann Arbor, Mich. He won the honor in competition with the top collegiate string players from throughout the state. The national finals for the string teachers association competition will be held in Dallas in March.
Also in November, Mialtan Zhezha, a freshman violinist from Albania, won first prize at the Fort Wayne Philharmonic collegiate competition in Indiana. His prize includes a solo performance with the philharmonic during its next season.
Pawlik and Zhezha are students of professors of music Bruce Uchimura and Renata Artman Knific, respectively.
Media contact: Thom Myers, 269 387-8400, thom.myers@wmich.edu