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Woodwind-piano duo competition winners to perform March 25

March 23, 2012 By Richard Mumford

The School of Music’s annual woodwind-piano duo competition was held last Sunday and the judges named two winning duos and a third with honorable mention. 

The winning duos, who will appear in concert on Sunday, March 25 at 3:30 p.m. in Morphy Hall, are flutist Mi-Li Chang with pianist Kirstin Ihde and clarinetist Laura McLaughlin with pianist Julie Page.

Honorable mention was given to bassoonist Sergio Acosta with pianist Hazim Suhadi. 

All six winners will receive a cash prize,courtesy of Chancellor Emeritus Irving Shain, the competition’s sponsor.  The competition judges were Caen Thomason-Redus, assistant professor of flute at UW-Milwaukee, and Karen Boe, lecturer in piano at UW-Whitewater.

Mi-Li Chang is a doctoral student in flute performance and holds the Paul Collins Wisconsin Distinguished Graduate Fellowship.  She studies with Stephanie Jutt. 

A native of Taiwan, Chang received the bachelor of music degree from National Taiwan Normal University and the master of music degree from Taipei National University of the Arts.  At both universities, she studied with Jinny Hwei-Jin Liu.  Prior to beginning doctoral studies, she performed widely with orchestras and other ensembles and has had extensive teaching experience.

Kirstin Ihde is a doctoral student in collaborative piano, studying with Martha Fischer.  A native of Iowa, she received the B.A. in piano performance from St. Ambrose University as a student of Joan Trapp and the M.M. in piano performance from the University of Northern Iowa, studying with Howard Aibel and Genadi Zagor. 

She is currently a class piano instructor at Edgewood College and previously taught class piano and accompanying at the University of Northern Iowa.  Ihde is researching the unpublished songs of John Duke in collaboration with soprano Karen Bishop, a project that involves recording a selection of songs and preparing an edition for publication.

Laura McLaughlin is a second-year doctoral student in clarinet performance and studies with Linda Bartley.  She, too, is a Paul Collins Fellow, one of the most prestigious honors bestowed on graduate students at the School of Music. 

She received her bachelor’s degree “summa cum laude” from Eastern Michigan University and her master’s degree from Michigan State University. In addition to Bartley, her primary teachers have been Elsa Ludewig-Verdehr and Kimberly Cole Luevano. 

Prior to coming to Madison to begin doctoral studies, McLaughlin was an active freelance musician in Austin, Texas, where she had a successful private clarinet studio, was a member of the University of Texas Chamber Winds and served on the faculty of the Longhorn Summer Music Camp.

Julie Page is a doctoral student in collaborative piano and studies with Martha Fischer.  A native of Oregon, she holds the B.A. in music from the University of Portland and the M.M. in piano performance and pedagogy from UW–Madison.  In January 2011, she became the newest member of the Ekaterinburg Classical Trio, also known as the “Kat Trio,” touring as artists-in-residence with Wisconsin Public Radio and the Chazen Museum of Art. 

Page served as adjunct instructor of class and private piano at Edgewood College from 2008-2011.  An active chamber musician, she has collaborated with both UW–Madison and Edgewood College students and faculty in a variety of performance settings.  Her doctoral project is entitled “Classical Music and 21st Century Audiences:  Engaging the Broader Public through Innovative and Interactive Performance.”

Chang and Ihde begin Sunday’s program with two sonatas:  “Sonata in F minor,” Op. 120, No. 1 by Brahms; and “Sonata for flute and piano” by Martin Amlin.  Following intermission, McLaughlin and Page perform two movements from “Little Suite of Four Dances for E-flat clarinet and piano” by William Bolcom; “Sonata” (“Undine”), Op. 167 by Carl Reinecke; and “Sonatina for clarinet and piano” by Joseph Horovitz.

Admission is free, and a reception will be held following the concert.