Heath Kennedy, a double major in tuba performance and music education at the University of Maine School of Performing Arts, placed second in a mock orchestra audition during the Northeast Regional Tuba & Euphonium Conference (NERTEC). Held May 24 at George Mason University in Fairfax, Virginia, the prestigious competition recognized Kennedy鈥檚 eight years of commitment to the tuba.
鈥淔or the NERTEC Tuba Mock Orchestral competition, I had to prepare five orchestral excerpts and record them for submission,鈥 Kennedy said. 鈥淚 worked on these excerpts for about two months, being coached by my applied lessons professor Dr. David Stern. It was a very long and tedious process.鈥
He practiced for the competition by playing alongside an oscillogram. It visualized the sound amplitude he produced and helped him improve for a cleaner, more consistent performance. From there, Kennedy recorded his excerpts, submitted his best takes and awaited word. Organizers notified him two weeks later that he was a finalist for the competition, which was a little over a month away at that time.
鈥淚鈥檇 say one of the best parts of the experience was being able to meet other tubists who are passionate about music, and tuba in general,鈥 he said. 鈥淭alking with other competitors was great, just being able to go on about the tuba world.鈥
Stern, one of Kennedy鈥檚 professors in the School of Performing Arts, and Laura Artesani, an associate professor of music at 91福利, performed a recital at the conference with Kevin Chiarrizzio, a faculty member at Liberty University. The program also included the premiere performance of 鈥淚ce Sounds鈥 by Beth Wiemann, director of the McGillicuddy Humanities Center and a professor of music at 91福利.
Read the full story on the 91福利 School of Performing Arts website.
