Miscellanea - Rubrica d'attualita`

April 24, 2006 - Out of the 9 finalists (7 really, as two of them were 27 and 28 years old, respectively, hardly suited for youth competition as probably determined by the judges as well) 3 stood out as winners and they are Katy Doyle who competed in Piano Level 1, celloist Monica Godbee for the Strings Section and Robin Jenkins for Piano Level 2. Monica Godbee was also awarded the Best Overall Performance. While all performers were excellent the event as a whole appeared a notch below that of previous years with fewer contenders, especially in the Strings section, and a greatly diminished audience in spite of the free admission intended perhaps to overcome apathy by the community.

Eliminating the afterward refreshment session may have contributed to the poor attendance, maligned a long time goer of the event, although not necessarily for the absence of food but for the opportunity to rub elbow with and to talk to the young performers and to their parents (as in "How did you get her/him to practice..."). The less than enthusiastic support by I-A community is summarized by another goer with "What's Italian about it?" and forgetting for a moment the generous offering of the venue by Father Vince Bommarito, the ongoing involvement by FIAO and the untiring work of several of our community leaders, none of the contestants ever were Italian or of Italian descent and performing work of Italian masters is not sufficient reason to make it an “Italian” event (what else would they play?). Not to mention that half of the work this year was not even by Italian composers.

In spite of all criticism, legitimate or not, I cannot think of a better way to spend two hours on a Sunday afternoon. The performers were exceptional and well deserving of a venue to exhibit their hard work and the opportunity to be recognized and to earn a few extra dollars (the winners get $500 each, double that for the Best Overall Performer, all others get $100).

Thanks again to benefactor Phyllis Tirmenstein who makes this competition possible and a tip of the hat to judges Ivy Allen, Conductor of the Florissant Valley Symphony Orchestra and President of the Gateway Festival Orchestra and William Schatzkamer, Professor Emeritus of the Washington University Department of Music. By the way, if they need help my granddaughter Sonia, 7 1/2, picked all three winners herself. If I could just convince her to take up piano….

Franco Giannotti, ItalySTL.com