Left to right, Andrew Giordano, Daniel Nester, Joshua Ulrich, Sharon Park, Paul Kroeger, Zachary Reaves and Andrew Krimm in Macky Auditorium. (Not pictured: Rebecca Robinson.) Photo by Patrick Campbell/University of Colorado.
The Bruce Ekstrand Memorial Graduate Student Performance Competition was started in 1987 by the late CU-Boulder administrator and psychology professor, who died in 1996. The competition is open to any graduate student at the college. The only requirement is that they perform a maximum of 15 minutes of music, says organizer听Margaret McDonald, assistant professor of collaborative piano.
Quartet members Andrew Giordano, Andrew Krimm, Zachary Reaves and Joshua Ulrich joined Park, bassoonist Daniel Nester, tenor Paul Kroeger and mezzo-soprano听听were named finalists after two rounds of competition among 40 contestants. The quartet won the $2,000 overall prize, Park received $500 for the audience prize and all finalists received $500 prizes, to be used professional development, to help with costs for such things as performance, outreach or recording.听
鈥淓very audition season, singers spend thousands of their own dollars on expenses, including 鈥� travel, application fees and promotional materials.听It's a wonder we're ever able to afford it,鈥� Robinson says. 鈥淚t鈥檚 truly awards like the Ekstrand grant that enable us to pursue our goals.鈥澨�
鈥淲e鈥檝e really enjoyed participating in the Ekstrand competition at CU,鈥� says Reaves, founding cellist of the Altius Quartet. 鈥淲e look forward to the positive influence this is going to have on our future.鈥�
2014 Ekstrand Competition finalists
Mentored by the world-renowned Tak谩cs Quartet at CU-Boulder, the听听has played concerts around the United States and is the resident quartet of the Western Slope Concert Series in Colorado. Among its awards are a silver medal at the 2014 Fischoff National Chamber Music Competition and a gold medal at the 2013 Plowman Chamber Music Competition.听
Andrew Giordano听grew up in Williamsport, Pennsylvania, where he began playing the violin at age 5 and joined the Williamsport Symphony at 15. He has performed at the Aspen Music Festival and with the National Repertoire Orchestra.
Andrew Krimm听earned a BM in viola performance from CU-Boulder. He grew up in Dallas, where Downbeat Magazine recognized his exceptional performances in chamber music. He 听 听 听 听 听 performs on a 1940 Fredrick Haenel viola and studies with Erika Eckert, Geraldine Walther and Ellen Rose.
Zachary Reaves听is the founding cellist of the Altius Quartet. He earned a BM in cello performance from Southern Methodist University鈥檚 Meadows School of the Arts, where he studied 听 听 听 听 听 with Andres Diaz and Christopher Adkins.
Joshua Ulrich听has performed internationally and collaborated with James Tocco, Awadagin Pratt, Sandra Rivers and others. He has been awarded fellowships from the Aspen Music 听 听 听 听 听 听 Festival and Bowdoin International Music Festival and was a Shouse Artist at the Great Lakes Chamber Music Festival. He is a regular substitute with the Columbus Symphony Orchestra 听 听 听 and concertmaster of the Richmond (Indiana) Symphony Orchestra.
Paul Kroeger听graduated summa cum laude from Southern Methodist University in 2013. While at SMU, he performed in听Albert Herring, Le Nozze de Figaro听and听Orpheus in the Underworld. At CU-Boulder he has performed with the CU New Opera Workshop and in听The Pirates of Penzance.听
Daniel Nester听was principal bassoonist for the Israel Chamber Orchestra, performing as a soloist, recording CDs and touring Europe and South America. He received a BM from the Buchmann-Mehta School of Music in Tel Aviv and an MM from the University of Southern California, where he received first prize in the USC Concerto Competition. He is the recipient of the America-Israel Cultural Foundation scholarship.听
Violinist听Sharon Park听has performed extensively throughout the U.S. as a soloist, orchestral and chamber musician in such venues as Carnegie Hall and Jordan Hall. She received top prizes at the Stradivarius International Violin Competition, ARTS Award by the National Foundation for Advancement in the Arts and the Bronislaw Kaper Awards. She earned an MM from The Juilliard School and BM from the New England Conservatory and is a founding member of the Azur String Quartet. At CU-Boulder she studies with Lina Bahn, Edward Dusinberre and Charles Wetherbee. 听
Mezzo-soprano听听will appear as Dorabella in CU Opera鈥檚 production of Mozart鈥檚听听and Ottone in Monteverdi鈥檚听. She did her undergraduate study at DePaul University and is a graduate of McGill University, where her roles included Romeo in听I Capuleti e i Montecchi, Hermia in听A Midsummer Night鈥檚 Dream听and Sesto in听Giulio Cesare. She was a young artist with the Crested Butte Music Festival (2014) and Central City Opera (2102).
