The finals of the 2011 Arthur Poister Scholarship Competition were held April 9 at St. Paul’s Episcopal Cathedral in Syracuse, New York.
First place award went to Adam Pajan, a DMA student of John Schwandt at the University of Oklahoma. He will present a recital at Syracuse University, Crouse College, in the fall.
Second place went to Justin Murphy-Mancini, a student of Jack Mitchener at Oberlin Conservatory. He will present a recital at Hendricks Chapel, Syracuse University, in spring 2012.
Other contestants were Ben Blasingame, a student of David Higgs at Eastman School of Music; Christopher Ganza, a student of John Schwandt at the University of Oklahoma; Filippa Duke, a student of Michael Bauer at the University of Kansas; and Julie Huang, a student of John Schwandt.
Judges for the finals were Frederick Hohman, Michelle Rae Martin-Atwood, and Kola Owolabi. Judges for the recorded preliminaries were Bonnie Beth Derby, Allison Evans Henry, and Glenn Kime.
Pictured are: (front) Christopher Ganza, Julie Huang, Filippa Duke, Justin Murphy-Mancini;
(back) Ben Blasingame, Frederick Hohman, Michelle Rae Martin-Atwood, Kola Owolabi, and Adam Pajan