Alaska News

Music contest winners are announced

The 19th Annual Winners Recital by singers receiving scholarships from the Anchorage Concert Chorus took place Saturday night at the UAA Arts Building Recital Hall. The winners were:

Zachary Milliman, 1st place, College Division ($750); Amy Horstman, 2nd place, College Division ($500); Dean Shannon, 3rd place, College Division ($300). Both big-voiced Horstman and Shannon, who seemed to be fighting a cold, hail from the University of Alaska Fairbanks' music department, and Shannon is previously from Healy. Those two singers also won awards in the National Association of Teachers of Singing Alaska competition.

Robin Bonneau Yokel -- another Fairbanksan -- 1st place High School Division ($750); Caroline Dellinger of North Pole, 2nd place High School Division ($500); Maris O'Tierney, 3rd place, High School Division ($300).

The winners of other state music competitions also shared the stage Saturday night. They were listed in last week's Art Beat and may be viewed at adn.com/artsnob.

Highlights for me included Wesley Voley of Kenny Lake, winner of the Music Teachers National Association Junior Piano division. He was nothing less than astonishing in his performance of Prokofiev's "Diabolic Suggestion No. 4" -- which is more like a manifesto than a suggestion. And Ga-In Choi, first place pianist in the MTNA Young Artist division, presented Beethoven's fascinating 32 Variations in C Minor with utter confidence.

It continues to baffle me that more music lovers don't attend these recitals by local champions.

Do you know how rare it is to hear Beethoven's 32 Variations performed live? For free? As well as Choi played them? Missing these occasions is sort of like taking a ride down Turnagain Arm on a beautiful day with your eyes shut.

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Show your talent

You don't need to hammer out Prokofiev and Beethoven to have "a gift." Polish up your best act and show it off to some experts when an enterprise called TalentGPS hosts a free talent competition from 6 to 9 p.m. on June 6 at the Dimond Center.

Los Angeles models agent Dana Kazantano, Kathleen Erangey, a casting agent for MTV and other shows, and local organizer Lisa Owens will give you 60 seconds to sing, dance, walk the runway or complete a monologue.

Prizes will include cash and free head shots. In addition, they'll be holding auditions for a pilot film to be shot here in Anchorage.

Look for them in the end of the mall by O'Brady's Burgers and Brew. TalentGPS produces the "Alaska Gets Discovered" talent searches, the next one of which will be in September. For more information, call 903-1299 or e-mail info@talentgps.com.

EFF XXVII entries due

Earth Fire and Fibre, the biennial statewide craft exhibition organized by the Anchorage Museum, attracts hundreds of entries from around the state by Alaska artists who work in clay, fiber, wood, bone, stone, glass and metal media.

Preliminary judging will be conducted by digital image and the deadline for submissions is June 12. Prospectuses are downloadable at www.anchoragemuseum.org (follow link from home page) or by calling director of exhibitions Dave Nicholls at 929-9249. (The museum and staff have new phone numbers. See today's main Arts story.)

After judging, the winners will go on view at the museum from Sept. 4 through Jan. 3, 2010.

Find Mike Dunham online at adn.com/contact/mdunham or call 257-4332.

By MIKE DUNHAM

mdunham@adn.com

Mike Dunham

Mike Dunham has been a reporter and editor at the ADN since 1994, mainly writing about culture, arts and Alaska history. He worked in radio for 20 years before switching to print.

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