On 26 January, Nathan Schaumann (a freshman in Dr. Scott Holden’s studio) won 1st prize in the Emory University Young Artist Competition. This national competition was open to any US resident between 13 and 18 years old, and drew in pre-college and early college applicants from across the country. In the final round (in which twelve selected finalists participated), Nathan presented the following works: Piano Sonata No. 1 by Carl Vine; Piano Sonata Op. 2, No. 3 by Beethoven; “Flight of the Bumblebee” by Nikolai Rimsky-Korsakov arr. Georges Cziffra; and Étude Op. 39, No. 8 by Rachmaninoff.
Nathan credited his success to an intentionally exaggerated performance. He commented, “Everyone participating was technically perfect... and I knew that I had to give even more, if I wanted to stand out.”
Nathan (who recently left on a mission to Armenia) also runs a highly successful YouTube channel. (Attached is a link to his page: https://www.youtube.com/user/BruneiBunch.)