Posted by Sean Flynt on 2010-01-13

Ninety-seven students from Alabama, Florida, Georgia, Kentucky, North Carolina, South Carolina, Mississippi, Tennessee and Virginia will perform in competition during the event. They are advancing from state competitions, and the winners of the regional competitions at Samford will advance to the national level.

Event participants will compete at Junior (11-14,) Senior (15-18) and Young Artist (19-26) age levels.  Performance categories will include Piano, Piano Duet, Strings, Brass, Woodwinds, Voice and Chamber Music. 

"The junior students play 20 minute programs, the seniors play 30 minute programs, and the young artists play 40 minutes programs.  So, an extremely high level of musicianship is required for this," said event organizer and Samford Division of Music professor Kathryn Fouse. "Since each student must have been named a state winner in order to have won the 'right' to be here, this means that some of the most outstanding talent in the South will be present here this weekend."

The competitions will begin Friday morning and conclude on Monday.

 
Samford is a leading Christian university offering undergraduate programs grounded in the liberal arts with an array of nationally recognized graduate and professional schools. Founded in 1841, Samford is the 87th-oldest institution of higher learning in the United States. Samford enrolls 6,101 students from 45 states, Puerto Rico and 16 countries in its 10 academic schools: arts, arts and sciences, business, divinity, education, health professions, law, nursing, pharmacy and public health. Samford fields 17 athletic teams that compete in the tradition-rich Southern Conference and ranks 6th nationally for its Graduation Success Rate among all NCAA Division I schools.