Carrie Brown wins state piano competition
February 20, 2009 - Genevieve Horton
Carrie Brown, a junior piano performance major at Ouachita Baptist University, was
named the Arkansas State winner in the Piano Category of the National Federation of
Music Clubs Biennial Student/Collegiate Auditions, held Feb. 7 at Henderson State
University.
Brown, from Knoxville, Ark., will receive a $200 prize and was invited to perform
at the Arkansas Federation of Music Clubs state convention in Jonesboro, Ark., in
April.
“I was really nervous before they announced the winner,” Brown said. “I wasn't sure
if I was going to be named a winner or not, but when they called my name I was really
excited.”
A full recital of music including compositions from the baroque, classical and romantic
periods, an etude and a significant American composition was required of all entrants
in the piano category.
“It takes dedication and a strong desire to perform in public,” said Dr. Ouida Keck,
OBU professor of music and Brown’s piano teacher. “Carrie’s program was about 30 minutes
long. She will be performing the same program at her junior recital on Feb. 27 at
11 a.m. in McBeth Recital Hall.”
“I started taking piano lessons from my mom when I was four and a half years old,”
Brown said. Her mother was a music education major at OBU and also took lessons from
Dr. Keck.
Dr. Keck “doesn't let me settle for mediocrity—she pushes me to do what she knows
I'm capable of, and when I start slacking off she tells me about it,” Brown said.
“She's a really good pianist and performer, and it inspires me to be really good.”
Dr. Keck won this same competition on the state and divisional levels when she was
a student at OBU. “Carrie is a very talented pianist with a great deal of musicality,”
Keck said. “She is an excellent sight-reader and does a lot of accompanying. I expect
Carrie to make many contributions in music, possibly as a church musician and strong
piano teacher.”
Brown, who is currently the accompanist for the Ouachita Singers, also is a vocalist
and a cellist.
For the next step of the competition, Brown will record a CD that will be judged at
the divisional and national levels.
by Genevieve Horton
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