Ouachita Stories

Ouachita Baptist University’s School of Fine Arts will host the 34^th annual Virginia Queen Piano Competition Friday, May 6, at 3 p.m. Sixteen Ouachita students will compete.

“The competition is a great way to focus your skills as both a musician and a performer,” said Natalie Carroll, a senior choral music education major from Harare, Zimbabwe. Carroll will perform “Polonaise in C-sharp minor, Op. 26, No. 1” by Frederic Chopin 
and “Ostinato from Mikrokosmos Vol. 6, No. 146” by Bela Bartok as part of the competition.

“Taking part in this competition is a way for me to share my love of music,” Carroll noted. “I hope people can come out to enjoy this from myself, and the other performers. … No matter what setting you're in, it is always a good feeling to see people out in the crowd to support you; it adds to the atmosphere of the performance.”

Ruthie Stoner, a junior music performance major from McKinney, Texas, will be competing with the first movement of “Sonata in C Major” by Mozart and Bach's “2 Part Invention Number 1.”

“There will be a lot of fantastic performances,” Stoner added, “and this is the last chance to see a performance this semester.”

In addition to Carroll and Stoner, Ouachita students who will be competing include: T.J. Bailey, a freshman church music major from Fort Smith, Ark.; Stephanie Bayne, a freshman choral music education major from Hallsville, Texas; Rusty Butler, a freshman church music major from Little Rock, Ark.; Jenna Cummings, a junior church music major from Jacksonville, Ark.; Samantha Cummins, a sophomore psychology major from Rogers, Ark.; Jordan Denniston, a freshman music major from Plano, Texas; Kiley Gamble, a sophomore communication sciences/disorders major from McKinney, Texas; Christopher Mazen, a sophomore church music major from Shreveport, La.; Jon Sanders, a junior music/theory/composition major from Hot Springs, Ark.; J. K. Slyby, a junior music, computer science and software engineering major from Hot Springs, Ark.; Oliver Thomas, a senior music major from Searcy, Ark.; Emily Tucker, a sophomore piano performance major from Hot Springs, Ark.; Julie Tucker, a senior music major from Hot Springs, Ark.; and Christina Wood, a junior piano performance and music/theory/composition major from Longview, Texas.

The competition is named in honor of former Ouachita piano professor Virginia Queen, who taught at the university for more than 40 years. Queen established the competition and an endowment to fund it in 1977 to motivate Ouachita piano students to excel in their field. Queen, who now lives in Little Rock, continues to contribute to the fund, as do many of her friends and former students.

For more information, contact the School of Fine Arts at (870) 245-5129.

By Glenn Bolton