Freshman clarinetist wins division MTNA competition
calendar icon18 Jan 2013
Hattie Bestul, a University of Nebraska–Lincoln freshman Bachelor of Music major from Middleton, Wis., is the Division Winner in the Music Teachers National Association (MTNA) Senior Performance Competition (Woodwinds) in Lawrence, Ks.. She will travel to Anaheim, Calif., in March to compete as a National Finalist in the MTNA Senior Performance Competition (Woodwinds).
The MTNA Senior Performance Competition will take place on Saturday, March 10 during the MTNA National Conference at the Paradise Pier Hotel on the Disneyland Resort. The national winner of this competition receives a cash prize and will perform in a Winners Concert during the conference. Bestul will be competing against six other division level winners for this performance competition.
“Hattie is a marvelous student and valued member of our School of Music and its clarinet studio,” said Hixson-Lied Professor of Clarinet Diane Barger. “She is a one of those people who has a natural gift for music and who continually aspires to reach a higher level of artistry in her clarinet playing. In addition to her being such a wonderful, hard-working and talented student, Hattie is simply a delightful young lady with an effervescent personality.”
During high school, Bestul participated in the Winds of Wisconsin, Wisconsin Youth Symphony Orchestra (WYSO) and the Wisconsin State Honors Project ensembles. In the spring of 2012, she won the WYSO Concero Competition. She currently serves as principal clarinetist in the UNL Wind Ensemble.
“The MTNA competition has been a great opportunity and challenge for me as a musician,” Bestul said. “I’m very thankful for Dr. Barger’s guidance in choosing and helping me to prepare repertoire that I really enjoy.”
Her repertoire for the competition includes all movements of the Saint-Saens Clarinet Sonata in E flat major, Op. 167; Fantaisie Italliene for Clarinet by Eugene Bozza; and movement one of Clarinet Concerto No. 2 in F minor, Op. 5 by Bernhard Crusell.
Bestul won the state MTNA competition in October.
“Winning these first two rounds of competition (State and Division) is such an accomplishment for a freshman, and it has provided Hattie with valuable musical experience that she will carry with her throughout her career and as she prepares for the national level of competition,” Barger said.
MTNA is a nonprofit organization comprised of 22,000 independent and collegiate music teachers committed to advancing the value of music study and music making to society and to supporting the professionalism of music teachers. Founded in 1876, MTNA is the oldest professional music association in the U.S.