Pracht, Claussen awarded Glenn Korff Distinguished Artist/Scholar Awards

Alyssa Pracht and Louis Claussen
Alyssa Pracht and Louis Claussen

Pracht, Claussen awarded Glenn Korff Distinguished Artist/Scholar Awards

calendar icon03 May 2018    

The Glenn Korff Distinguished Undergraduate and Graduate Artist/Scholar Awards were awarded as part of the Glenn Korff School of Music Honors Day Convocation in Westbrook Music Building on Thursday, April 26 on the University of Nebraska-Lincoln campus.

Intended to recognize and reward excellence in performance and/or scholarship in the Glenn Korff School of Music, the winners of these prestigious awards for 2018-19 are – Undergraduate: Alyssa Pracht; Graduate: Louis Claussen.

Alyssa Pracht is a junior oboe performance major at the University of Nebraska-Lincoln. A 2015 graduate of Waverly High School, she began playing oboe in fifth grade. In high school, she played principal oboe in the Nebraska All-State Band for three years, as well as the Honors Performance Series at Carnegie Hall in 2015. In January, Alyssa placed as alternate in the regional MTNA competition after winning the state round the previous October. She also received Honorable Mention in the UNL Concerto Competition in the fall. Last summer she participated in the Rocky Ridge Music Camp in Estes Park, Colorado. She currently substitutes with the Lincoln Symphony Orchestra, plays principal oboe in the UNL Symphony Orchestra, and is a member of UNL’s top student wind quintet. After graduation in May of 2019, Alyssa plans to attend graduate school to attain a Master’s degree in music performance and hopes to develop a career performing and teaching oboe to college students.

Louis Claussen is an active solo and collaborative pianist in Lincoln, Nebraska, originally from Springfield, Missouri. In addition to recent solo performances, he performed an all chamber music program in October 2017 with distinguished Glenn Korff School of Music graduate students. Claussen has worked on several nationally and internationally recognized musical theater projects, including a recent partnership with composer Chris Miller and lyricist Nathan Tysen to prepare a staged reading of their newest Broadway production. Claussen was enrolled in preschool music classes at age two before commencing formal piano instruction at age five under Marilyn Lowe, author of Music Moves for Piano. From a young age, Claussen aspired to earn a doctorate in music, and he is currently pursuing a Doctor of Musical Arts in Piano Performance under Dr. Mark Clinton at the University of Nebraska-Lincoln, where he also serves as a Graduate Teaching Assistant. Claussen studied with Dr. Wei-Han Su while earning a Master of Music in Piano Performance from Missouri State University, and also holds a Bachelor of Arts in Music from Thomas Edison State University.

Glenn Korff Undergraduate/Graduate Award Winners

 

Undergraduate

2014-15 – Trevor Magness

2015-16 – Hattie Bestul

2016-17 – Hannah Bell

2017-18 – Kennedy Rolfes

2018-19 - Alyssa Pracht

 

Graduate 

2014-15 – Janka Krajciova

2015-16 – Nicaulis Alliey

2016-17 – Dimitra Kokkinopoulou

2017-18 – Andrew Janak

2018-19 - Louis Claussen