Tenth Annual van Rooy Competition for Musical Excellence Awards $18,000 in Cash Prizes to Three Hartt Students

Hartt School students Peter Scuderi, Patricia Guadagnoli, and Michelle Stockman were the winners of three cash prizes in the tenth annual van Rooy Competition for Musical Excellence. The competition, held at the University of Hartford on Sunday, November 15, was open to all undergraduate instrumental performance majors at The Hartt School. The applicants to the competition were narrowed down via two preliminary rounds to six finalists, and then finally the three prize-winners.

Peter Scuderi, who won the Grand Prize of $10,000, is from Westfield, Massachusetts and is currently pursuing a double major in Clarinet Performance and Music Education. He currently studies with Professor Curt Blood. In high school, Peter found his passion for both playing and teaching music when he was given leadership roles in his band program, thus pursuing the double major. Peter has also become a member of the notable Performance 20/20 Honors chamber music program at Hartt.

Brazilian pianist Patricia Guadagnoli, who studies piano with Luiz de Moura Castro, was awarded the Second Prize of $5,000. The Third Prize of $3,000 went to Michelle Stockman, a sophomore working towards her Bachelor of Music degree in Flute Performance with Professor Janet Arms. Ms. Stockman hails from Sandown, New Hampshire.

Laureates included Daniel Mumbauer, Saxophone Performance major from Broadway, Virginia and studies with Professor Carrie Koffman; Matthew Russo, native of New Hartford, New York, who currently is pursuing a duel major in Trombone Performance and Music Education and studies with Dr. Ronald Borror; and Sarah Hansen, a junior from Cincinnati, Ohio, who is pursuing a Bachelor of Music degree in Cello Performance and studies with Professor Mihai Tetel.

The competition was adjudicated by Edward Cumming, Music Director of the Hartford Symphony Orchestra; Paul Woodiel, renowned fiddler/violinist; and Mark George, Director of The Hartt School Community Division.

To Jean-Pierre and Marie-Claire van Rooy, classical music "was the only music we were and are still listening to. Our children heard only classical music at home. We believe in excellence and we wanted to create this legacy while supporting The Hartt School and the University of Hartford." The van Rooy Competition for Musical Excellence was established in 2000 by these two generous benefactors to promote musical excellence by helping young musicians pursue their ambitions.

Marie-Claire van Rooy serves on The Hartt School Board of Trustees. Jean-Pierre van Rooy has served as president of Carrier Corporation's international division and president and chairman of Otis Elevator Company. He is on the board of directors of Saint Francis Hospital and Medical Center and Bristol Hospital. He is a trustee of the New Britain Museum of American Art and an elector at the Bushnell Center for the Performing Arts. He also is a current Regent of the University of Hartford.

The Hartt School is the comprehensive performing arts conservatory of the University of Hartford that offers innovative degree programs in music, dance, and theatre. With more than 400 concerts, recitals, plays, master classes, dance performances, and musical theatre productions a year, performance is central to Hartt's curriculum. For more information on The Hartt School visit www.hartford.edu/hartt.

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