Student pianist wins statewide competition

UIndy senior Kevin Ellenberger came away with one of the top honors at the Music Teachers National Association State Performance Competitions, held Saturday at Ball State University.

Ellenberger’s 30-minute performance of selections by C.P.E. Bach, Kodaly, Messiaen and Shostakovich won the piano category in the Collegiate/Young Artist division for ages 19-26. The piano performance and finance major from New Palestine will proceed to MTNA’s East-Central Division competition in January at Lawrence University in Wisconsin, on his way (hopefully) to the national finals in March in Las Vegas.

Another UIndy student, junior James Loughery, earned honorable mention in the same category of Saturday’s competition with his performance of J.S. Bach, Liszt, Debussy, Poulenc and Michael Schelle.