Contact: David West (west@alpha.nsula.edu )
News Bureau
Northwestern State University
Natchitoches, LA 71497
(318) 357-6466

12/6/2001

FOR IMMEDIATE RELEASE

NATCHITOCHES- Eric Leday of Lafayette, a student at Northwestern State University recently won the Louisiana State Round of the MTNA Collegiate Artist Performance Competition held in Hammond.

Leday, a sophomore music education major, will compete in the South Central Division Round against winners from Texas, Arkansas and Oklahoma. This competition will take place in January at Centenary College in Shreveport.

"I was pretty excited to win," said Leday, a graduate of Acadiana High. "This was the first major competition I had done. Now I know why I practiced so hard all these years."

During the competition, Leday, a tuba player, played four solos which included one major work and pieces from three different time periods. Leday has been playing the tuba since he was in fifth grade.

"I wanted to play percussion, but they were something we couldn't afford," he said. "The tuba was something we didn't have to buy, and I liked the low sound."

Leday performs with the Natchitoches-Northwestern Symphony Orchestra, the NSU Low Brass Ensemble and the NSU Spring Wind Symphony."

"You can do a lot with the tuba," said Leday. "It has a lot of resonance. I enjoy the big fat sound of the horn."

During the holidays, Leday says he will be busy preparing for the January competition.

"I have a lot of work to do," he said. "I have a lot of cleaning up to do in my playing. I will spend a lot of time listening to recordings of myself."

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