NEWS RELEASE

Contact: April Matt (matta@nsula.edu)
NSU PREP
Northwestern State University
Natchitoches, LA 71497
(318) 357-6014

3/24/2004

FOR IMMEDIATE RELEASE

NATCHITOCHES- Two students from the Mrs. H.D. Dear Sr. and Alice Estelle Dear School of Creative and Performing Arts at Northwestern State University will participate in the Music Teachers National Association Collegiate Artists Performance Competition in Kansas City, Mo. Monday.

Eric Leday of Lafayette, who plays tuba, and violinist Manshan Yang of Guangzhou, China will represent NSU in the national contest after winning the Louisiana and South Central Division competition. Leday is a student of Dr. Mark Thompson. Yang is a student of Daniel Santelices.

"This is an outstanding honor for Northwestern to be represented by two students," said Bill Brent, director of the School of Creative and Performing Arts. "Very few colleges or universities in the country have two students in the competition. It is a testament to the quality of the faculty and students in the School of Creative and Performing Arts that we achieved such recognition."

Pianist Jane Truksa represented the university in MTNA national competition last year.

Both Leday and Yang are senior music performance majors. Each has been a winner the NSU Concerto Competition. Yang has also won the Rapides Symphony and Monroe Symphony Concerto Competition.

"This is a good opportunity for me," said Yang. "Each competition is like a performance to me. When I perform, I am being judged by people,"

As part of the competition, Leday and Yang will perform a 50-minute program which include a major work with orchestra and works from two contrasting time periods.

"Tubas only go back to the mid-1800's, so the literature is not as extensive as that for violin or piano," said Leday. "I had to borrow from works for other instruments."

Each of the students agree that the competition has done more than give them a chance to gain attention for their musical ability.

"I was an athlete in high school, so I like competition. Taking part in competitions has made me a better player," said Leday. "I spend a lot of hours in the practice room and it's good to see that work pay off. Winning has helped my confidence. There are times when it has helped keep me going because the practice can wear on you.

"The more I perform, the easier it gets. The more time I spend in the practice room, the more confident I am."

Yang said preparing for MTNA has helped her get ready for her April 28 senior recital and auditions for graduate school.

"I will be doing a 50-minute program which is like a recital," she said. "Doing different works from different periods helps me get in shape."

` Leday and Yang are planning to attend graduate school next fall after earning their bachelor's degree. Each has grown as musicians and individuals while at Northwestern.

"The university gave me a lot of opportunities to perform in ensembles, quartets, trios and other groups," said Yang. "In China, teaching is solo oriented. Playing in various groups has helped me. I have also been exposed to different types of literature from different periods and can better understand composers and their style."

Leday said Thompson and other faculty members have freely shared their expertise with him.

"Dr. Thompson knows a lot about performing and he has put me in touch with the right people, so I have been able to travel and take lessons from the best people out there," he said.

MTNA is the oldest professional nonprofit music teachers association in the United States and is comprised of 24,000 independent and collegiate music teachers of all instruments including voice.

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