Missouri State University Music Students Excel at 2023 Missouri Music Teachers Association (MMTA) and Music Teachers National Association (MTNA) Auditions

SPRINGFIELD, MISSOURI (January 22, 2024) — Missouri State University music students excelled at the Missouri Music Teachers Association (MMTA) and Music Teachers National Association (MTNA) auditions, held November 2-5, 2023, at University of Missouri-Kansas City.

MMTA auditions are yearly, state-level auditions held at different universities across Missouri every November. Nineteen MSU students competed in a field of over 500 students in this year’s events.

“MSU has been participating for many years now,” said Dr Jason Hausback, MSU music professor and MMTA president. “In the last five to eight years, our institution has had a strong presence and has recently dominated the competitions as the strongest-placing school in the state.”

The MMTA results

Collegiate Woodwind Lower Level

– Winner: Emmitt Rieffer (Canton, Missouri); teacher: Dr Grant Peters

– Runner-up: Brady Perkins (Ozark, Missouri); teacher: Dr Hausback

Collegiate Brass Lower Level

– Winner: Emily Schmidt (Saint Charles, Missouri); teacher: Dr Peters

Collegiate Piano Duet

– Winners: Juchan Lee (Seoul, South Korea) and Chaihun Kim (Goyang-si, South Korea; teachers: Drs Hye-Jung Hong and Wei-Han Su

Collegiate Piano Lower Level

– Winner: Sanjana Dhabasekaran (Markham, Canada); teacher: Dr Hong

– Runner-up: Suyeon Yang (Suwon-si, South Korea); teacher: Dr Hong

Brass Graduate Level

– Winner: Alex Ryan (Smyrna, Tennessee); teacher: Dr Hausback

– Runner-up: Ethan Sherer (Muscatine, Iowa); teacher: Dr Hausback

– Honorable Mention: Frankie Harrison (Canal Winchester, Ohio); teacher: Dr Hausback

Collegiate Piano Upper Level

– Winner: Jiyeon Lee (Seoul, South Korea); teacher: Dr Hong

Piano Graduate Level

– Winner: Kim; teacher: Dr Su

– Runner-up: Daniel Corredor Silva (Bogota, Columbia); teacher: Dr Hong

Collegiate Strings Lower Level

– Runner-up: Orion McKenzie (Tulsa, Oklahoma); teacher: Dr Hays

Collegiate Strings Upper Level

– Runner-up: Nathan Price (Ozark, Missouri) Teacher: Dr Hays

The MTNA results

Young Artist Brass

– Winner: Christopher Kemp (Bixby, Oklahoma); teacher: Dr Hausback

Young Artist Piano

– Alternate: Shawn Jian Yue Lee (Seremban, Malaysia); teacher: Dr Su

Young Artist Woodwinds

– Honorable Mention: Jessica Baird (Willard, Missouri); teacher: Dr Jill Heyboer

– Honorable Mention: Conlan Boatman (Warr Acres, Oklahoma); teacher: Dr Matthew Tracy

Young Artist Strings

– Alternate: Elise Thierbach (Marthasville, Missouri); teacher: Dr Ketter

Missouri State University is a public, comprehensive university system with a mission in public affairs. Our purpose is to develop fully educated persons with a focus on ethical leadership, cultural competence, and community engagement.

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