by Stephanie Green ’09

Bethel’s Department of Music recently hosted the 2008 Performance Prize Competition: “Musique Francaise” in Benson Great Hall. Student participants displayed their vocal, keyboard, or instrumental solo talents through works by French composers. The winner in each category received a cash prize.

This year’s winners in voice, instrumental, and piano are junior Madeline Veenker, senior Brittney Saline, and senior Jonathan Li, respectively. Winners are determined by the votes of full-time music faculty.

Madeline Veenker, who performed “Oh! quand je dors” by Franz Liszt, said her love of performing is what led her to participate in the competition, which is open to music majors who are currently registered for private lessons with Bethel music faculty.

“Recital settings are sometimes very nerve-racking, so in one sense I try and take advantage of all the opportunities I have to perform,” said Veenker, a vocal performance major. “I also feel a lot more productive and accomplished when I have a goal, like a performance, to work towards.”

Saline, who performed “Prelude, Cadence et Finale” by Alfred Desenclos, had a similar perspective on recitals.

“I went into this performance seeing it as an opportunity to become comfortable with performing this repertoire… to share this wonderful piece with others, and also to continue to develop my capacity to perform in a pressure situation,” said Saline, who is majoring in applied performance in saxophone. “What you can do in a practice room and what you can do onstage are quite different matters.”

According to Department of Music Chair Jonathan Veenker, the competition is beneficial to its student participants in preparation for performing after they graduate. The theme, he said, is a way “to educate students in areas of music they might not be aware of.

“It is a practical application of the work they do in private lessons,” added Veenker. “Students grow as performers by performing as much as possible.”