Arts & Culture

UK Pianists Play Their Way to Top of KMTA Competition

LEXINGTON, Ky. (Oct. 21, 2011) − Two University of Kentucky School of Music piano students, Robert Bosworth and Maris Deddens, won their divisions at the Kentucky Music Teachers Association (KMTA) Bluegrass Performance Competition held Oct. 15, at Eastern Kentucky University. The competition showcased the talents of piano students from colleges and universities statewide.

Music performance sophomore Robert Bosworth, from Frankfort, Ky., was named the winner of the Young Artists Solo Competition at the event. Bosworth and his partner, music performance sophomore Maris Deddens, of Owensboro, Ky., were named the winners of the Bluegrass Collegiate Piano Ensemble Competition. Chemical engineering senior Tim Waits, of Maysville, Ky., was also recognized with the honorable mention award in the Young Artists Solo Competition. Waits is pursuing a minor in music performance on the piano. Bosworth, Deddens and Waits study piano under the direction of Irina Voro, professor of piano.

Affiliated with Music Teachers National Association, Kentucky Music Teachers Association (KMTA) is a nonprofit educational organization representing music teachers in studios, conservatories, music schools, public schools, private schools, colleges and universities around Kentucky. The purpose of KMTA is to further music education in the state of Kentucky and to nurture growth and professional development by providing programs that encourage and support teaching, performance, composition and research.

The UK School of Music in the UK College of Fine Arts has garnered national recognition for high-caliber education in opera, choral and instrumental music performance, as well as music education, composition, theory and music history.

MEDIA CONTACT: Whitney Hale, (859) 257-8716 or whitney.hale@uky.edu