String Quartet Wins Regional Honor

The School of Music’s Graduate String Quartet, known locally as the Rosco Quartet, will advance to the national Music Teachers National Association Chamber Music Performance Competition on March 22, 2013 in Chicago, IL, after winning the regional competition this January in New Mexico.

Comprised of graduate students Jakob Hofer, violin; Melissa Combe, violin; Sunny Johnson, viola; Lauren Posey, cello; the musicians were selected by audition, and have played together for two years. Each member will graduate from the University of Utah this spring.

"This win really puts us on the map, nationally, as one of the top chamber music programs in the West,” said Strings Area Chair Hasse Borup. “We will receive great exposure at the national competition; its certainly one of the highest 'highs' for our program recently."

After winning the Utah MTNA competition, the quartet progressed to the regional competition, which can includes competing ensembles from Arizona, California, Hawaii, Nevada, and New Mexico.

“This win is a culmination of all the work we’ve done over the past few years,” explained Sunny Johnson. “Looking back, we can be proud of what we have accomplished.”

The quartet has received prestigious invitations this year due to their talent; in January they were one of five university quartets to attend the Robert Mann String Quartet Seminar at New York City’s Manhattan School of Music. They were also chosen among applicants worldwide to attend the weeklong intensive Julliard String Quartet Seminar last May.

This summer, the Graduate String Quartet has accepted an invitation from the renowned Muir Quartet to receive coaching at the Deer Valley Music Festival.

“These opportunities have given us confidence as individuals, as well as a group, because we have seen how far we can progress,” said Melissa Combe.

Once they graduate, doctoral candidate Jakob Hofer plans to seek a university teaching position while Sunny Johnson and Lauren Posey plan to pursue doctoral degrees and Melissa Combe will continue growing her violin studio, recording and performing.

ABOUT THE SCHOOL OF MUSIC

The University of Utah School of Music offers a comprehensive program of music study on both the undergraduate and graduate levels. The School of Music educates professionally-oriented students across the musical spectrum through rigorous musical and academic experiences; serves the art of music through performance, composition, research and publication; and functions as the state’s center for intellectual, educational, and cultural musical activities. It has been an accredited member of the National Association of Schools of Music since 1952.