Students of the University of Debrecen’s Faculty of Music achieved outstanding results at an international percussion competition with several decades of professional tradition. Levente Szabari and Áron Karácsony won first and third place, respectively, at the online Italy PAS Competition held in Pescara.
The Italian Percussive Arts Society organized its traditional percussion competition for the twenty-second time. The society’s aim is to inspire talented percussionists worldwide, provide opportunities for professional exchange among musicians, and thereby contribute to raising the standard of education and musical knowledge.
This year’s call was divided into four age groups and seven instrumental sections. Applicants could enter in the categories of percussion soloists, marimba, vibraphone, timpani, multiple percussion, snare drum, and full drum set. Competitors from all over the world registered for the contest, seeking to convince the jury through performances of contemporary works.
Students specializing in percussion at the University of Debrecen’s Faculty of Music also took part in the online Italy PAS Competition and achieved outstanding results. Levente Szabari won first place in the timpani category in his age group, while Áron Karácsony earned third place in the snare drum category, also in his own age group.
The students were prepared by Csombor Kerek, artist-teacher at the University of Debrecen’s Faculty of Music, and István Szabó, university professor at the non-independent Department of Brass and Percussion Instruments of the Faculty of Music. István Szabó, whose students have achieved more than thirty international successes in recent decades in addition to numerous domestic competition results, told hirek.unideb.hu that both talented young musicians performed excellently, giving their very best in a large and professionally highly prepared international field.
“As is usually the case, participation in this competition was voluntary. Students are aware that testing themselves is an integral part of their training and professional development, as the competitive situation, performance pressure, and the experience gained inspire them to work at a higher level and to present more complex pieces. Such a competition is also a very good opportunity for us as educators, because it provides feedback on whether the professional work we do stands up at an international level. Every country has its own individual style; we study these trends and try to incorporate the results into our own training system as well. It is beneficial for our students to take part in as many international and domestic competitions as possible; there is no great difference between the two, as both serve their development,” István Szabó added.
The Italy PAS Competition held the contests in all instrumental sections simultaneously, and the jury in each case consisted of international artists. Overall, 140 percussionists representing thirty nations took part in the competition.
(unideb.hu)
