County students perform in piano competition

For 12 years, the Barnes-Ferencz Memorial Piano Competition has been designed around honoring the memory of pianists Doris Owings Barnes and Judith Anne Ferencz. This year, organizers have added a memorial to founder George Barnes, who passed away in November, to the two-day competition and concert.

The competition was held Saturday in the Levine Recital Hall at McDaniel College. Piano students from around the county memorized and performed two pieces, one a classical number, the other a ragtime selection. In all, 33 Carroll County students vied for 12 cash prizes ranging from $50 for third place among students younger than 10 to $500 for first place among students between the ages of 15 and 18.

Lydia Bandy, interim chairwoman, said the competition was originated by George Barnes in memory of his late wife, Doris, a ragtime pianist.

"He was always very hands-on with this competition. He was very involved with the students; he always liked to come watch them play, and he was always here," Bandy said. "Things have still run pretty smoothly this year, so even with him passing, we were still able to keep things going, and we're hoping to do so for the next couple of years as well."

Winners of the competition will be announced at 3 p.m. Sunday, March 16, at a memorial recital held in the McDaniel Alumni Hall. After being announced, the winners will perform. Audrey Cimino, executive committee member, said the concert is being held in George's memory.

"He loved this thing. We really miss him a lot," Cimino said. "Kids tend to forget this stuff doesn't come out of the sky. Somebody did it. Somebody made this competition, and that's really a very special thing."

Liberty High School senior Danielle Angeloni said she took a break from college auditions to compete this year. She started taking piano lessons in the fifth grade, and her favorite genre is swing.

"I like playing the piano mostly because it's physically very easy to play," Angeloni said. "In school, I also play cello, and the cello is really technically difficult to play. With the piano, all you have to do is press the keys."

Cimino said having students compete provides for different learning experiences than standard practice.

"I think it's important to learn how to perform in front of people, to accept the judgement of experts, so it's a good learning example all around," Cimino said. "There are other competitions in areas that are bigger than this, so it's an opportunity to prepare our students for bigger opportunities. If you want to get into the Peabody, you've got to learn how to compete."

The Peabody Conservatory at Johns Hopkins University awards bachelors, masters and doctorates of musical arts.

Natalie Larsen, a home-schooled junior, has performed in the competition four times and placed twice. She said she loves the feelings created by performing more than the competition itself.

"I just love being able to create things through music. Music is such a wonderful thing," Larsen said. "It expresses such feelings and emotions and through it, you're able to experience so many different things."