Classical musician, Meagan Martin, clinches the first place in the Hershey Felder Competition
In a captivating event last week, the Hershey Felder Competition for Classical Musicians took place at Popper Theater, UCLA. The competition, funded by award-winning actor, playwright, director, and producer Hershey Felder, provided a platform for six talented students from the UCLA Herb Alpert School of Music.
Day one of the competition started with a public masterclass, where Hershey Felder coached voice, string, and piano students. He emphasized the importance of interacting with the audience in a personal and personable way, a philosophy that resonated with the participants.
One such student was mezzo-soprano Meagan Martin. Previously, Martin had shied away from talking to an audience in concert and recital settings. However, she found talking to the audience before singing a note to be an amazing way to establish a connection. This approach paid off, as Martin won the competition with her performances of "Una voce poco fa" from Rossini's The Barber of Seville and "The Boy From..." by Mary Rodgers and Stephen Sondheim.
On day two of the competition, each student performed before a live audience who would later cast votes for their favorite performer. Meagan Martin's focus on the exchange of energy with the audience and the comedy within the music made a significant difference in her performance.
Hershey Felder expressed great satisfaction in knowing that the competition and award motivated the students to explore their individuality as performers. He challenged the students to "make every note count." Following the competition, Felder expressed pride in all six students and their improvement following the masterclass.
Due to a tie between the other five competitors, Hershey Felder increased his gift to award each competitor with a share of the cash award. He looks forward to next year's competition and working with new classical music students at UCLA.
While specific details about the Hershey Felder Classical Music Competition, its schedule, or student involvement at UCLA are not widely publicized, we can look forward to future announcements from the UCLA music department or Hershey Felder's official channels for more information.
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