Lawrence University's O'Morrow Wins State Piano Competition

APPLETON, WIS. -- Brian O'Morrow, a senior piano performance major from Fort Atkinson, won the Wisconsin state level Music Teachers National Association (MTNA) collegiate piano performance competition held Nov. 8 at the University of Wisconsin-River Falls. Hillary Nordwell, a senior from Port Townsend, Wash., was named first alternate.

This is the third straight year a Lawrence piano performance major has won the state MTNA competition, which requires students to play a complete concerto from memory, as well as three shorter contrasting works. O'Morrow performed Mozart's Concerto No. 27 as well as works by Bach, Gorecki and Rachmaninoff.

With his first-place performance, O'Morrow advances to the six-state East Central Division competition on Jan. 17, 2003 in Decatur, Ill. Winners at the division level will compete at the MNTA national competition in Salt Lake City, Utah, next March.