Two Music Education students – Shane Bucci and John Himes – are recipients of the Oasis Guitar Jury Prize that recognizes the best in the School of Music’s guitar program. They will share a cash award of $500.
“Both John and Shane exhibited a consistent upward trajectory of improvement throughout the semester, and that was evident when they performed in the end-of-the-year guitar juries,” said Distinguished Professor James Piorkowski.
“They embraced the process of technique and explored the art of musical interpretation, and when those two approaches are married and become one, the result is the creation of music that transcends the instrument,” Mr. Piorkowski said.
Mr. Bucci, of Otego, N.Y., played electric guitar for four years before switching to classical guitar as a first-year student. He studies in Mr. Piorkowski’s studio and would like to earn a master’s degree in guitar performance and become a public school teacher. Long-term goals are to enter a D.M.A. program in guitar performance and ultimately teach at the university level.
Mr. Himes, of Newark, N.Y., has played the guitar for 12 years and studied classical guitar for five years. His career goal is to become a high school concert band director. Himes, who has a strong interest in performing classical music, studies in Evan Drummond’s studio.
The Oasis prize is seldom shared, Piorkowski noted. “Evan Drummond and I appreciate it when the students make it hard for us to decide who is the awardee.”
The award, presented to Bucci and Himes at the end of the fall semester, was established in 2012 by Dave Hepple, of Oasis, Inc., maker of the Oasis guitar humidifier.
