It's the middle of the day, but it's far from quiet in the Auditorium dei Santuari Antoniani in Camposampiero, Italy. Vivian Choi, a recent graduate from the School of Music's two-year Artists Diploma, sits at a piano on the barren stage. She can feel the warm Italian spirit reverberating off the walls as she plays her own rendition of Guido Alberto Fano's music.
Some members of her host family sit in the front row, beaming with pride. Although they have just met Choi, they're there to support her at the Guido Alberto Fano International Piano Competition. There are 31 pianists from 13 countries competing, each selected from video submissions.
Six judges sit in the middle of the stage. As music radiates from the piano, Choi knows they're watching her every move, listening to every note.
She is no stranger to the stress of international competitions and recitals, having studied in Korea, Australia, and Russia, and having attended the New England Conservatory in Boston for her master's degree, before coming to Carnegie Mellon. She is used to the demanding procedure, the jet lag, and the constant scrutiny. But tonight, unlike at other competitions, she feels something let go. She is performing as an artist, rather than as a musical technician, free to embody the music with her own sentiment, just as she embraces the warm Italian ambiance.
She wins the Guido Alberto Fano Special Prize (and a bouquet from her host family) for best performance, but she says the real reward was that moment of connection with the Italian people through music.
-Molly McCurdy (A'10)
