Los Alamos Daily Post — New Mexico Pianist Gavin Laur Is A Division Finalist In MTNA Senior Piano Competition
Submitted by Carol A. Clark
on October 29, 2014 – 6:38am
Gavin LaurMTNA News:
Gavin Laur, a Santa Fe native, will travel to Santa Barbara, Calif. in January to compete as a Division Finalist in the Music Teachers National Association (MTNA) Senior Piano Competition.
Laur, the son of Ruth and Paul Laur, earned this opportunity after winning the Senior Division of the M1NA Statewide Piano Competition. A Junior at the New Mexico School for the Arts, Laur has been studying piano for 10 years and is currently a student of Stein way Artist Jacquelyn Helin.
Laur has been awarded top placement in several competitions beginning in 2006 when he won first in the New Mexico State Honors. He won first place in the New Mexico MTNA Junior Competition in 2011 and received Honorable Mention in the Jackie McGehee Young Artist Concerto Competition in 2014. Awarded the PMTNM’ s Danfelser Scholarship in 2012, Laur has also been an Epik Artist of Performance Santa Fe. Aside from his musical interests, he enjoys skiing and cycle cross racing.
The Senior Piano Competition will take place Saturday, Jan. 3, 2015 during the MTNA Southwest Conference. The winner of this competition will compete in the National Finals during the M1NA National Conference in Las Vegas, Nev., in March.
The three-tiered MTNA competitions begin at the state level. Winners of each State Competition advance to the division competition. Division winners then proceed to the National Competition Finals.
To receive more information about the M1NA National Competitions, including competition rules and applications please contact M1NA national headquarters at 888.512.5278, mtnanet@mtna.org or visit the website at www.mtna.org.
Music Teachers National Association is a nonprofit organization comprised of 22,000 independent and collegiate music teachers committed to advancing the value of music study and music making to society and to supporting the professionalism of music teachers. Founded in 1876, Music Teachers National Association is the oldest professional music association in the United States.
Biography
MTNA, S.W. Regional Competition
Gavin Laur is sixteen years-old and a junior at New Mexico School for the Arts in Santa Fe. He has been playing piano and studying with Jacquelyn Helin since he was six. Gavin has been awarded top placement in several competitions beginning in 2006 when he won first in the New Mexico State Honors. He was also awarded first place at the MTNA Junior Artist in 2011. In February 2014 Gavin received Honorable Mention at The Music Guild of New Mexico’s Jackie Mc Gehee Young Artist Concerto Competition. Aside from musical interests, Gavin enjoys skiing and cycle cross racing.