PRINCETON, NJ Restaurant Dining Guide Announcement

Princeton University Concerts Announces Creative Reactions Contest Winners

Dedicated to the memory of Vera Sharpe Kohn

In January 2015, Princeton University Concerts announced a new initiative, the Creative Reactions Contest - a writing contest designed to foster reflection on the impact of hearing classical music, as perceived by students on Princeton's campus.  Over the course of 2 months, 130 students attended 5 different concerts and were asked to capture the experience of hearing live classical music. The form was flexible allowing for blank verse, prose, poetry, narrative, even lyrics.  We are pleased to announce, from a full field of entries, there were 5 winners.  The first place winner, Susannah Sharpless, class of 2015, has won $1000.  Two second-place winners, Trevor Klee, class of 2015 and Lucas Mazzotti, class of 2017 have won $500. The final panel of judges also awarded two honorable mentions to sophomores Benjamin Goodman and Rachel Stone. 

The winning reactions reflect a wide range of writing, from a piece of poetry that reflects on the use of space and time in music to a truly original short story about a boy who lives in a swamp in Florida and can stop time. Marna Seltzer, Director of Princeton University Concerts, says "The entries were all impressive.  I am astounded by the range of talent at Princeton. Most importantly, though, the pieces make clear that the music we present can and does have a profound effect on students.  None of the winners had ever been to one of our concerts and, in most cases, had very little experience with classical music.  I hope that this shows that one need not have any prior knowledge to attend a concert and be inspired by classical music."

The entries were read anonymously in three rounds by 11 judges:

Round One:

Marna Seltzer, Director of Princeton University Concerts

Darya Koltunyuk '15, Chair of the Student Ambassadors of Princeton University Concerts

Marue Walizer, Chair of the Princeton University Concerts Committee

Round Two:

Mike Gehret, Member of the Princeton University Concerts Committee

Jim Haba, Founding Director of Geraldine R. Dodge Poetry Program and Biennial Poetry Festival

Steve Lestition, Dean of Mathey College at Princeton University

Steven Runk, Director of Communications for the Lewis Center for the Arts

Dorothea von Moltke, Owner of Labyrinth Bookshop

Round Three:

Susanna Berger, Perkins-Cotsen Postdoctoral Fellow in the Society of Fellows and Lecturer in the Department of Art and Archaeology and in the Council of the Humanities

Scott Burnham, William H. Scheide Professor of Music History at Princeton

C.K. Williams, Poet and Emeritus Professor of Creative Writing at Princeton

THE WINNERS

Susannah Sharpless, '15 "Space and Time," inspired by violinist Stefan Jackiw and pianist Anna Polonsky, First Prize, $1000

Trevor Klee '15, "Untitled," inspired by pianist Marc-André Hamelin, Second Prize $500

Lucas Mazzotti '17, "Untitled," inspired by the Brentano String Quartet and Joyce DiDonato, Second Prize, $500

Benjamin Goodman '17, "Piety," inspired by pianist Marc-André Hamelin, Honorable Mention, $100

Rachel Stone '17, "In B-flat," inspired by Messiaen's "Quartet for the End of Time," played by violinist Stefan Jackiw and Anna Polonsky, Honorable Mention, $100

Susannah Sharpless is a senior, graduating in June with a major in Religion and a Certificate in Poetry and Creative Writing.  She comes from a long line of music lovers and has always loved music herself.  When she was younger she studied both piano and cello. Though she listens to music constantly, she has been to very few concerts during her college career.  The experience of hearing music live together with a large audience made a big impression on her. She said it took her a while to figure out what she wanted to write about but, ultimately, she was inspired by the contemporary works on the program (by Witold Lutoslawski, Kaija Sariaaho and especially Olivier Messiaen).  She loves contemporary poetry and found that gave her a way into thinking about the music.

Trevor Klee is majoring in Geosciences.  He is writing his thesis on the Earth's crust and will graduate this June.  Though he has taken several creative writing classes at Princeton, this is the first concert he has ever attended.  His family recently moved to Florida and he is just getting to know it.  He finds Florida foreign from Connecticut where he grew up, near a swamp. He thought it would be hard to understand the music but he was transfixed by pianist Marc-André Hamelin.  His seat for the concert was in the far reaches of the balcony surrounded by a number of distractions.  He found himself wanting to be transported to a place where he could be alone with the music. That was the basis for his story.

Lucas Mazzotti has not declared a major but is thinking about the Woodrow Wilson School.  He has always loved music, and did quite a bit of singing in high school. He has never studied an instrument but a few years ago he taught himself some basic guitar. His father is a huge fan of classical music and has always hoped that Lucas would grow to appreciate it.  He went to a few concerts when he was younger but this concert was his first at Princeton.  He thought the contest would be a great opportunity to attend his first concert.  He says he has really come to love classical music and his dad is thrilled. We think his father will be really proud when he reads Lucas' profound reaction to this concert.

Ben Goodman is majoring in English and Creative Writing (Poetry specifically).  His musical interests are eclectic.  He has a weekly radio show on WPRB on Saturdays from 6-8PM called "Transgenre," and he plays bass guitar casually.  This concert was the first he has been to at Princeton and he was challenged by the idea of writing about classical music, something he knows very little about.  He chose a concert by pianist Marc-André Hamelin because his roommate, a pianist, recommended it.  As fate would have it, he came to a performance with a newly composed work, a piece with many influences and eclectic idioms, which turned out to be an excellent match for Ben's background and interests.

Rachel Stone is an English major.  She doesn't play an instrument but she was a pre-professional ballerina before she came to Princeton. Music and the interpretation of it has been something that has preoccupied her poetry. Her entire family on her mother's side is extremely musical.  She feels that what she inherited of this legacy is the ability to interact with music (through dance, through writing).  In her inability to create the music itself, she is drawn toward the closest approximations she can find.  She has never been to a concert at Princeton, and this contest gave her a good excuse. This was the first time she had heard Messiaen's "Quartet for the End of Time" and found it incredibly powerful without quite knowing the reason for its resonance.  After the concert she decided to do some research. After learning its history, she found that it brought a different sort of urgency to the music, and she wanted to try and write something that could work towards capturing it.  During the concert she knew she wanted to write a poem that addressed music as a tactile thing, as something that could be created through movement, but she didn't want to force this connection. She decided to use the structure of the Quartet to inform the poem.

ABOUT THE CREATIVE REACTIONS CONTEST

The Creative Reactions Contest is hosted by the Student Ambassadors of PUC, a small group of classical music-loving students whose mission is to increase student interest and participation in Princeton University Concerts programs.  The contest is funded by PUC.  Each year PUC presents a professional concert series featuring renowned classical musicians from all over the world. The Creative Reactions Contest seeks to further PUC's mission by connecting students to the arts and celebrating classical music's unique contributions.  The first Creative Reactions Contest is dedicated to the memory of Vera Sharpe Kohn, a loyal member of the Princeton University Concerts Committee whose support and enthusiasm contributed to the health and well being of Princeton University Concerts.

All 5 of the wining entries can be read online by visiting princetonuniversityconcerts.org. For more information or press inquiries, contact Marna Seltzer at seltzer@princeton.edu or at 609-258-4237.