Winners of Baylor’s Semper Pro Musica Competition Earn Chance to Perform at Famed Carnegie Hall

Baylor University’s annual Semper Pro Musica Music Solo and Chamber Competition in the Baylor School of Music gives winners a chance to perform at New York City’s Carnegie Hall. The fourth annual competition this year saw a record number of students apply to participate. A total of 125 students competed, which is a third of overall music major enrollment. The competition featured 67 soloists, 31 of whom also competed in the chamber competition. All winners received a $500 Baylor merit scholarship in addition to performing at Carnegie Hall.

“Semper Pro Musica is such a gem for the School of Music,” said Matthew Newhouse, winner of the solo competition. “The chance to perform at Carnegie Hall is just plain awesome. Carnegie Hall is like the Mona Lisa of performance venues. It is imbued with such a rich history of musical excellence that it’s on a different plane of fame than almost any other hall.”

The first round of the competitions is judged by a panel of Baylor music professors. Those who move on to the final round perform in front of a panel of external judges for their chance to perform in New York.

The winners of the solo competition are Josh Blessing (Dearborn, Michigan, master’s candidate marimba), John-Micah Braswell (senior, piano), Javier Castro (junior, flute), Megan Gackle (master’s candidate, mezzo-soprano), Nathan Little (senior, trumpet) and Newhouse (senior, tenor).

The winners of the Eight Position (trombone octet) chamber competition are Nick Halbig (senior), Connor Wooley (junior), Dawson Ward (sophomore), Adele Fuqua (master’s candidate), Nathan Taylor (master’s candidate), Derek Moseley (junior), Nathan Stanfield (freshman) and Jonathan Passmore (senior).

The winners of the Flute Fleet (flute quartet) chamber competition are Castro, Felicity Fulton (junior), Jessica Peacock (senior) and Caleb Estrada-Valentín (senior).

The Semper Pro Musica Competition is intended to inspire students toward musical success and excellence. Performing at Carnegie Hall is an opportunity that the winners will not soon forget.

“The opportunity to walk onto one of the most historically significant stages in the world of music and to perform inspiring music for a discerning audience is life-changing,” said Gary Mortenson, dean of the Baylor School of Music. “We know that our students will come away from this experience in ways that will help them as their young careers develop after Baylor.”

The winners will travel to New York City and perform at 8 p.m. Thursday, May 23, in Weill Recital Hall within Carnegie Hall.