In fall 2020, Stetson University School of Music chose the winner of the demanding Concerto Competition. WORLD is proud to announce international student Elené Okruashvili, a pianist from the country of Georgia, winner of the completion.
“This is the first time in the past 10 years, a pianist won the Concerto Competition,” said Elene, while also claiming she couldn’t believe that she overcame so many challenges during practices to be the winner.
Reconciling with the restrictions of the Covid-19 pandemic, Stetson’s School of Music opened the stage for students to perform to a virtual audience. Students were given a chance to perform and compete in front panel of judges. Students recorded their performances and submitted the videos in advance, judges scored and rated them virtually.
Elene is an international student from Tbilisi, Georgia and currently a third year student at Stetson University. She had exposed to music and competed at a very young age. Elene joined Stetson University in 2018, and majors in Piano Performance. She also a member of the Stetson School of Music Student Advisory Council (SoMSAC). Moreover, Elene holds different leadership roles on campus, such as Resident Assistant for the Catalyst Houses.
Anh Nguyen another international student who works alongside Elene as resident assistant in Residential Living and Learning praised her classmate saying “she’s such an inspiring Resident Assistant and a talented pianist. “
Elene started working on the first movement of Beethoven’s 2nd Piano Concerto during quarantine in Spring 2020, however, due to the global pandemic and every activity being moved to virtual formats, Elene says she lost her motivation. Practicing and finishing the recording for the competition deadline seemed unimportant. Elene mentioned, “Everything was so difficult, and I found no motivation to do anything, so I even thought about not participating in the competition”. She did compete, however. When the semester started in August 2020, one month before the competition, she decided to pick up where she left off and finish the piece. She shared “I feel really happy because I needed that motivational push. It makes me believe choosing piano performance is a correct choice, and coming to America from Georgia is finally paid off.”
All the videos recorded were uploaded on School of Music’s YouTube Channel, including the 2020 Christmas Candlelight concert performed on Friday, Dec. 11, at 7:30 p.m.
Written by Anh Nguyen, Edited by Roxanne Lewis