Lawrence University Students Earn Musical Accolades

Lawrence University student saxophonist Joe Connor won first-place honors Oct. 20 in the college division at the Green Bay Civic Orchestra’s 2012 Miroslav Pansky Memorial Concerto Competition. A sophomore from Oregon, Wis., and the only saxophonist in the competition, Connor received a $500 cash award. He will reprise his winning performance of Darius Mihoud’s “Scaramouche” in a Feb. 16, 2013 concert with the Green Bay Civic Orchestra. The Pansky competition is open to vocalists and orchestral instrumentalists through the age of 21 from Northeast Wisconsin. Earlier this year, Connor performed as guest artist with the Lakeshore Wind Ensemble after earning second-place honors in the 24th annual Lakeshore Wind Ensemble Young Artist Competition held last November in Manitowoc. He is a student of Professor of Music Steven Jordheim. Tubist Trevor Litsey, a junior from Birmingham, Ala., earned second-place honors in the Pansky competition for his performance of Ralph Vaughn Williams’ “Concerto in F minor for Tuba.” He is a student of Instructor of Music Marty Erickson. The Pansky competition is open to vocalists and orchestral instrumentalists through the age of 21 from Northeast Wisconsin. Daniel O’Connor, a senior from Dallas, Texas, has been awarded $3,000 for winning the 2012 Ruth and Paul Manz Organ Scholarship. The national competition is conducted via submitted recorded audition. Conducted annually since 1992, the Manz scholarship was established by Mount Olive Lutheran Church in Minneapolis, Minn., to honor 37 years of service of Paul and Ruth Manz to the congregation. The Manz scholarship is the latest among numerous awards O’Connor has earned for his musicianship, including: • First-place honors in the 2009 American Guild of Organists’ regional competition for young organists in Albuquerque, N.M. • First-place honors in the Twin Cities Chapter of the American Guild of Organists’ 2010 young artists organ regional competition in Minneapolis, Minn. • First-place honors in the 2011 Wisconsin National Federation of Music Clubs’ Biennial Student/Collegiate Competition. He is a student of university organist Kathrine Handford