Young musicians will have the opportunity to laugh in the face of competition during the fifth-annual Chamber Music Anti-Contest/Concert on Saturday, March 26, at University Preparatory Academy.
"Bribing of the judges is encouraged," said concert presenter Karen Iglitzin about the mock contest.
Young string ensembles from around the area create their own themes, complete with costumes and props. Past group themes have included clowns, bullfighters, pirates, garden gnomes, angels and Vikings. Each group receives a certificate with a pun or witty wordplay specifically relating to their act.
Last year, the audience was caught off-guard when a fiddling group from Port Angeles came out dressed as hillbillies and played a classical Dvorzak piece.
"There's this shock that kids who really, really want to have fun, can be really, really good," said Iglitzin, who came up with this event when he became disturbed with the common emphasis on competition in American culture.
"We're making fun of competitions," Iglitzin said. "It's a joke. It's not really a competition."
All participants must be a chamber group, which is classified as a small group with two to 15 musicians and no conductor. Most participants, typically in middle and high school, play string instruments. However, the Anti-Contest is also open to players of woodwind and brass instruments, as well as the piano.
"They're very hot players," Iglitzin said of the usual participants.
Past participating groups have come from as far as Spokane and Port Angeles to Salem, Ore., and all over Western Washington.
"It's fun to see them all celebrating one another," Iglitzin said.
This year, about 10 ensembles will participate, with some performers coming from North Seattle, including the Roosevelt High School String Quartet and Les Jeunes Filles Quartet.
Last year, Les Jeunes Filles Quartet, or the young girls' quartet, performed as a group of mice. They earned a certificate from the "phony" judges who proclaimed them "the least cheesiest."
"I like how the judges think of little puns for the awards," said Les Jeunes Filles Quartet cellist Ariana Nelson, who has performed with the 3-year-old group since she was 8.
Nelson, Iglitzin's daughter, is a student at Eckstein Middle School and has been playing the cello for four years. This is the second time she has performed in the mock contest.
This year, Les Jeunes Filles Quartet plans to perform a piece by Grieg. Their act will remain a secret until the concert, she said, though other groups have announced they will play works by classical composers Schubert, Tchaikovsky, Ravel and Shostakovich.
"I think it's really fun," Nelson said. "Everybody wins, and it's really cool."
Many of the groups or students fea-tured at this concert have been coached through Iglitzin's "Expression Enterprises." The nonprofit organization offers youth workshops and programs that emphasize creativity and leadership, such as Chamber Music Madness and Camp Nirvana, at Maple Leaf Lutheran Church, 10005 32nd Ave. N.E.
The noncompetitive classes encourage the musicians to work together, help and support each other in challenging situations, Iglitzin said.
Iglitzen was a professional violinist with the Philadelphia String Quartet for several years, and after moving to Seattle, Iglitzin found that she wanted to bring a joyful approach to classical music for kids.
"I've learned about how performing can be a very un-stressful thing," said Lavena Johanson, who has participated in some of the workshops over the last three years and performs on cello in the upcoming Anti-Contest.
Currently a sophomore at Roosevelt High School, she has been playing the cello for about 10 years. Last year, she performed in a quartet dressed as mental patients.
"I like watching other people's skits, and I like trying to make one of my own," Johanson said.
Iglitzin's mission is to turn the students on to an attitude that they can play music in whatever walk of life they choose.
"It's a real service to our kids around here," said Harold Johanson, Lavena's father, who performs recreationally on the string bass. "It's built from a philosophical standpoint to avoid competition as much as possible."
The Chamber Music Anti-Contest/Concert will begin at 7 p.m. on Saturday, March 26, at University Preparatory Academy's Hooper Fine Arts Center, 8000 25th Ave. N.E. A reception will follow the concert. A donation of $15 for adults and $5 for students is suggested for admission.
For more information, contact Expression Enterprises, at 366-1211 or ExpressionEnterprises @hotmail.com, or visit www.chambermusic madness.org.
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