(
Newswise — To inspire an orchestra to perform at its peak, a conductor needs to grab every musician on the first upbeat, and Tomasz Golka did just that.
Golka, conductor of orchestras at Ball State University, won the gold medal and $10,000 at the inaugural Eduardo Mata International Conducting Competition in Mexico City earlier this month.
The rigorous five-day competition kept Golka in his hotel refining his repertoire, leaving no time for sightseeing, said the 27-year-old conductor. In the end, however, the reward was worth the sacrifice.
"Everyone treated me like Michael Jordan after I had won," Golka said. "I tried to call a friend to tell her what I had done, but I could not get away from the reporters and cameras. Seemingly everyone in Mexico City, from the media to the hotel staff, was so enthusiastic about my accomplishment."
Golka's entry into the prestigious competition began with him being one of 12 finalists selected from a pool of 130 international applicants. The finalists then traveled to Mexico City to lead multiple full orchestral concerts in front of a panel of judges. They were judged on their musicianship, technique and rapport with the orchestra.
"To inspire people to make music you must be completely immersed in the music and must grab the orchestra on the first upbeat," Golka said. "To do this, you must have the peace of mind to study the music for hours and the energy to recreate an artistic vision intended by the original composer."
The Eduardo Mata competition has many special meanings for Golka beyond the performance. First, returning to Mexico was a homecoming. Born in Poland, he moved to Mexico at age 4 when his father became a trombonist for the Veracruz Symphony. Studying the violin, being surrounded by musicians and seeing the world instilled his love for classical music and allowed him to become fluent in Polish, Spanish and later, English, when his family eventually moved to Houston.
Second, Golka saw Eduardo Mata leading the Dallas Symphony in a memorable performance in 1986, nine years before the maestro was killed in a plane accident. During that concert, Mata led the orchestra and soloist Henryk Szeryng, a Polish violinist who was also the cultural ambassador to Mexico.
"That was the first time in my life to hear music of that caliber," Golka said. "There were so many parallels between Szeryng's life and mine. To speak with Szeryng backstage and touch his violin and to see Mata conduct in person was amazing; that performance had such a significant impact in my life."
Now it is Golka's turn to inspire future musicians. As part of winning the competition, he will perform eight concerts in Mexico and Venezuela. Back at Ball State, students and the university will benefit by having a renowned musician of international caliber, said Peter McAllister, director of the School of Music.
"This is incredible for Ball State, in that, we are forever connected with the Eduardo Mata competition," McAllister said. "Tomasz is a great teacher, and his students will reap the benefits of his international accomplishments."
RSS