The sound of piano music echoed through the halls of Baker University and judges began to write down their comments.  Two band students, senior Brenna Iskra and freshman Sara Hempleman and three choir students, senior Keenan Ford, sophomore Eli Stewart and freshman Katie Lee participated in the KMEA regional piano festival on Saturday, Feb. 2.

The students signed up to play in the competition with a piece that they had learned and memorized on their own and played for a judge who rated them on a scale from 1 to 5, with 1 being the best. Ford, Stewart, and Lee received a 1 rating and will be going to the state competition on Saturday Feb. 16.

Lee has played piano competitively since she was younger and prepared well for her score.

“I have played this same piece [“Fantasy Dance” by Schumann] for other district and state competitions last fall, so it has been ready for a while,” Lee said.  “It was a hard piece because of quick it was combined with the fact that the notes were everywhere.”

While Lee was used to the competition setting, Hempleman was competing for the first time.

“I was really nervous before because my piece wasn’t memorized, but when I was playing I felt more relaxed and confident,” Hempleman said.  “I liked the experience of trying something new.”

Lee is focused on preparing her piece for state.

“I felt very satisfied and happy with my score,” Lee said. “I plan on exaggerating the crescendos and decrescendos in my piece more.”