Blair School of Music senior Mary Grace Johnson and student string ensemble Claudius Quartet won national honors at the 2016-17 Music Teachers National Association national competition held March 17-20 in Baltimore. To compete at nationals, musicians have already won their state and regional divisions.
Johnson, a violinist, took first place in the strings category of the Young Artist Performance competition. Johnson is a senior violin performance major with minors in viola and baroque violin. She studies with Cornelia Heard, Valere Blair Potter Professor of Violin.
The Claudius Quartet took third place in the strings category of the Chamber Music competition. Ensemble members are Eliza Wong, a sophomore violin performance major; Hesoo Cha, a freshman violin performance major; Rachel Haber, a freshman viola performance major; and Meghan Leong, a freshman cello performance major. They also are coached by Heard.
The Music Teachers National Association has close to 22,000 members in 50 states and more than 500 local chapters.