BETHEL — On Saturday, May 10 the Maine Music Teachers Association, affiliated with the Music Teachers National Association, hosted its Biennial Pine Tree Music Competition at Gould Academy in Bethel. MTNA is a nonprofit organization of 24,000 independent and collegiate music teachers committed to advancing the value of music study and music making to society and to supporting the professionalism of music teachers. Founded in 1876, MTNA is the oldest professional music teachers’ association in the United States. On Saturday, piano and string students from across the state of Maine competed in four categories, Early Elementary, Elementary, Junior and Senior. The winners of each category are as follows:
Early Elementary Piano Division
1st Place – Brinley Doumas of Harpswell, student of Will Bristol
2nd Place – Fiona Zorn of Cumberland, student of Elizabeth Hasbrouck
3rd Place – Nels Adler of Portland, student of Elizabeth Hasbrouck
Honorable Mention – Bo Broyer of Scarborough, student of Elizabeth Hasbrouck
Late Elementary Piano Division
1st Place – Enrique Lee of Brunswick, student of Brandon Li
2nd Place – Peter McCann of Topsham, student of Joel Pierce
3rd Place – Antonia Paquette of Bangor, student of Patricia Stowell
Honorable Mention – Joy Hiebeler of Orono, student of Patricia Stowell
Junior Piano Division
1st Place – Erik Frey of Cape Elizabeth, student of Brandon Li
2nd Place – Vasily Lee of Brunswick, student of Brandon Li
3rd Place – Sylvia Elliott of Cumberland, student of Elizabeth Hasbrouck
Junior Strings Division
1st Place – Mary Philbrick of Alna, student of Yasmin Vitalius
2nd Place – Sylvia Macomber of Topsham, student of Ferdinand Liva
3rd Place – Simone Bastone-Russell of Yarmouth, student of Yasmin Vitalius
Honorable Mention – Thomas Bailey of Stetson, student of Sascha Zaburdaeva
Senior Piano Division
1st Place – Coltrane Vitalius of Yarmouth, student of Christine Kissack
2nd Place – Sofiia Kleshneva of Bar Harbor, student of Patricia Stowell
3rd Place – Connor Gooch of Falmouth, student of Christine Kissack
MaineMTA sponsors music events throughout the year. The next Pine Tree Competition will be held spring 2027. For more information, visit www.mainemta.org.
