Two De Soto High School Students competed in a state piano festival, held at Wichita State University . Junior Kate Barger and freshman Zaid Gratz both walked away from the competition with a perfect score.
Both Barger and Gratz qualified for state when they also received perfect scores at the regional competition, hosted at Baker University.
“It was really fun,” said Barger. “Especially since I didn’t get to go last year.”
“It was just a really awesome experience,” said Gratz.
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Each student had prepared and perfected a piece of their choice.
“We’ve been practicing our songs for about a year,” said Gratz. “It was really challenging, but it was all worth it in the end.”
Barger preformed a section from Beethoven’s “Pathetique Sonata.”
“I like it because it slow, but is more complex than it seems,” said Barger. “I had to play both harmony and melody with my right hand.”
Gratz chose to perform “Tribute to Roberto Garcia Morillo.”
“Its the exact opposite of Kate’s piece,” said Gratz. “Its very fast and loud and energetic. It was also very difficult because I had to play it in under 44 seconds. Which was tough because the piece is over a thousand notes long.”
“I can’t wait to go back next year,” said Barger.
“Yeah,” said Gratz. “I can’t wait to go back.”