Although the competition is fierce, the award is a chance of a lifetime.

The University’s College of Musical Arts will host its 39th annual Finalist Concert tomorrow night. The concert is the final weeding for eight students competing for a solo spot in front of the student orchestra on a concert in February. More than 90 went through the preliminary rounds.

The competition is the largest – and toughest – on-campus event that instrumental music students can face, according to Ryan Muncy, graduate assistant.

“This is a pretty big deal. There are two or three rounds and the level of playing is very high,” said Muncy, a saxophonist. “There is quite a bit of competition, but the experience is worth it.”

The event will take place tomorrow at 8 p.m. in Kobacker Hall of the Moore Musical Arts Center.

It’s sponsored by Pro Musica, a group affiliated with the College of Musical Arts who raise money for students and student activities.

Students have competed throughout the week in a series of preliminary rounds. Graduate students and undergraduate students are kept seperate to keep the competition fair.

Participants in the competition are required to memorize their pieces and perform a live version of it in front of the judges.

Muncy admits the procedure can seem overwhelming at times.

“It can be somewhat of a daunting task standing up and playing for 20 minutes on pure memorization,” Muncy said.

“But if I focused on the competition and everyone else, it wouldn’t work. The best I can do is to be well prepared and mentally focused for a good performance. That is the most I can ask for.”

Andrew Pelletier, visiting assistant professor and coordinator of the event, knows the memorization can be tough, but says it’s integral to finding the very best student musicians out there.

“Memorizing the piece tends to be an international standard for soloist competitions,” Pelletier said. “However, there is a belief that the musician can connect better with the audience if he can make eye contact rather than stare at a sheet of music.”

There will be two panels of judges for the competition – one for preliminary rounds and the other for tomorrow night’s final round.

According to Pelletier, the judges were carefully selected based on their own musical talent and contributions to the art form.

“There are two sets of judges, who are people picked from off campus.

They are selected by their stature in the music community and their accomplishments,” Pelletier said.

Wednesday and Thursday were the first rounds for undergraduate students, and graduate students will perform today.

From those students, 20 will be selected to play in the semi-final round tomorrow morning. Out of those 20, only four graduate students and four undergraduate students will be selected to compete tomorrow night.

Saxophonist David Wegehaupt, junior, knows not to let feelings get in the way of the competition.

“I was really optimistic, last year and it was a huge disappointment when I didn’t make it,” Wegehaupt said. “So this year, I’m trying not to get too excited. I just do the best I can and hope for the best.”

But though Wegehaupt is trying not to get too excited, he knows exactly what this opportunity can mean for the winners.

“Ever since I was in high school and started playing competitively, I’ve wanted to play in a live orchestra. Unless you are a professional, winning a competition like this is really the only way a person can play with an orchestra,” Wegehaupt said.

The final competition takes place on Saturday night. Two graduate students and two undergraduate students will then be rewarded the chance to play with the Bowling Green Philharmonia.

Members of the audience will have the opportunity to participate as well on Saturday. They will be voting for their favorite undergraduate student and also graduate student to receive an “Audience Choice Award” and a $500 cash prize.

This gives the students an opportunity to be judged on their actual musical presentation versus the technical aspects the judges will be looking for.

And now, with the chance to put everything on the line in front of judges and his peers, Muncy is ready to take center stage if he’s chosen.

“It’s important to me to give a great performance and execute the piece properly,” Muncy said. “A live performance would be the result of months of grueling work.”