After hitting the final note of Roger Boutry's "Divertimento," senior Nate Bogert was blown away by applause as the audience that included his teary-eyed mother leapt to its feet to give him a standing ovation at Illinois State University's Braden Auditorium on June 25 as part of the Music for All Summer Symposium.
"It was like being at a rock concert," Ronnah Bogert, his mother said. "The applause was that hard."
As part of the symposium, Bogert and eight other young musicians from around the country were chosen to receive recognition as a 2007 Yamaha Young Performing Artist.
Hundreds of applicants, ages 16-21, apply annually and undergo a rigorous taped audition process for a panel of national celebrity musicians. The 2007 winners join a total of more than 150 others who have earned the distinction since the program's inception in 1989, according to the Yamaha Corporation of America.
As a twist to the YYPA program this year, an individual Overall Winner was announced. Based on his live classical performance as reviewed by a panel of three judges, Bogart received the top honor.
"Just making it there was a great honor in itself," he said.
The symposium lasted for most of the summer, but what Bogert and his fellow musicians participated in was the opening performance.
In the end, Bogert became the first Yamaha National Young Performing Artist since the program's induction. As the award winner, he received $5,000 in Yamaha retail credit and also received the opportunity to perform at the program's venue in New York City next year.
With his award winnings, Bogert bought a new saxophone and flute, a testament to how large a part music has always played in his life.
"My mom used to play Miles Davis' 'Kind of Blue,' and I would pick out the sound of the saxophone and ask my mom what it was," Bogert said.
Bogert's mother was not his only source of inspiration; musical roots have always run deep in his entire immediate family, he said.
"My father was a church organist and played piano, and my sister played clarinet, so I was always listening to some kind of music," he said.
Music performance professor George Wolfe, a mentor of Bogert's, describes him to be "charismatic and highly self motivated," he said.
Winning the YYPA award was only one of several highlights in Bogert's musical career this year alone.
He also performed with Wolfe at Chautauqua Institution, one of the premiere summer programs for arts, the past two years.
In January, Bogert won the Ball State Symphony Concerto Competition, which earned him a trip to perform in Japan, his first trip overseas.
"[He] has very good practice discipline, and his skills are very reflective of it," Wolfe said.
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