 
Music students visit the mecca of singing
by UdeA News Instituto para el Desarrollo de Antioquia (IDEA) awarded scholarship to six music students from the School of Arts. The students traveled to the city of Graz where they met with international musicians and professors.
Eliana Piedrahita (third from right to left) took third place in the AIMS Meistersinger Vocal Competition. Photo courtesy of www.aimgraz.com Eliana Piedrahita and Juan Sebastian Gutierrez have described their trip to Austria as the best experience of their lives. These music and singing students from the School of Arts, University of Antioquia, were awarded scholarships of Instituto para el Desarrollo de Antioquia (IDEA). From July 4 to August 14, 2011, they attended the “Summer vocal, piano and orchestra programs” at the American Institute of Musical Studies (AIMS), Graz, Austria. These young musicians are into lyrical performance. They and the other scholarship candidates were asked to record a video of their works so that the jury could select the winners. The candidates listed below were selected for AIMS scholarship: Juan Sebastian Gutierrez, Eliana Piedrahita, Carlos Arturo Builes, Nelson Sierra, Daniel Hoyos, and Juan Francisco Tobon, a pianist and former student of the School of Arts.
107 singers and musicians from Puerto Rico, United States, China, Canada, UK, Australia and Pakistan also attended the course, which has been delivered for 41 years. “At first we thought we were not as good as the other participants, but actually we did it well. We are proud of our work and I’m sure we made the cut. In fact, we were told that AIMS senior managers are interested in meeting other Colombian musicians”, said Eliana Piedrahita. According to Juan Sebastian Gutierrez, this is one-of-a-kind experience since Austria is a place with a strong musical tradition. In addition, it has played a major role in the history of world literature and science. “Many famous musicians go to Graz. This city has renowned tourist attractions like the Opera House, which is exclusively a place for opera performance. Also we had excellent teachers during the course such as the German mezzo-soprano Christa Ludwig, who has a long career in music and has traveled around the world”, said Juan Sebastian, who is also a tango singer. The most important thing about this course is that classes focused in singing. We were offered individual classes and teachers who advised us on issues such as style, diction, acting and how to successfully audition. Colombian musicians no only were offered a fruitful training but also we had a chance for networking with other musicians from around the world. The AIMS Meistersinger Vocal Competition was held at the end of the course. The closing concert was performed by AIMS Symphonic Orchestra, one of the most renowned European bands. Ten finalists were chosen, included Colombian musicians Carlos Builes, Nelson Sierra and Eliana Piedrahita. Looking forward to return  Both Juan Sebastian and Eliana are aware they have had high-quality training and received considerable support from the faculty of University of Antioquia. However they stress that Colombia lacks suitable infrastructure and facilities that allow them to move forward. "As soon as I arrived in Austria and saw this awesome infrastructure I knew they had everything I need to progress my career. Opera had heyday in Colombia until the mid-20th century but it suddenly vanished. People mistakenly believe opera is for the rich and the elderly”, claims Juan Sebastian.
After studying and networking in Austria these two musicians who are about to graduate are planning to leave the country. "I want to return to Austria", said Juan Sebastian. Eliana agrees, then adds "If I want to make a career in opera then I must leave the country." | 
