BIRMINGHAM, Ala. – Two University of Alabama at Birmingham (UAB) music students won top honors and three students received honorable mentions at the Alabama Music Teachers Association (AMTA) 2007 Collegiate Solo auditions, held April 20-21 at Samford University. Thirty-five competitors from eight universities and colleges took part in the auditions.

Cahill Smith and Eunhae Bae, students of Yakov Kasman, D.M.A., assistant professor in the UAB Department of Music, won the auditions in the upper division piano category. As winners, they will be asked to perform in a master class led by pianist Anne Koscielny at the upcoming AMTA State Conference May 31-June 2, said Kathryn Fouse, AMTA state president. Smith, a music major, is the son of Patricia and Byron Smith of Montgomery. Eunhae Bae, a biology and piano double major at UAB, is the daughter of Yeonghi and Jeonghee Bae of Seoul, South Korea.

UAB music students Dahae Bae, Julia Oh and Rosa Ruiz, were awarded three of the six honorable mentions at the auditions. Dahae Bae, a piano and biology double major, is the daughter of Yeonghi and Jeonghee Bae of Seoul, South Korea. Oh, a biomedical science major, is the daughter of Jaehong Oh and Haesook An of Huntsville. Ruiz, a music major, is the daughter of Rosa Ramirez of Santa Domingo, Dominican Republic, and Wilfredo Ruiz of Havana, Cuba.

“These recent accomplishments by our immensely talented piano students are further testament to their desire to become the best pianists they can, the excellent teaching of Dr. Kasman and the department’s ever-increasing visibility in our state and our nation,” said Jeff W. Reynolds, chairman of the UAB Department of Music.