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malibusurfsidenews.com LIFE & ARTS<br />
Malibu surfside news | January 24, 2019 | 21<br />
Fierce competition ahead<br />
Surfside chats with<br />
most recent winner<br />
of Pepperdine<br />
guitar competition<br />
Lauren Coughlin, Editor<br />
For Meng Su, an interest<br />
in guitar began when she<br />
was 5, when her mother<br />
asked her to choose between<br />
violin and guitar.<br />
She picked the latter, reasoning<br />
that the name sounded<br />
cool. As the years passed,<br />
Su developed a deeper connection<br />
with the instrument.<br />
In 2015, she was crowned<br />
the winner of Pepperdine<br />
University’s prestigious<br />
Parkening International<br />
Guitar Competition.<br />
The competition is to return<br />
to Malibu this spring,<br />
and applications are being<br />
accepted through 5 p.m.<br />
Feb. 6 at https://app.getacc<br />
eptd.com/parkening.<br />
The winner of this year’s<br />
competition, to be held May<br />
28-June 1, will earn a gold<br />
medal and the Jack Marshall<br />
Prize of $30,000. Silver and<br />
bronze medalists also will<br />
be awarded.<br />
Since winning the last<br />
iteration of the competition,<br />
Su, a 30-year old native<br />
of Qingdao, China,<br />
has released a solo album<br />
(“Meng,” 2016), received<br />
her master’s degree and artist<br />
diploma from Peabody<br />
Conservatory of Johns Hopkins<br />
University, and toured<br />
the world in duo, solo and<br />
trio capacities with Cuban<br />
guitarist Manuel Barrueco<br />
and various orchestras.<br />
We recently caught up<br />
with Su — who is currently<br />
splitting time between the<br />
U.S. and Asia — by email<br />
to find out more about what<br />
winning the competition<br />
meant to her, how competitors<br />
can prepare and more.<br />
Surfside News: What<br />
led you to participate in<br />
the Parkening International<br />
Guitar Competition<br />
in 2015?<br />
Meng Su: Every competitor<br />
comes from a different<br />
background and at<br />
different stages of their career.<br />
For me, I participated<br />
for several reasons. 1) I<br />
was a Young Parkening<br />
Winner in 2006 and made<br />
a promise to myself that<br />
I’d come back for the adult<br />
division. 2) I had devoted<br />
my time and energy to a<br />
guitar duo career, formed<br />
the Beijing Guitar Duo in<br />
2009 and toured exclusively<br />
all around the world. It<br />
was a great chance for me<br />
to focus on my solo playing<br />
and kick off a solo career.<br />
3) To use this opportunity<br />
to push my playing<br />
to a higher level. I knew<br />
that through the intense<br />
preparation of this competition<br />
... I’d become a better<br />
player.<br />
SN: How would you describe<br />
the experience of<br />
participating in the competition?<br />
MS: It was almost surreal<br />
for me, I was not nervous<br />
at all. I remember the drive<br />
from my inn in Calabasas to<br />
[the] Pepperdine campus.<br />
The view was gorgeous and<br />
so relaxing. The level of<br />
the competition was worldclass,<br />
15 top players gathered<br />
together, I got to meet<br />
old and new friends. All the<br />
staff were so friendly and<br />
so professional. Thinking<br />
back, it was really a dream<br />
week for me<br />
SN: What set you apart<br />
from other competitors?<br />
MS: I prepared really<br />
well, both musically and<br />
mentally. The mentality one<br />
needs for a competition this<br />
level has to be more than<br />
solid. There are three onsite<br />
rounds. I was confident<br />
in each one and I [loosened]<br />
up more towards the end.<br />
The final round was sold<br />
out, and I came out as if it<br />
was just a concert in front of<br />
a warm audience, I totally<br />
enjoyed myself.<br />
SN: What is your best<br />
piece of advice for those<br />
planning to participate in<br />
this year’s iteration?<br />
MS: Memorization!<br />
[You] can’t trust your finger<br />
memories under such immense<br />
pressure. I’ve seen<br />
great players got eliminated<br />
due to memory slips in competitions.<br />
The thing to do is<br />
visualization — make sure<br />
you memorize it by heart,<br />
and play the whole sets in<br />
public as much as possible.<br />
SN: What impact did<br />
the competition and/or<br />
winning the competition<br />
have on you and your musical<br />
career?<br />
MS: It really kicked off<br />
my solo career and, more<br />
importantly, made me a better<br />
guitarist.<br />
SN: You are currently<br />
teaching in Hong Kong;<br />
can you share a little more<br />
about that?<br />
MS: I teach at Hong Kong<br />
Academy of Performing<br />
Arts. I have a small number<br />
of students there whom I see<br />
every other week. I’m trying<br />
to build a high-level studio<br />
within a few years and ultimately<br />
make Hong Kong<br />
the center for guitar in Asia.<br />
SN: What’s next for<br />
you?<br />
MS: More touring, new<br />
projects, teaching [and] trying<br />
to spread the music and<br />
guitar to [a] larger audience.<br />
7TH ANNUAL CHINESE NEW YEAR CELEBRATION<br />
THURSDAY FEBRUARY, 7, 2019<br />
BIGGER AND BETTER THAN BEFORE<br />
2019 CHINESE NEW YEAR!<br />
THE YEAR OF THE PIG<br />
Featuring Traditional Lion Dance<br />
RESERVE NOW!<br />
Call<br />
310.457.101818<br />
Trancas Country Market<br />
30745 Pacific Coast Highway<br />
8am-9pm daily<br />
Meng Su receives the gold medal in the last Parkening<br />
International Guitar Competition, held at Pepperdine<br />
University in 2015. Pepperdine Center for the Arts<br />
Offering Buffet Style Specials<br />
Thursday February 7, 2019<br />
2 Seatings - 5:30pm & 7:15pm<br />
W!
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