Jazz Guitar Major Emmett Sher Takes Second Place in International Competition
This past month, jazz guitar major Emmet Sher ’20 participated in the third Jarek Śmietana Competition in Kraków, Poland. Of the 50 participants in the competition, 11 made it to the semifinals in Kraków. Sher place second overall.
“We all had to play a short set in front of a small audience and in front of six judges, including Mike Stern and Peter Bernstein who are two of the most renowned guitarists alive. We all had to play three songs in total: one required composition by Jarek Śmietana, a famous Polish jazz guitarist (after which the competition is named), and two pieces of our choice. A rhythm section was provided, so everyone performed in a trio. We all watched each other’s auditions which was stressful, but it was also really interesting to hear other musicians from all over the world with similar interests and influences,” says Sher.
(photo courtesy of the Śmietana Competition FaceBook page)
Six guitarists were selected to move on to the finals the following day, where the participants had to play a different three-song set.
“After the finals, we all had a jam session and hung out until they announced the awards at midnight. All the finalists got some type of award because the jury felt the level of talent was too high overall to not recognize all of the guitarists.”
For the rest of his summer, Sher will be heading to California to teach at the Brubeck Institute summer jazz colony and doing a midwest tour with the Oberlin student-founded band Frisson.
