KU piano student awarded for joyful noise
After the soulful performance of two original hymns, James Cockman III, a KU doctoral student, won two prestigious awards last summer at the 32nd annual Gospel Music Association's Music in the Rockies in Estes Park, Colo.
Cockman received the overall grand prize for instrumental performance and the national award for an instrumental solo/ensemble performance. He is a student of Jack Winerock, KU professor of piano.
For the competition, Cockman prepared both pieces from memory and performed them for a panel of judges, including several gospel music producers. The first composition combined the hymn "Abide With Me" with Frederick Chopin's Etude Op. 10 No. 9 and Franz Liszt's Concert Etude No. 3. For the second piece, Cockman focused on the works of American composers George Gershwin, Scott Joplin and Louis Moreau Gottschalk combined with the hymn "He Set Me Free."
"It was a real blessing to be able to share my musical talents in Estes Park and to see how my music influenced so many in the audience not only musically, but spiritually," Cockman said. "The art of improvisation and musical transcription should continue to be appreciated by sacred and secular audiences."
The son of James and Shelia Cockman of Pleasant Hill, Mo., he earned a master's degree in piano performance from Central Missouri State University and a bachelor's degree, also in piano performance, from William Jewell College, Liberty, Mo. He graduated from Trinity Bible Church Christian School, Kansas City, Mo. Cockman said his future plans include entering a seminary to prepare for the ministry.
