Musicians may have many worries when they perform: being in front of an audience, getting every note right, remembering all of the subtle techniques that they practiced in rehearsal. But music performance graduate student Helen Gillet is most worried about walking across the stage in high heels.

Maybe this is because she has had her cello concerto memorized since October, which is when she and more than 20 other music students auditioned for the music department’s concerto competition, which allows winners to play concertos with the accompaniment of the Loyola chamber orchestra.

The three winners of this year’s competition were Gillet, Virya Quesada-Monge, bassoon performance senior, and Luis Araya, a graduate trumpet student who performed his concerto at a concert in January. Gillet will perform Tchaikovsky’s Variations on a Rococo Theme.

Gillet, originally from Belgium, has been playing the cello for 15 years. She completed her undergraduate studies in music performance and anthropology at Beloit College in Wisconsin.

After taking a couple years off from studying after graduating from Beloit, Gillet decided to attend Loyola’s graduate program to study with Allen Nisbet, associate professor and cello instructor.

“It’s been awesome working with him and he’s improved my technique and I owe winning the competition to him,” Gillet said.

She also was interested in exploring the unique music scene New Orleans has to offer musicians.

“New Orleans is such a great city for all types of music, and I wanted to be a part of it,” Gillet said.

In addition to participating in both the symphony and chamber orchestra at Loyola, Gillet plays in a tango band because she said she likes to explore different types of music besides classical.

Nisbet said that her personality comes through the way she plays the cello.

“She’s a very cheery person so she plays that way, very positive,” Nisbet said.

Nisbet also said that Gillet’s concerto, Tchaikovsky’s Rococo Variations for Cello demonstrates the player’s musical talents.

“It’s a real show piece,” Nisbet said. “It’s meant to show off your technical ability.”

Dean Angeles, director of Loyola orchestras and professor of string education, started the concerto competition 20 years ago. Angeles said that Gillet’s piece presents a challenge.

“It’s an incredibly difficult work, but as a graduate student, what we’re seeing with her performance is that maturity, and she really knows how to sell this piece; it’s very exciting, “Angeles said.

Though Gillet admitted to being a little nervous about the performance, she said that nervousness works to help her play better.

“I’m happy to have nerves because I think it makes me more on-task and focused while I’m performing,” Gillet said.

Mostly, Gillet said that she was excited to have the opportunity to play her concerto with an orchestra.

“It’s like hearing the piece the way it was written, the way it was intended to sound. It’s so rare to have that at your disposal,” Gillet said.

Quesada, the third concerto competition winner who will also play on Sunday, is a native of Costa Rica and, like Araya, is a recipient of the Monroe scholarship for Costa Rican music students.

Quesada will perform Weber’s Bassoon Concerto.

Quesada was selected as a recipient when she was only 17 years old, but she said her parents did not want her to go, and she was not sure that she wanted to study music full time.

“I could have insisted [on coming to Loyola], but I wasn’t sure yet,” Quesada said.

Angeles said that even then, Quesada was an advanced musician.

“She’s a professional-level bassoonist at her very young age,” Angeles said.

After studying chemistry, engineering and music at a college in Costa Rica for a year and a half, she decided she was ready to devote herself to music.

“I liked [chemistry and engineering] but I had to choose. It was in my life all these years so I had this feeling that I did not want to let it go from my life,” Quesada said.

Quesada said that going into the auditions for the concerto competition, she did not set out to win but just to play for her own pleasure.

“Every time I have an audition I try to think that I am going to play just to enjoy the playing, even if I’m not going to win,” Quesada said.

But, she did win and now, days away from the concert, she is confident and ready to reap the rewards for her hard work.

“I’ve already worked on it, I’ve already tried to fix everything and so now I’m just waiting for the moment to enjoy it,” Quesada said.

She is grateful for the opportunity to perform with a full orchestra.

“This is what it is composed for so I guess that it’s just great to have this chance. It’s the best thing you can do with your concerto,” Quesada said.

Angeles said that he expects her performance of Weber’s to be impressive.

“She’s very bright, has nerves of steel and is just going to deliver an outstanding performance,” Angeles said.

Sunday’s concert will also feature the Loyola Symphony Orchestra’s renditions of Beethoven’s Lenore Overture and Moussorgsky’s Pictures at an Exhibition, a piece that Angeles said is the most challenging work that the orchestra has ever taken on.

The concert will be held at 3 p.m. in Roussel Hall Sunday. Admission is free.

Anna Garvey can be reached at [email protected].