2011 Seattle International Piano Competition Winners, Finalists, and Semi-finalists

Professional
Collegiate
Amateur
Youth, Ages 9 and Under
Youth, Ages 10-13
Youth, Ages 14-18

Professional

Bogdan Dulu, Romania (2011 Professional Gold Medalist)
Born in Romania, Bogdan Dulu’s career flourished soon after his orchestral debut at the age of 12 with the Ploiesti State Philharmonic in a concert broadcast by the Romanian Radio. Since then, he has participated in competitions, including Enescu in Bucharest, Sendai in Japan, and Piano-e-Competition in Minnesota, among others. Most recently, he won the 2011 UBC Concerto Competition, thus having his Canadian orchestral debut. He has recorded for and represented the Romanian Radio at the Concertino Prague and The New Talent (Bratislava) competitions. Bogdan Dulu has performed extensively as a solo recitalist, chamber musician, and collaborative pianist in the U.S. (Carnegie Recital Hall, Merkin Concert Hall, Steinway Hall), Canada, and Japan, as well as in Europe (Rome, Paris, Brussels, Warsaw, Bucharest, Sofia). Mr. Dulu holds a B.A. from Bucharest (2007), and a Master of Music degree (2009) from Mannes College of Music in New York City, where he studied with Irina Morozova. He has participated in masterclasses with Yefim Bronfman, Richard Goode, and Stephen Hough. He is currently a Doctor of Musical Arts degree candidate at the UBC School of Music, where he studies with internationally acclaimed Canadian pianist, Jane Coop, under a four-year doctoral fellowship.

Moye Chen, China (2011 Silver Medalist)
A native of Beijing, China, Moye Chen began his piano study at the age of seven. In 1997, he moved to Shanghai and studied with Xiaosheng Zhao and had the great honor of performing during the ceremony of Macao’s return to China in 1999, and featured in a broadcast by CCTV and SHTV. Recently, Mr. Chen has made numerous solo appearances in many cities and at important music festivals, including the Shanghai Spring Music Festival, Beijing International Contemporary Music Festival, and Tongyeong International Music Festival. He has performed in renowned venues such as Carnegie Hall, Finney Chapel, Beijing Concert Hall, and Shanghai Concert Hall. Moye is a first prize winner of the Bradshaw & Buono International Piano Competition and Palatino Piano & Composition Competition. He has bachelor and master of music degrees from the Shanghai Conservatory of Music, where he studied with Hung-Kuan Chen, and presently pursues an artist diploma with Angela Cheng at the Oberlin Conservatory of Music. Mr. Chen’s other instructors include Tema Blackstone, Alvin Chow, and Cheung-Yu Mo. Moye has performed in the masterclasses of Fou T’song, Anton Kuerti, Li Mingqiang, Lazar Berman, Constance Keene, Anatol Ugorski, Seymour Lipkin, and Volker Banfield.

Jamina Gerl, Germany (2011 Professional Bronze Medalist)
German pianist, Jamina Gerl received her first piano lessons at the age of five. Three years later, she also began study of the violin and successfully participated with both instruments in national competitions. After finishing her professional piano education with a Master of Music at the Hochschule für Musik und Tanz in Köln in 2009, she continued her academic studies in the United States. For further studies, she attended different masterclasses and lessons with renowned artists, including Jerome Rose, Menahem Pressler, Emanuel Krasovsky and Tamás Ungár. During recent years, Ms. Gerl received several awards and honors in national and international competitions, including second prize at the international Dorothy MacKenzie Recognition Award in New York, and has been a scholarship holder of various Festivals, including the Rieke Alten Stiftung and the Gisela und Erich Andreas Stiftung in Berlin. Since 2000 Ms. Gerl has appeared frequently in numerous solo and chamber music recitals, and has performed in Germany, Austria, Czech Republic, Italy, the Netherlands, USA, China and Japan.

Other Awards and Honorable Mentions
Audience Favorite award: Moye Chen
Teachers’ Favorite award: Hee-Jung Nam
Best Performance of a Prelude and Fugue by J. S. Bach: Jonathan Levin
Best Performance of a Sonata by Domenico Scarlatti: Hee-Jung Nam
Best Performance of a work by Franz Liszt: Moye Chen
Best Performance of an Etude by Claude Debussy: Hee-Jung Nam

Professional Finalists
Moye Chen (China), Bogdan Dulu (Romania), Jamina Gerl (Germany), Eun-Joung Kim (Korea), Jonathan Levin (USA), Hee-Jung Nam (Canada)

Instructors of the Finalists
Angela Cheng, Jane Coop, Nikita Fitenko, and Eugene Pridonoff

Professional Semi-finalists
Jeannette Fang (USA), Kimberly Kong (Korea/USA), Svetlana Kotova (Chile), Nicholas Phillips (USA), Julia Siciliano (USA), and Yu Zhang (China)

Instructors of the Semi-finalists
Kathryn Brown, Dean Kramer, Yong Hi Moon, Menahem Pressler, Paul Schenly, and Logan Skelton

Collegiate

Fantee Jones, USA (2011 Collegiate Gold Medalist)
Seventeen year old Fantee Jones of Roseville, California made her first public performance at the age of seven as a soloist at the Yamaha Music Exchange in Sacramento, CA, and again as a soloist with the Sacramento Youth Symphony Premier Orchestra at age ten. Her noteworthy accomplishments have continued, winning many awards in various international competitions. She has performed in Carnegie Hall, on Princess Cruise Lines, the Mondavi Center, and the Temppeliaukion Kirkko in Finland. In July 2009, she won the International Institute for Young Musicians’ Piano Competition. Fantee is a prizewinner of the Louisiana International Piano Competition, and also won the Sacramento Youth Symphony (SYS) Concerto Competition, where she performed Rachmaninoff’s second piano concerto with the SYS in May, 2010. Recently, Fantee was a finalist in the Stecher & Horowitz Foundation New York International Piano Competition and was the winner of the MTAC State Final Concerto Competition. Ms. Jones began piano training with her mother at the age of three. Since then, she has studied with Sylvia Hsieh, Tien Hsieh, and John McCarthy. She is currently a scholarship student at the Manhattan School of Music under the tutelage of Dr. Marc Silverman.

Fan-Ya Lin, Taiwan (2011 Collegiate Silver Medalist)
Born in Taipei, Fan-Ya began her piano study at age four. With great love and passion for music, it is her ultimate goal to become a concert pianist. Fan-Ya has been selected as a top prizewinner of numerous piano competitions, including first place winner of the 2009 Utah Music Teacher Association Concerto, 2009 Snowy Range Piano, 2010 Music Teacher National Association Steinway Young Artists National Piano, 2011 Aurora Symphony Orchestra Young Artist Concerto, and 2011 Grand Junction Young Artist Concerto competitions, as well as second place winner in the piano duet category of the 2010 New York International Piano Competition. Ms. Lin also attended many music festivals, including the 2008 Paris International Music Session, 2009 Aspen Music Festival, 2009 Music@Menlo, and the 2010 Estenhazy Classical Music Festival. Furthermore, she performed in numerous piano masterclasses for such renowned pianists as Ivo Pogorelich, Dr. Boris Berman, Dr. Nelita True, Menahem Pressler, and Lydia Artymiw. Fan-Ya Lin is currently an Edna Ione Hall Scholarship student at Weber State University, studying under Dr. Yu-Jane Yang.

Austin B. Chen, USA (2011 Collegiate Bronze Medalist)
Austin B. Chen has appeared throughout the United States and abroad for extensive concerts and competitions. Most recently, he captured the grand prize at the Rosario Marciano International Piano Competition, also receiving an award for a best performance by a work by Franz Liszt, and won first prize at the Internationalen Klavierwettbewerb “Grotrian Steinweg” in 2010. Other awards include prizes from the California Southern Youth Music Festival Competition, Long Beach Mozart Festival Solo Piano Competition, 16th Annual International Chinese Young Musicians Competition, Los Angeles Liszt International Piano Competition, California International Young Artists Competition MusicFest, and Bradshaw and Buono International Piano Competition, for which he was invited to perform on the stage of Carnegie Hall. Mr. Chen made his Orange County appearance with the Orange County Youth Symphony Orchestra performing concert series at the Renée and Henry Segerstrom Concert Hall, Orange County Performing Arts Center, playing Gershwin’s Rhapsody in Blue under the baton of Daniel Alfred Wachs. He also toured with the Diamond Bar Symphony Orchestra to the San Francisco Bay Area-Sacramento, performing Tchaikovsky’s Piano Concerto in B-flat Minor, Op. 23. At the age of 15, Austin was accepted into the Hochschule für Musik und Theater Hannover in Germany.

Other Awards and Honorable Mentions
Audience Favorite award: Fantee Jones
Teachers’ Favorite award: Fantee Jones and Fan-Ya Lin (split)
Best Performance of a Prelude & Fugue by J. S. Bach: Levi Vutipadadorn
Best Performance of a work by Franz Liszt: Austin B. Chen
Tatiana Shebanova Memorial Award: Fantee Jones
President’s Award: Fan-Ya Lin

Collegiate Finalists
Austin B. Chen (USA), Charles Chocallo (USA), Fantee Jones (USA), Zhenni Li (China), Fan-Ya Lin (Taiwan), Levi Vutipadadorn (USA)

Instructors of the finalists
Sergei Babayan, Joseph Kalichstein, Seymour Lipkin, Baruch Meir, Christopher Oakden, Marc Silverman, and Yu-Jane Yang

Collegiate Semi-finalists
Anna Arazi (Israel), Zhen Chen (China), Su Ji Hong (Korea), Nanyi Qiang (China), Irene Setiawan (Indonesia), Jia Shi (China), and Tong Wu (China)

Instructors of the semi-finalists
Sara Davis Buechner, Alexander Korsantia, Myoung Sun Kye, Antonio Pompa-Baldi, Arkady Aronov Qiang, Boaz Sharon, and Craig Sheppard

Outstanding Amateurs(semi-competitive; listed in alphabetical order)

Tony Cantrick, USA (2011 Amateur Gold Medalist)
Tony Cantrick’s keyboard studies have been a lifelong passion. His earliest musical training also included violin. He studied piano with Harold Thompson in high school, and was a finalist in the Alabama Music Teachers Association piano concerto competition. While earning his degree in history from the University of Rochester, Tony pursued his studies at the Eastman School of Music, studying with Eugene List and Dennis Andal, and performed a piano concerto with the University Symphony Orchestra. Following college he studied harpsichord with John Fesperman and Jim Weaver, and at the Oberlin Baroque Performance Institute; presented lecture-demonstrations on the historical keyboard collection at the Smithsonian Institution; and was an occasional recitalist in venues such as the Smithsonian, the Folger Shakespeare Library, Mt Vernon College, American University and the Anderson House Museum. In recent years, he has re-focused his attention on piano performance, studying with Dr. William Chapman Nyaho. Tony enjoys singing bass in the Kirkland Choral Society, is married with two children, resides in Woodinville, WA, is a systems analyst for Crane Aerospace, and enjoys hiking and bicycling the Cascades. This past summer he bicycled the French Alps, where he enjoyed first-hand the excitement and beauty of the Tour de France.

Mary Chandler, USA (2011 Amateur Gold Medalist)
Mary Chandler was born and raised in Los Angeles. Her piano studies began at age 6 and continued through high school. After a 28-year hiatus, she returned to the piano in 2003 and now studies with Dr. Robert Swan, concentrating on the late Romantic and early 20th-century piano literature. Mary was first prize winner in the 2011 Festival of the Romantics and a semifinalist in the Seattle International Piano Festival in 2009. She serves as treasurer for the Northwest Council of the Chopin Foundation of the United States, which sponsors professional recitals and a piano competition for talented youth. Mary’s education includes an MD from Duke University and an MS in biostatistics from the University of Southern California. She practiced obstetrics and gynecology for nine years, then retired from practice and entered the pharmaceutical development industry. Currently employed as a medical writer by Cell Therapeutics in Seattle, she also runs a freelance medical writing business. When not practicing on her beloved Blüthner piano, she enjoys playing the stock and options markets.

Mikhail Epifanov, Russia (2011 Amateur Gold Medalist)
Born in 1958 in Leningrad (now St. Petersburg), Mikhail Epifanov studied piano from the age of six until the completion of his children’s music school. After his Military Medical Academy in 1981, he worked as a military surgeon for twenty-five years, retiring at the rank of Colonel of the health service. He continued to teach general surgery and manage public health services. Since 2009, Mr. Epifanov has participated in numerous competitions for amateur pianists, including All-Russia Competition of Piano Duets, including a nomination for “creative works” in Vologda, 2009, the First International Fryderyk Chopin Competition for Amateur Pianists in Warsaw, 2009, as a finalist of the 3rd International Piano Amateur Competition in Berlin, 2010, and winner of the 2nd and 3rd International Competition for Amateur Musicians in St. Petersburg, in 2009 and 10. He has participated in the masterclass of Gitti Pirner in Munich. Mr. Epifanov’s repertoire includes works by masters of the 18th-20th centuries, with those of Glinka, Tchaikovsky, Liszt, and Chopin occupying a special place therein. Married with two daughters, a performance with his younger daughter, Ekaterina, garnered a special prize in “Family Ensembles” in Moscow, 2007, as well as at international festivals in St. Petersburg and Budapest.

Wen-yee Ho, USA (2011 Amateur Gold Medalist)
Born and raised in Hong Kong, Wen-yee Ho has been teaching French at Tufts University for 27 years. She holds a Bachelor of Arts in music from UCLA, a diplome (piano) from the American Conservatory at Fontainebleau, France, and three degrees in French. In Hong Kong, Ms. Ho gave duo piano concerts with her teacher, and participated in a benefit concert for the Hong Kong Philharmonic. More recently, she performed in Boston, Vermont, Italy, and France. Recipient of the award for Best Performance of a Polish Composer’s Work in Washington in July of this year (The 9th Washington International Piano Artists Competition), she will return to Washington in early December to give a recital of Chopin’s music as part of the Polish Embassy’s celebration of Christmas, and will have the honor of playing on Paderewski’s piano at the Embassy. Her teachers include Harry Ore (Hong Kong), Leo Smit (UCLA), F. Aguessy (France), Andre-Michel Schub (New York), and Max Levinson (Boston).

Richard Rhee, USA (2011 Amateur Gold Medalist)
Rich Rhee was born in Chicago, Illinois, having started playing the piano at age seven. He studied with Emilio del Rosario at the Music Center of the North Shore during which time he performed competitively. Rich went on to pursue medicine, and after a long break from piano, he recently started playing again. Rich currently is a practicing radiologist and maintains personal ties to Seattle since he completed his radiology residency at the University of Washington.

Wei Ling Wang, USA (2011 Amateur Gold Medalist)
Wei Ling began studying piano at age five and competed in several local, state and regional competitions through high school years in Texas. While working on her computer science degree at Rice University, she continued her piano study privately. Currently, Wei Ling is a project engineer at a telecommunication company where she manages Voice over Internet Protocol network projects. In 2006, Wei Ling was selected to perform with the Fort Worth Symphony as part of the Piano Texas Festival program. She also has performed in master classes given by Cliburn winner Alexander Kobrin, Leeds winner Antti Siirala and concert pianist, John O’Conor. Wei Ling enjoys opera music and travel, and is an active supporter of several Dallas-Fort Worth area’s music schools and non-profit music organizations.

Other Awards and Honorable Mentions

Audience Favorite award: Tony Cantrick
Teachers’ Favorite award: Mary Chandler
Best Performance of a work by Franz Liszt: Wen-yee Ho
Best Performance of a Sonata by Scarlatti: Tony Cantrick

Instructors of the finalists

Max Levinson, William Chapman Nyaho, and Robert Swan

Youth, Ages 9 and Under(semi-competitive; listed in alphabetical order)

Henry Gao, USA (Gold Medal)
Born in September 2001, Henry Gao is a fifth grader at Endeavour Elementary School in Issaquah, Washington. At age five, he started piano lessons with Dr. Ivona Kaminska at the Chopin Academy of Music in Issaquah. During these years, he won prizes in many festivals and competitions including first place in the 2011 Bach Festival, first place in the 2011 Northwest Festival’s Romantic Festival, second place in the Contemporary & Impressionist Festival, and second place in the 2010 Bach Festival. Henry has performed in prestigious centers of the Northwest, including Benaroya Hall, Meydenbauer Center, and the theater of the Frye Art Museum in Seattle. Besides music, Henry is a competitive swimmer in the Issaquah Swimming Team. He was a fifth place winner of the 2010 Midlakes Swimming League Championship in the overall Seattle metro area. Henry also likes to play basketball, video games, and perform magic tricks.

Yefei Li, China (Gold Medal)
In 2006 when Li Yefei was 5 years old, she began to study piano with Mr. Zhang Quming, a teacher at the music school affiliated to the Shenyang Conservatory of Music. Within the five years, she has made great progress both in skill and artistry. Apart from her regular study, she has participated in several national and international competitions in which she had excellent performances. In 2007 and 2008, Yefei won second prize respectively in the “Cadenza Cup” and “Xinghai Cup” competitions for young pianists organized by the Central Conservatory of Music in Beijing. In September 2010, she won her first gold prize in the Piano Competition In Memory of Chopin held in Changchun, China. One month later, she became the laureate of the “Helen Cup” International Competition For Young Pianists held in Shanghai. Aiming at becoming an excellent pianist, she strives to learn more standard works by the world famous composers and take every chance to perform in concerts and competitions.

Zekai Liu, China (Gold Medal)
Nine year-old pianist, Zekai Liu, began piano lessons at the age of five from Mr. Chiu Yinghong. He has won numerous prizes from different piano competitions, among them are first prize in the International Culture Piano Competition in 2007, first prize in the Hong Kong (Asia Pacific) Grieg and Bartok Piano Competition in the Guangdong region in 2009, and first prize in the “Ocean Cup” Piano Competition in 2010. He was also invited to participate in the 2010 international master’s advanced study in Austria with a full scholarship. During his time in Austria, Zekai was elected to be the performing guest at the art festival’s opening ceremony. In May 2011, Zekai Liu gave his debut recital in China, a smash hit locally. In addition to his musical talent, Zekai Liu is a straight ‘A’ student at his school. He also loves swimming, and has won the 2010 National Swimming Championship (Butterfly) of his age group.

Steve Silverberg, USA (Gold Medal)
Nine year-old Steve Silverberg began to study the piano with Dr. Adam Alexander, in Miami Florida, when he was four. In 2008 he moved to Bellevue, Washington, joining the studio of Professor Jinhwa Chon. For the last year and a half, he has been a student of Dr. Peter Mack in Seattle. In the 2010 – 2011 season, Steve Silverberg was a prizewinner of many competitive events, including Washington State’s Bach, Russian, Simon Fiset, Performing Arts Festival of the Eastside (both concerto and solo awards), and Romantic competitions. Most recently, in the 2011 Northwest Contemporary Festival, he received the Judge’s Award for the best performance of a work by Szymanowski. In addition to his triumphant pianism, he is also a nationally ranked chess champion, and a competitive swimmer. He is entering the fourth grade at Clyde Hill Elementary School. In his spare time, he enjoys sketching comic books, strumming the guitar, and playing with his dog, “Baby.”

Isabella Tong, USA (Gold Medal)
Isabella Tong just started her fifth grade at Santiago Hills Elementary school APAAS & GATE program in Irvine, California. Her first piano lesson commenced at the age of 6 when she got admitted by the Opus119 School of Music, and has been studying there ever since under school’s director Mr. Ethan Dong and teacher Ms. Ariel Yang. Even at the very beginning of her music journey, Isabella showed a strong love and passion towards music, eager to learn piano and displaying significant progress and achievement. She has participated in various recitals and competitions and has won top prizes. At the age of 8, she won the first prize of the American Fine Arts Festival Competition and presented her debut performance in Carnegie Hall, New York. During the next year, she performed her Solo Debut with the ICP Orchestra. Besides playing piano, Isabella loves spending time with friends, singing, reading, writing and photography. She is also a competitive swimmer in the Nova swimming team.

Arthur Yan, USA (Gold Medal)
Inspired by the  stunning performances of the classical greats by his brother, Robert Yan, who was also a gold medal winner in the 2009 SIPF, Arthur Yan developed a love for the piano and classical music at an early age. At the age of seven, he began his piano studies under Dr. Ivona Kaminska at the Chopin Academy of Music in Issaquah. He has demonstrated his talent in regional competitions in Seattle area and his many recitals have dazzled the audiences in the Meydenbauer Center in Bellevue and Illsley Ball Nordstrom Recital Hall at Benaroya Hall in Seattle. After only one year study of the piano, he won the first prize at the 2010 Bach Festival, which was his first time attending any piano competition. Aside from the piano, Arthur is also a well-rounded student who enjoys sports and writing. Arthur lives in Sammamish, Washington.

Connor Zhang, USA (Gold Medal)
Connor Zhang started learning piano at age seven in 2008 with Ms. Ni Liu in Seattle, Washington, and is still an amateur in his music study. He has had several opportunities to participate in local and regional piano competitions. In 2009, he won the second place at the Sonatina Festival at Central Washington University. In 2011, he continued to make progress and was given an Honorable Mention in the Simon-Fiset Piano Competition and won 2nd place in the Romantic Piano Festival. He then participated in the Impressionistic and Contemporary Piano Festival and was awarded 2nd place with distinction, which allowed him the honor to perform in the winner’s concert at Benaroya Hall in Seattle. He was also given an Excellence Award at the SMTA State Adjudication. These experiences encourage him to further his music studies through piano, violin and through the Lowell Elementary School Orchestra. Besides music, Connor swims with the Cascade Swim Club and loves to read, play chess, ski, and travel. He also enjoys imaginary war strategy games, Lego and video games with his brother and friends.

Edward Zhang, USA (Gold Medal)
Eight year-old Edward has enjoyed playing piano. He began his piano study at age five and half with Mr. James Chen and has been a student of Ms. Ni Liu. Under his teacher’s great guidance, he has explored a wide range of music repertoire from Baroque, Classic to Contemporary. Music has enriched his life and he cherishes great works by Bach, Kabalevsky, Beethoven, Mozart, Schubert, and Chopin. In the first year of his piano study, Edward won first place in Level Three at 2009 CWU Sonata-Sonatina Festival. He won second place in the 2011 NW Impressionistic and Contemporary Festival in his age group and performed in the winner’s concert at Illsley Ball Nordstrom Recital Hall at Benaroya Hall. Besides piano, he enjoys reading, swimming, playing chess and basketball with his friends.

Other Awards and Honorable Mentions
Audience Favorite award: Zekai Liu
Best Performance of a Sonata by Domenico Scarlatti: Henry Gao
Best Performance of a work by Franz Liszt: Arthur Yan
Best Performance of a Prelude by Debussy: Steve Silverberg

Instructors of the finalists
Ivona Kaminska, Ni Liu, Peter Mack, Zhang Quming, and Ariel Yang

Youth, Ages 10-13

Christopher Son Richardson, USA (2011 Youth, Ages 10-13 Gold Medalist)
Christopher Richardson is a student of Frederick Weldy at Stanford. He’s performed in various venues on the West Coast, in Aspen where he performed at the Harris Concert Hall and the Music Tent as opening the Special Sarah Chang Event concert, in New York, among them Weill Hall at Carnegie Hall, and at the MTAC State Convention. He studied under scholarship at the Aspen Music Festival and School with John O’Conor and performed in a Piano Fest masterclass with Christopher O’Riley at the Portland International Piano Festival. His other honors include 2nd prize in the Concerto Junior Division at the Virginia Waring Competition, first prize at the Pacific Musical Society, Sylvia M. Ghiglieri, East Bay, first prize and audience prize at the Classical Masters, Intermediate Piano Solo Showcase USOMC, a winner at the Marilyn Mindell, Junior Bach, a prizewinner at the Russian International Piano, gold medalist at the Carnegie Hall International Young Musician, winner of American Fine Arts, Second Prize at the 2010 SIPF, Tureck International Bach, Bradshaw and Buono International, and a summa cum laude first place winner in the Classical, Romantic, and Duet categories of the “Kids Play The Darndest Things”.

Kyle Jannak-Huang, USA (2011 Youth, Ages 10-13 Silver Medalist)
Kyle Jannak-Huang, 13, is a scholarship recipient and member of the Music Institute of Chicago’s Academy. Kyle has studied piano for 7 years with Brenda Huang, and recently performed as soloist with the Lake Forest Symphony under the baton of Alan Heatherington in March as the winner of the Steinway Concerto Competition. Kyle was the first place winner of 2011 NWSMTA Awards Competition in the Senior and Intermediate Divisions in 2008. He also performed in the Young Steinway Concert Series at Skokie Library in 2010. Kyle was the first place winner in all divisions at the Society of American Musicians Competition including Primary, Junior, Intermediate and Senior divisions. In 2009, Kyle played with the Oistrach Symphony Orchestra as a selected winner of the Sixth Annual DePaul Concerto Festival for Young Performers. He was the Illinois state winner of the ISMTA competition junior division in 2009. Kyle won first place at the Confucius Music Festival for the Primary, Junior I, and Junior II divisions. In his spare time, Kyle likes to read books, and play piano duet and tennis with his twin brother. Kyle is currently an eighth grader at Walter R. Sundling Junior High School in Palatine, Illinois.

Eden Chen, USA (2011 Youth, Ages 10-13 Bronze Medalist)
Eden Chen began his piano lessons with Ms. Elena Makarova at the Moscow Central School of Music in Los Angeles at the age of six. Since 2007, he has won numerous top prizes, including the platinum prize in the Chinese American Education Association Young Pianist Competition, first place in the MTAC Scholarship competition, MTAC Sonata Festival, Cypress College Piano, and United Diversity Art & Culture Society International Young Musician Piano Competitions, as well as second place in the California International Young Artists MusicFest Competition. Eden gave two performances at Carnegie Hall in New York after being a first prize winner of both the 2008 American Fine Arts Festival, and 2009 Bradshaw & Buono International Piano competitions. In 2010, being the first place winner of the Young Pianist category in Southwestern Youth Music Festival, Eden gave his orchestral debut with the orchestra there. At age twelve, Eden took the first place in the Southern California Junior Bach Festival Complete Works Audition (Chromatic Fantasy and Fugue category). Recently, he received the George August Memorial Piano Award at the 39th Annual Long Beach Mozart Festival Concerto Competition.

Other Awards and Honorable Mentions
Audience Favorite award: Kyle Jannak-Huang
Teachers’ Favorite award: Eden Chen
Best Performance of a Prelude by Claude Debussy: Jingzi (Linda) Ruan
Best Performance of an Etude by Claude Debussy: Eric Z. Lin
Best Performance of a work by Franz Liszt: Kyle Jannak-Huang

Youth, Ages 10-13 Finalists
Eden Chen (USA), Kyle Jannak-Huang (USA), Sophia Lin (USA), Eric Z. Lin (USA), Christopher Son Richardson (USA), Jingzi (Linda) Ruan (Canada), and Sean Tang-Wang (USA)

Instructors of the finalists
Brenda Huang, Xiao Li, Elena Makarova, Anna Semyanovsky, Jenny Shin, and Frederick Weldy

Semi-finalists
Jeremy Ho (Canada), Millicent McFall (USA), Parker Payne (USA), and Huiwen Shen (China)

Instructors of the semi-finalists
Manchun Chen, Edwin Gnandt, Hye Jung Hong, and Peter Mack

Youth, Ages 14-18

Naomi Causby, Korea/USA (2011 Youth, Ages 14-18 Gold Medalist)
Naomi Causby, daughter of Tom and Suzie Causby, is a twelfth grader at Ben Lippen High School in Columbia, South Carolina and The Fine Arts Center in Greenville. She has been awarded top prizes nationally and internationally, including first prize in the Arthur Fraser International Concerto Competition, third prize in the Burgos International Music and David Dubois Piano competitions, finalist in the Lee International Piano Competition, and Semi-finalist in the International Young Musicians Piano Competition, in addition to awards in the Music Teachers National Association state and regional competitions. She has performed with the Greenville Symphony and South Carolina Philharmonic. Recently, Naomi was added to the roster of Steinway Young Artists, one of only thirty members worldwide. Naomi has participated in many summer programs, including the Bowdoin International Music Festival, International Institute of Young Musicians, Southeastern Piano Festival, Burgos International Music Festival, among others. She has attended numerous masterclasses including those with Gary Graffman, Emma Tahmizian, Olga Kern, and those of other outstanding artists. Naomi currently studies with Dr. Marina Lomazov and Dr. Joseph Rackers, both of the University of South Carolina.

Calvin Lee, USA (2011 Youth, Ages 14-18 Silver Medalist)
Fifteen year old Calvin Lee is an honor student at La Salle High School in Pasadena, California. He has studied piano with Jenny Shin since he was six years of age. Calvin enjoys challenging pieces and has won numerous awards granting him opportunities to perform at Carnegie Hall. Recent first place awards include the 2011 Bradshaw & Buono International Piano Competition, 2011 American Protégé International Piano Competition, 2010 Los Angeles International Liszt Competition, and 2010 American Fine Arts Festival. He also received a gold medal in the 2011 American Association for Development of the Gifted and Talented International Young Musicians Festival. In 2010 and 2009 he was a first place winner in the Chinese American Education Association, won first place in the Open Baroque Category & Open Solo Category of the 2009 Southwestern Youth Music Festival, a silver medal in the 2009 Bach Festival, a second place in the 2009 Cypress College Piano Competition, and the 2010 SYMF Open Chopin Category. Calvin’s favorite school subjects are math and computer. His other interests include swimming, bowling and basketball. His career goal is to be a medical doctor, but he will always keep music as a strong part of his life.

Nathan Ben-Yehuda, USA (2011 Youth, Ages 14-18 Bronze Medalist)
Since starting piano lessons at age four, Nathan Ben-Yehuda has been a State Champion of the CAPMT Bartok and Contemporary Music Festival, a first prize winner in the Southwest Youth Music Festival, the Southern California Junior Bach Festival, the MTAC Alice Frazier Kitchen Memorial Scholarship Competition, and the MTAC South Bay Scholarship Auditions. As winner of the 2009 MTAC Artist of the Future Concerto Competition, Nathan was a featured soloist with the Beach Cities Symphony Orchestra. Nathan was the 2009 finalist representing USA in the age 13-18 division of the First Hi-Tech Non-Professional International Piano Competition in China, and was also an honorable mention recipient in the 2011 Bradshaw and Buono International Piano Competition. Nathan has performed at Carnegie Hall, Steinway Hall’s Rotunda, the Boston University Tanglewood Institute, Istituto Musica e Arte music festival in Italy, and the Burgos International Music Festival in Spain. In October 2010, Nathan performed Grieg’s Piano Concerto to rave reviews with the New York Concerti Sinfonietta under the baton of Juilliard conductor Per Brevig. Now 17, Nathan is in the 12th grade and is a member of The Colburn Academy conservatory program, studying with Mr. Ory Shihor and taking studio classes with Mr. John Perry.

Other Awards and Honorable Mentions
Audience Favorite award: Alisa Kolot
Teachers’ Favorite award: Alisa Kolot
Best Performance of a Prelude & Fugue by J. S. Bach: Naomi Causby
Best Performance of a work by Franz Liszt: Calvin Lee
Best Performance of a Prelude by Claude Debussy: Alisa Kolot

Youth, Ages 14-18 Finalists
Nathan Ben-Yehuda (USA), Naomi Causby (Korea/USA), Sophia Seohyun Jung (Korea), Alisa Kolot (USA), Calvin Lee (USA), Weston Mizumoto (USA) (unable to attend the final round), Justin Wong (USA)

Instructors of the finalists
Susan Boettger, Sofi Dediashvili, Brenda Huang, Marina Lomazov, Antonio Pompa-Baldi, Joseph Rackers, Ory Shihor, and Jenny Shin

Semi-finalists
Kyung Min Ko (Canada), and Ralph Markham (USA)

Instructors of the semi-finalists
Kenneth Broadway