2013 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

Jeannette Fang, USA (2013 Professional Gold Medalist)
Jeannette Fang is an imaginative and expressive pianist whose dynamic performances have attracted the attention of both professionals as well as the concert-going public. She most recently won third place in the Dallas Chamber Symphony International Piano Competition this past March, 2013. She was the second place national winner of the 2012 Music Teachersʼ National Association Young Artist Competition. She is the recipient of the Elizabeth J. Parisot Award from Yale, the winner of the Karlfried Nordman Scholarship Piano Competition from Juilliard, and was named a National Presidential Scholar in the Arts in 2003. Ms. Fang performs regularly in such settings as Alice Tully Hall, John F. Kennedy Center, Zankel Hall, Bargemusic, Peter J. Sharp Theater, Weill Recital Hall, Steinway Hall, and Sprague Recital Hall. She has served as Artist-In-Residence for two years at St. Maryʼs Church Concert Series in South Amboy, NJ, and has performed as a guest artist at Boston Conservatory, Jacobʼs Pillow Festival, and the Steinway Society Musicale. Ms. Fang holds degrees from Juilliard, Yale, and is currently pursuing doctoral studies at the University of Michigan. Her principal teachers have included Peter Frankl, Yoheved Kaplinsky, Robert McDonald, Julian Martin, and Logan Skelton.

Haeyeun Jeun, Korea (2013 Professional Silver Medalist)
A native of Korea, Haeyeun Jeun, has gained recognition as an accomplished performer in both the United States and Korea. Her impressive lists of achievements include second prize in the 12th Osaka International Piano Competition, first prizes in the Eastman- Hamamatsu, Piano Society of Korea, the Nanpa, and the Music Association of Korea competitions as well as many other awards and scholarships. In 2006, she was chosen by the piano faculty at Eastman to be the schoolʼs representative at the 2007 Hamamatsu International Piano Academy in Hamamatsu, Japan. As a soloist, she made her orchestral debut at age nine with the Busan Philharmonic and Chanwon Philharmonic orchestras. She has also performed with other prestigious orchestras including the Prime Phil Orchestra and Vio-LINK-oto Ensemble and in numerous solo recitals and chamber music concerts in both Korea and the U.S. Currently in her third year of the doctor of musical arts program, Ms. Jeun studies piano performance and literature as a scholarship student at the Eastman School of Music with Dr. Douglas Humpherys, where she also earned a master of music degree in piano performance and literature. She received her undergraduate degree of piano performance at Seoul National University.

Gregorio Benítez, Spain (2013 Professional Bronze Medalist)
Gregorio Benítez was born in Andalusia (Spain) and began his musical training with his father, before continuing at the Real Conservatorio in Madrid, where he studied with Professor López-Gimeno. During this period he won some of the most important national competitions, notably first prizes in the “Infanta Cristina” Piano Competition and the Certamen Intercentros. Thanks to these awards, he took his first tour of concerts and received classes from Alicia de Larrocha. His piano career however can be considered quite unusual, when, for example, in 2008 he decided to abandon most of his solo performance activity to focus almost exclusively on the study of repertoire. For this, he continued his training in London and in Leipzig. During these years he was strongly influenced by the German maestro, Markus Tomas. Simultaneously, he complemented his training with classes with renowned performers, such as Emanuel Ax, Leon Fleisher, and Robert Levin. His musical activity has led him to performances in the UK, France, Germany, and Japan, also performing as a soloist with the RTVE Symphony Orchestra, MDR Sinfonieorchester, JOCMA, and RCSMM Ensemble. He boasts recordings for the channels TVE, Radio Clásica, MDRFigaro, and NHK.

Other Awards and Honorable Mentions
President’s Prize: Jeannette Fang
Audience Favorite award: Jeannette Fang
Teachers’ Favorite award: Gregorio Benítez

Professional Finalists
Gregorio Benítez (Spain), Jeannette Fang (USA), Sun Min Kim (Korea), Haeyeun Jeun (Korea), Soyeon Park (USA), and Yoon-Wha Roh (Korea)

Instructors of the Finalists
Arnaldo Cohen, Zenon Fishbein, Douglas Humpherys, Logan Skelton, Markus Tomas, and Nelita True

Professional Semi-finalists
David Brooks (USA), Sookkyung Cho (Korea), Hyunjoo Choi (USA), Jae Won Kim (Korea), Hedy Lee (USA), So Young Lim (Korea), Jooeun Pak (USA), Kyu-Youn Sim (Korea), and Chi-Chen Wu (Taiwan)

Instructors of the Semi-finalists
Bernadene Blaha, Michael Chertock, Christina Dahl, William Heiles, Ian Hobson, and Menahem Pressler

Collegiate

Nicole Linaksita, Canada (2013 Collegiate Gold Medalist)
Nicole Linaksita began her piano studies with Diana Marr in North Vancouver at four, studied with David Vandereyk from 2005-11, and received scholarships to attend the University of British Columbia under the guidance of international performer, Dr. Ryo Yanagitani. Currently, she is majoring in piano performance with Dr. Corey Hamm, and pursuing a second degree in computer science. Nicole has been a recipient of numerous awards and scholarships from local, provincial and national festivals. She represented the Vancouver Kiwanis and Coquitlam music festivals multiple times at the Performing Arts BC, winning her first prize in the Intermediate Canadian Piano class in 2009 and the Tom Cuff Scholarship for the most outstanding performer in Canadian Piano Classes in 2011. She was twice a national finalist for the Canadian Music Competition and, in 2012, was one of the 30 performers selected to participate in the CMC Stepping Stone. She was awarded the Royal Conservatory of Music Gold Medal in 2011 for achieving the highest mark in Canada for her LRCM exam. In 2013, she was a semi-finalist at the Eckhardt-Gramatté competition and received the Robert Rogers Prize for the best undergraduate piano performance of twentieth century music at UBC.

Yi-Yang Chen, Taiwan (2013 Collegiate Silver Medalist)
Yi-Yang Chenʼs artistic excellence is the product of his natural talent and persistent pursuit of improvement. He was admitted as an undergraduate to the studio of Dr. Douglas Humphreys at the Eastman School of Music in 2008 and obtained his bachelor of music in piano performance in 2012. He is now pursuing his master degree at the Juilliard School, learning from Robert McDonald and Jerome Lowenthal in striving for a higher level. A beautiful winning record is the best evidence of Chenʼ s accomplishments and prospects for achieving more. As winner of the 2012 Music Teachersʼ National Association Young Artist Piano Competition, Chen was awarded a Steinway piano and two concerts in Miami sponsored by the Chopin Foundation/USA as his prize. Apart from the 2011 Pacific International Piano Competition in Canada, he also took first prize in both the Thousand Islands International Chopin Piano Competition and the Coeur dʼAlene Symphony Orchestraʼs Young Artist Competition. Yi-Yang excelled as an prizewinner in other competitions, including the Schmidbauer International Piano Competition, International Russian Music Piano Competition, Schubert Club Piano Competition, MTNA National Senior Competition, and selected as one of the three finalists in the Louisiana International Piano Competition.

Tomomi Sato, Japan (2013 Collegiate Bronze Medalist)
Nineteen year old, Tomomi Sato, began taking piano lessons at the age of three in Japan. She is currently a junior at the University of Southern Californiaʼs Thornton School of Music, studying piano performance with Bernadene Blaha and minoring in jazz studies. A top prize award winner of local and state competitions, her recent accomplishments include receiving an honorable mention prize at the Music Teacherʼs National Associationʼs Southwest Division Competition after winning the California State Competition, appearance as soloist with the Bellflower Symphony Orchestra after winning the senior category of their Young Artistsʼ Concerto Competition, a top prize in the Stravinsky Awards Bach Competition, and performing as a soloist with the Los Angeles Bach Festival Orchestra. In the summer of 2013, Tomomi attended the Seattle Piano Institute working with Robin McCabe and Craig Sheppard, and was the youngest participant at the Dino Ciani Festival and Academy in Italy working with Jeffrey Swann, Claudio Martinez Mehner, and Cristiano Burato. She has also worked in master class with many prestigious teachers including Nelita True, Alvin Chow, Angela Cheng and Menahem Pressler. Her previous teachers include Dr. Mark Sullivan, Kazuko Yasukawa, and Mayumi Saito.

Other Awards and Honorable Mentions
Audience Favorite award: Nicole Linaksita
Teachers’ Favorite award: Nicole Linaksita
Best Performance of a Work by J.S. Bach: Tomomi Sato

Collegiate Finalists
Yi-Yang Chen (Taiwan), Jocelyn Lai (Canada), Nicole Linaksita (Canada), Natalie Lo (Canada), Tomomi Sato (Japan), and Qianyao Zheng (China)

Instructors of the Finalists
Bernadene Blaha, Robert Hamilton, Corey Hamm, Jerome Lowenthal, Julian Martin, and Robert McDonald

Collegiate Semi-finalists
Christopher Goodpasture (USA), Hyoung Kim (South Korea), Clarence Lee (Singapore), and Ling-Yu Lee (Taiwan)

Instructors of the Semi-finalists
Stewart Gordon, Thomas Hecht, John Perry, and Yu-Jane Yang

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

Pang-Yen Chang, Taiwan (2013 Outstanding Amatuer Gold Medalist)
Pang-Yen, Chang was born in Kaohsiung, a southern city of Taiwan. His six years of piano lessons began at age eight. With great enthusiasm for performing, he won many regional and national piano competitions during his high school and college years, during which he learned music mainly by himself. Majoring in medicine in the National Cheng Kung University of Taiwan, he went on later to spend two years pursuing a master of music degree at the New England Conservatory, working under Professor Victor Rosenbaum, beginning his first ever professional music training. After graduating from New England Conservatory in 2007, he then finished his psychiatry residency in the prestigious Taipei City Psychiatric Center (TCPC) in 2012. Pang-Yen, Chang served as a licensed psychiatrist in a local psychiatry clinic in Taipei since then. Besides daily medical practice, Mr. Chang has also developed his music career and concertized widely in Taiwan as a soloist, chamber musician, and accompanist, acclaimed for his artistic sensitivity and lyricism. Currently, he works with Professor Gwhyneth Chen, and recent concert invitations include a winnerʼs concert at Weill Recital Hall at Carnegie Hall.

Liang-Hui Chu, Taiwan (2013 Outstanding Amatuer Gold Medalist)
Liang-Hui Chu, a native of Taiwan, received his Bachelor and Master of Science degrees at Tsing Hua University in his native country. While in Taiwan, he won the first prize in the Taiwanese Baroque Piano Competition in 2001, and performed piano recitals in Taipei in 2004 and 2007. After completing his mandatory army service, Mr. Chu came to the United States to study in the PhD program in the Department of Biomedical Engineering at Johns Hopkins University. He is now a PhD candidate, and has published several journal papers and book chapters. Driven by his love for music, he is now studying the piano with Marian Hahn at the Peabody Conservatory. He participated in two music festivals for piano solo and chamber music, including the University of Florida and Interharmony in Italy. He performed in several master classes with Washington Garcia, Joel Hastings, John Novacek and Alexander Tutunov, and had individual lessons with Catherine Kautsky, Kevin Robert Orr and Nelita True. In addition to receiving the gold medal in the amateur category of the Fifth Seattle International Piano Competition, he was also a semi-finalist in the Rocky Mountain Amateur Piano Competition in 2013.

Aimee Chung, USA (2013 Outstanding Amatuer Gold Medalist)
Aimee Chung started piano lessons at the age of six in Portland, Oregon. After twelve years of private lessons with Elizabeth Stern, she pursued undergraduate studies at the University of Texas at Austin. There, she studied with Professor Nancy Garrett, graduating with a Bachelor of Arts in Music and a minor in Biology. Aimee is currently a fourth year dental student at Texas A&M Health Science Center Baylor College of Dentistry in Dallas, TX. She continues to study piano under the guidance of Dr. David Karp, professor at Southern Methodist University. Aimee has won numerous awards, including the Young Artists Competition, where she performed with the Oregon Symphony at the age of eleven. In her free time, Aimee enjoys traveling, reading, and spending time with her three younger sisters.

Keiko Fujii, Japan (2013 Outstanding Amatuer Gold Medalist)
Keiko Fujii was born in Okayama, Japan and began her piano studies at age three, with Ms. Ikuko Ohta. When she entered middle school, she focused on her academic studies and withdrew from her piano classes. After graduating high school, she pursued her studies in medicine, earning an M.D. from Hamamatsu University School of Medicine and Ph.D in Hematology/Oncology from Okayama University. Following her 10 years of working as a physician in Japan, she came to the United States in support of her husbandʼs research at Fred Hutchinson Cancer Research Center. Upon entering the states, Keiko resumed her studies in piano with her first American piano teacher, Ms. Joyce Gibb. In 2007, Keiko entered Shoreline Community College where she continued to take private piano classes from the outstanding faculty member, Dr. Dainius Vaicekonis. While at Shoreline, she received several outstanding juries and 2007-2008 Swisher Piano Scholarship Awards. After returning to Japan in 2009, Keiko Fujii primarily works as a physician; however, she continues her studies as an amateur pianist with her teachers, Ms. Toshiko Moriya, Mr. Naoya Yahiro and Ms. Shuku Iwasaki. She performs at numerous concert halls in Japan participating in competitions and concerts.

Elysia Harjadi, Indonesia (2013 Outstanding Amatuer Gold Medalist)
Born in Medan, Indonesia, Elysia began piano at the age of four, participating later in competitions in Indonesia in 2002 and 2005 where she won the second and third prizes respectively. At age 12, Elysia moved to Singapore to pursue further study at Tanjong Katong Secondary school followed by National Junior College. She continued to pursue her passion in music and was awarded Best in Music by the school in 2008. While at National Junior college, she was in the A level music program where she studied under Seow Aik Keong, Denise Lee, and Lim Tshui Fang. As a member of the Collegeʼs piano ensemble, Elysia performed actively in recitals, competitions and as a collaborator. She was one member of five teams representing the College at both Vivace Inter College Piano Ensemble Competition 2010 and 2011, winning the gold with a commendation award, helping the college win the champion trophy. In 2011, she also received distinction in her Licentiate of Trinity College London music diploma. Elysia moved to Seattle in 2012 where she studied under Dr. Ivona Kaminska at the Chopin Academy of Music, and has since won numerous awards. Currently, Elysia studies business at University of Southern California.

Yiran Wang, China (2013 Outstanding Amatuer Gold Medalist)
Born in Beijing, China, Yiran Wang began his piano study with Ling Jiang at the age of 8. During his engineering studies at Tsinghua University, Yiran was an active pianist performing at different universities in Beijing. In 2009, Yiran came to the US and attended Cornell University for graduate study, where studied with Professor Xak Bjerken. In 2011, Yiran performed in the Schoenberg’s Playlist music festival at Cornell among professional musicians, music faculty and full-time music students. “He has an unusual combination of a ʻsensitive soul,ʼ an ear for the poetry of sounds, and many, many years of strong technical background from his childhood training in China. He is very much on a professional level as a musician,” remarked by Professor Bjerken after the concert. As an amateur pianist, he has played in master classes with established artists, including Claudio Martinez-Mehner and Marino Formenti. He is currently studying with renowned pianist, Assaff Weisman at the Juilliard School. Yiran holds two masters from Cornell University majoring Electrical Engineering and Financial Engineering and is now working as a financial engineer at MSCI Inc.

Other Awards and Honorable Mentions
Audience Favorite award: Yiran Wang
Teachers’ Favorite award: Yiran Wang
Best Performance of a Work by J.S. Bach: Aimee Chung
Best Performance of a Work by Franz Liszt: Yiran Wang

Instructors of the gold medalists
Gwhyneth Chen, Tony Cho, Marian Hahn, Ivona Kaminska, David Karp, and Assaff Weisman

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

Pornapas Kijoran (Pam), Thailand (2013 Age 9 and under Gold Medalist)
Pornapas Kijoran (Pam), born December 2003 in Bangkok Thailand, started piano lesson at age four and became a student of Russian teacher, Ms. Irina Novikova at Shrewsbury International School, Bangkok since September 2010. Throughout 2009-2011, Pam won many prizes from the Yamaha Thailand Music Festival. In 2012, Pam entered the 2nd Siam International Piano Competition in Thailand and won first prize in the 7-9 year old category and special prize for a baroque and sonatina work. In October 2012, she achieved third prize from the 13th Osaka International Music Competition, Japan. She ended 2012 with second in the Young Pianist Technique Competition, in Moscow. Pam began 2013 with a gold medal from the International Young Gifted Musicians Festivalʼs “Passion of Music 2013” and participated in the winnerʼs concert at Carnegie Hall, and was invited to perform at Steinway Hall, New York. She also won an additional gold from this event for duets. In April, Pam captured the gold at the 1st Kawai Singapore Piano Competition. In May, Pam was selected as one of the top 10 Grand Finalists and joined in the live gala concert broadcast in Singapore. Pam also performs many school and charity concerts in Bangkok.

Angela Lee, USA (2013 Age 9 and under Gold Medalist)
Angela Lee is a fourth grade student at Westpark Elementary school Alternative Program for Academically Advanced Students (APAAS) and Gifted and Talented Education (GATE) program in Irvine, California. She started her formal piano training at age six. Inspired by the great guidance of her teacher at the Opus119 the School of Music, Ms. Ariel Yang, she developed a strong love for the piano and classical music. She has participated in several piano competitions, including MTAC Festival, Southwestern Youth Music Festival, and has been awarded first prizes. Most recently, she was awarded first prize at the 2013 San Jose International Russian Music Piano Competition. She has also been invited and will be giving her debut performance at Carnegie Hall in New York in October, 2013. These wonderful experiences has enriched her life and fostered many different approaches to learning. Besides her musical interests, she enjoys reading, sports and also loves to play with friends and little puppies.

Jessica Li, USA (2013 Age 9 and under Gold Medalist)
Jessica Li, age 9, is a 5th grader at Murdock-Portal Elementary of Cupertino schools in California. She started learning piano at 4 years old with piano teachers, Anna Gingis, and Lena Grozman, and is currently with Professor Hans Boepple at Santa Clara University. Jessica has won numerous awards including first place in the 2011 Chinese Music Teachers Association of Northern California (CMTANC) Youth Music Competition, first place in the 2011 California Association of Professional Music Teachers (CAPMT) Bay Area Honors Audition, second place in showcase solo category of the 2012 US Open Music Competition, second place in 2012 International Russian Music Piano Competition, first place in 2012 Aloha International Piano Competition, the prizewinner of 2013 San Francisco Chopin Competition for Young Pianists, and the third place in the 12-and-under age category of 2013 MTAC Piano Concerto Competition in north California. Jessica enjoys reading, drawing, singing and math, as well as being a competitive swimmer who meets the Pacific Junior Olympic time standard.

Rachel Mugemancuro, USA (2013 Age 9 and under Gold Medalist)
Rachel Mugemancuro, 9, has studied the piano for six years with Dr. Kelly Anderson. She has performed in the Western United States and in Washington DC. Last fall Rachel and a group of other young pianists were featured with Lang Lang on the Tonight Show with Jay Leno. She was recently awarded third place in the 2013 Los Angeles Young Musicians International Piano Competition. She also enjoys playing the violin and is a member of the Glendale Youth Orchestra.

Jaden Zhang, USA (2013 Age 9 and under Gold Medalist)
Nine year old Jaden was born in Seattle and has been studying piano with Ms. Ni Liu for four years since he was five and loves music. He was a prize winner of many local events in 2013, including first place in the Romantic Competition, third place in the Contemporary Competition, and third place in Simon-Fiset Competition. He was the first place prize winner in both 2012 and 2011 Russian Piano Competitions, which allows him the honor to perform in the “Winter Nights” concerts at Benaroya Hall in Seattle. He also earned second place in the 2012 Bach Competition, thi rd place in the 2012 Viennese Classical Competition, “Excellence Award” in 2012 and 2011 Washington State Music Teacher Association Adjudication, third place in the 2011 Bach Festival, first place in both 2011 and 2010 Central Washington University Sonatina Festivals, second place in the 2011 Contemporary Piano Competition and third place in 2011 Romantic Piano Competition. Besides music, Jaden loves to play chess, ski, and travel and enjoys writing and other team sports. He also enjoys playing Lego and other games with his brother and friends. He is a competitive swimmer in the Seattle Cascade Swim Club.

Natalie Zhang, USA (2013 Age 9 and under Gold Medalist)
Young pianist, Natalie Zhang, is a 8-year-old from Boston, Massachusetts. She started taking piano lessons at age of 4. Since then, she has developed a deep passion for classical music. Her favorite composers are Bach, Scarlatti and Chopin. At age of 6, Natalie was invited to perform at Carneige Hall as a gold medalist of AADGT International Competition. She was two-time first prize winner of the American Fine Arts Festival. She has won first prizes of Massachusetts Music Teachers Association (MMTA) solo competition in three consecutive years. Besides playing piano, she loves reading and painting. Natalie currently studies with Dr. Nilly Shilo of Newton, Massachusetts.

Other Awards and Honorable Mentions
Audience Favorite award: Jaden Zhang
Teachers’ Favorite award: Jaden Zhang
Best Performance of a Work by J.S. Bach: Jessica Li
Best Performance of a Work by a Member of “Les Six”: Jaden Zhang

Instructors of the gold medalists
Kelly Anderson, Hans Boepple, Ni Liu, Irina Novikova, Nilly Shilo, and Ariel Yang

Youth, Ages 10 to 13

Anna Boonyanit, USA (2013 Age 10 to 13 Gold Medalist)
Anna Boonyanit, age fourteen, is a freshman at Menlo School in Atherton, California. Beginning at age 4, she now studies with Hans Boepple. She has won numerous piano competitions, recently winning first place at the International Russian Music Piano Competition and received many special awards, including the Most Promising Young Talent, Best Performance of Russian Music, Best Performance of Beethoven Sonata, and invitation to perform at Carnegie Hall. Other first place awards include the Music Teachersʼ Association of California State Solo Competition (twice), the MTAC State Concerto Competition, the Pacific Musical Society Competition, the Menuhin- Dowling Competition, and four US Open Competitions. Last year she was a finalist at the Gina Bachauer Junior International Piano Competition. At age eleven, Anna made her orchestral debut with the Palo Alto Philharmonic as the youngest winner of the concerto competition. She also performed on the season opener with the El Camino Senior Youth Symphony as the top prize winner of their piano concerto competition. In addition to performing at multiple concerts and benefit concerts, she joined Music@Menlo Chamber Music Festival and California Summer Music and performed chamber music concerts for three summers. In her spare time Anna enjoys photography and watching sports.

Mike Bao, USA (2013 Age 10 to 13 Silver Medalist)
Currently a freshman at Troy High School, Mike Bao began his musical studies at seven under the guidance of his first teacher Lili Zhang. After developing a strong musical passion and winning the first of his numerous piano awards in the Southwestern Youth Music Festival, Cypress Piano Competition, and distinction in the Certificate of Merit music exams, he transferred to the studio of his second teacher, Yin Yin Huang, where he continued to foster his musical talent. He triumphed in several other competitions such as the Southern California Junior Bach Festival and was awarded the opportunity to perform with a prestigious orchestra in Los Angeles. After this victory streak, he finally transferred to his current teacher, Jenny Shin. Under her instruction, he found much success which led him to perform at Carnegie Hall in New York and place at the LA International Liszt Competition. Furthermore, Mike also excels at math, competing in the AMCs and qualifying for the American Invitational Mathematics Examination (AIME), in which he scored very well. In addition, he was among the top 20 competitors in the California State Mathcounts competition twice. He has also participated in Science Olympiad and has won first place in several events.

Derek Chung, USA (2013 Age 10 to 13 Bronze Medalist)
Derek Chung is an eighth grader at Woodlawn Middle School in Long Grove, Illinois. He is currently studying with Sueanne Metz. Derekʼs recent accomplishments include first place winner at the Sejong Music Competition, Music Festival in Honor of Confucius, and Los Angeles Young Musician International Competition where he was also the winner of the overall “Best Romantic Performance”, as well as second place winner at the Aloha International Piano Competition, Emilio del Rosario Piano Concerto Competition, Bradshaw & Buono International Piano Competition, and ISMTA. He has given numerous public performances including honors recitals at Interlochen Performing Arts Camp and in the Parisian Salon Concerts at the Northbrook Public Library. Most recently, Derek performed with the Harper Symphony Orchestra under Conductor Linc Smelser as a finalist of the Emilio del Rosario Piano Concerto Competition, the Young Steinway Concert Series at the Skokie Public Library, and Weill Recital Hall at Carnegie Hall as part of the American Fine Arts Festival winnersʼ concert. He attended the Cooper Piano Festival and the International Institute of Young Artists summer academy. Derek is also a member of the cross country and track and field teams for Woodlawn. He enjoys reading, basketball, and golf.

Other Awards and Honorable Mentions
Audience Favorite award: Anna Boonyanit
Teachers’ Favorite award: Anna Boonyanit
Best Performance of a Work by J.S. Bach: Eric Bohan Yap
Best Performance of a Work by Franz Liszt: Mike Bao

Age 10 to 13 Finalists
Mike Bao (USA), Anna Boonyanit (USA), Derek Chung (USA), Junhao Wang (USA), Tiffany Xu (USA), and Eric Bohan Yap (USA)

Instructors of the Finalists
Hans Boepple, Jie Lu, Ning Lu, Sueanne Metz, Jenny Shin, and Sandra Wright Shen

Age 10 to 13 Semi-finalists
Christine Cheng (USA), Millicent McFall (USA), Janet Phang (USA), and Arthur Wang (Canada)

Instructors of the Semi-finalists
Peter Mack, Victor Shevtsov, and Ariel Yang

Youth, Ages 14 to 18

Sun Chang, Korea (2013 Age 14 to 18 Gold Medalist)
Sun Chang is a freshman at Northwestern University in Evanston, Illinois. She studied with Dr. Peter Mack ever since her move to Seattle from South Korea in 2003 until 2013, and is now under the tutelage of Dr. Alan Chow. In 2010, Sun was chosen by the Seattle Chamber Society as one of its “Emerging Artists,” and gave four concerts in the Seattle area with three other pianists. In 2011, with her brother, she won the first prize at the Music Teacherʼs National Association Senior Duet Competition, and in 2012, she attended the MTNA national conference again, taking first in the Senior Solo Competition. On the local level, she won prizes for the Simon Fiset, Northwest Chopin, Russian Chamber Music, and Outstanding Young Artists competitions. Last March, she collaborated with Philharmonia Northwest after being chosen as a soloist and receiving the festival medal for the Seattle Young Artists Concerto Competition. She also performed with the Utah Symphony after being chosen as a winner of the 2013 Sid and Mary Foulger Festival Concerto Competition.

Athena Tsianos, USA (2013 Age 14 to 18 Silver Medalist)
Athena Tsianos, USA (2013 Youth 14 to 18 Silver Medalist)
Athena Tsianos, currently seventeen, studies with Bernadene Blaha of the Thornton School of Music, USC. Winner of the 2013 Third Rosalyn Tureck International Bach Competition in the category of Bach Suites, Partitas and French Overture, Athena also won the prize for best overall performance of a contemporary piece. Thus, she performed in the gala winnerʼs concert at Lincoln Center on June 9th in the Bruno Walter Auditorium. Other competition awards include first prizes in the Music Teachersʼ National Association State Junior Competition, the California Association of Professional Music Teachers State Concerto Competition, the Elvin Samuel McGaughey Music Foundation Glendale Competition, Music Teachersʼ Association of California-WLA Kathryn Gawartin Chopin Piano Competition, the Junior Bach Festival Complete Works Audition, CAPMT Honors Auditions, and the MTAC State Concerto Competition. Last year, Athena appeared as soloist with the Bellflower Symphony Orchestra performing Saint-Saënsʼ Concerto No. 2. She was also accepted into the YMF Chamber Music Program and subsequently has had the opportunity to study trio performance with violinist, Robert Gupta. As a result, she performed Brahmsʼ C Major Trio with her ensemble on the “Sundays Live” series at the Bing Auditorium in Los Angeles and at the Broad Theater in Santa Monica.

Pang Kun, China (2013 Age 14 to 18 Bronze Medalist)
Born in September, 1995, in a family of musicians in Harbin, China, Pang Kun showed great musical gifts at a very young age. He had his early training with professor Zhang Jin, at the music school affiliated with the Central Conservatory of Music in Beijing. Later in 2009, he passed the entry audition to this prestigious school and became a piano student formally under the tutelage of professor Zhang Jin. At present, he is in the fifth year at the school. During the past four years, he has participated in numerous artistic activities and won many prizes in different national and regional competitions, such as third prize in 2012 at the 14th “Xinghai Cup” National Competition For Young Pianists, second prize in 2011 in the 4th “Cadenza Cup” National Chinese Works Competition For Young Pianists, and second prize in 2010 in the Third Kawai Asia Piano Competition — Beijing Audition.

Other Awards and Honorable Mentions
Audience Favorite award: Christopher Son Richardson
Best Performance of a Work by J.S. Bach: Sun Chang
Best Performance of a Work by Franz Liszt: Athena Tsianos
President’s Youth Prize: Sun Chang

Age 14 to 18 Finalists
Sun Chang (Korea), Ik Hoon Jung (Korea), Pang Kun (China), Christopher Son Richardson (USA), Benjamin Salman (USA), and Athena Tsianos (USA)

Instructors of the Finalists
Linda Barker, Bernadene Blaha, Duane Hulbert, Zhang Jin, Peter Mack, and Mark Salman

Age 14 to 18 Semi-finalists
Jewon Hwang (South Korea), Kevin Takeda (USA), Angeni Wang (Canada), and Tammy Wu (USA)

Instructors of the Semi-finalists
Elena Cholakova, Thomas Lymenstull, Victor Shevtsov, and Jenny Shin