International Competition of Romantic Music 2011
American Protégé International Competition of Romantic Music 2011 attracted applicants from across the United States, Canada, Italy, Poland, Israel, Russia, Ukraine, Indonesia, Korea, Taiwan and Costa Rica.
Awards
The Winners Recitals took place:
on November 12, 2011 at the Weill Recital Hall at Carnegie Hall,
on November 26, 2011 at the Weill Recital Hall at Carnegie Hall in New York City,
on April 1, 2012 at the Merkin Concert Hall at Kaufman Center in New York City.
Special prizes for best performances were awarded based on the judges’ recommendations.
Judges
Four qualified judges evaluated the audition materials. All judges are independent; their students are not allowed to apply this season.
Dr. Sophya Genis is invited as a Chairwoman of the Competition 2011. A graduate of the Moscow Gnessin Academy of Music, Mrs. Genis holds a Doctor of Music Arts Degree. She studied piano with such renowned professors as Alexander Yoheles, Yakov Milstein and Yakov Zak.
International Competition of Romantic Music 2011 Results:
Best Performance of Liszt Award Winners
Jingzi Linda Ruan, 13, lives in Surrey, BC, Canada. Born in Tokyo, Linda Ruan began learning the piano at the age of seven with Xie Jia in Shanghai, China after returning to the country. A year later, she immigrated to Canada with her family and continued her musical studies under the thoughtful directions of Professor Li Xiao. Linda has participated in many festivals and competitions which include the Kiwanis Festival, Fraser Valley International Kiwanis Festival, and the British Columbia Conservatory of Music Festival, just to name a few. Ms. Ruan has won numerous medals, scholarships and awards within these events. Beyond piano, Linda participates in various math contests and art competitions; she partakes in the school debate team. In her spare time, she enjoys writing, reading and running.
Bryan Ho, 15, from Potomac, MD, began music study with Ms. DiWei Wu at age 7 and has been a student of Dr. Marjorie Lee since 2007. Bryan received 1st prize at many competitions that include the 32nd Ithaca College Piano Competition held in 2011, the 5th Gustavo Romero Competition, the Asian American Piano Competition, the 23rd International Young Artist Competition, 2010 MTNA Competition State level, and numerous local/regional competitions. A three time grand prize winner at the Old Dominion University Classical Piano Competition, Bryan was again awarded the 1st prize by Mr. Leon Fleisher in 2011. Bryan performs extensively in the Washington area, including appearances at the Kennedy Center, the Alden Theatre, the Hungarian Embassy, the Catholic University of America, and George Mason University.
Sitan Chen, 16 from Suwanee, Georgia, started playing piano at age 6, began studying under Janice Wong, and currently, under Dr. William Ransom at the Emory University School of Music. As a winner of 1st and 2nd prizes of prestigious competitions, Sitan has been invited on five separate occasions to perform at Carnegie Hall. Recently, he was chosen to perform as a soloist with the Kostroma Symphony Orchestra in Russia and to take masterclasses at Moscow Conservatory, and earlier this year, as a result of winning the Georgia Music Educators Association Piano Concerto Competition, he performed as a soloist with the Georgia All-State Orchestra. Sitan, as a winner of the Ruth Kern Young Artists Concerto Competition, has also performed as a soloist with the Atlanta Community Symphony Orchestra. He has won multiple first prizes at the Georgia Music Teachers Association and the Georgia Music Educators Association state solo competitions. He has had masterclasses with Boris Slutsky, Young Ah-Tak, Eduard Zilberkant, and Maxim Mogilevsky, studied with Vladimir Feltsman, Alexander Korsantia, Robert Roux, and Susan Starr, and studied with Boaz Sharon and Clara Jung-Yang Shin.
American Protégé Scholarship Award Winner, Carolina Ramirez Morales was born in Heredia, Costa Rica, in 1993. She began her piano lessons at her age of 8 at National University, and currently has an experience in recitals at the country and international levels. Carolina currently studies piano at the National University of Costa Rica. She has been presented in various events such as the Season Piano, organized in Costa Rica each year, and in a lot of theater in her country such as National Theater, Melico Salazar Theater, Mozart Theater, 1887 Theater, Eugene O. Neil Theater. And international levels, she performed at the Carnegie Hall, as invited guest by the Pinault School of Music Society, gala event organized by the Ministry of Culture of Costa Rica and Theater at Half-Day, organized by the National Theater in her country. Last year, she won the first prize in American Protégé International Competition of Romantic Music. Carolina has been receiving lessons Ana Mar¡a Trenchi Bottazi, Bruno Bottazi, Victoria Mushkatkol and Clara Moniousko.
Gerard Aimontche was born in Moscow in 1991. Gerard studies music from the age of 6. At nine years old, he entered the best Russian special school for gifted children, the Moscow Gnessin School of Music, where he was a student of Tatiana Sklioutovskaia. He also studied drums and percussion instruments under Andrey Gorbacev. Gerard is a prize winner of various International Piano competitions: 1st Prize at 7th Konzerteum International Piano Competition, Greece, 1st Prize (2001), 1st Prize at 7th Nikolai Rubinstein International Competition of Young, France (2004), 2nd Prize at 8th Maria Yudina International Competition of Young Pianists, Piano Duets and Chambers Ensembles, Saint-Petersburg, Russia (2005), Guzik Foundation Award, San Francisco (2009, USA), semi-finalist of Motreux Jazz Piano Competition (2010, Switzerland). He gave a series of solo recitals in Italy and numerous concerts in prestigious venues in Russia, Europe (Austria, Spain, Switzerland, France and Greece). Gerard has attended masterclasses of Nikolai Petrov and Pavel Nersessian. Now he is a student of Moscow P. I. Tchaikovsky Conservatory in the class of Prof. Sergey Dorensky.
Scholarship Award Winner
Nicolas Giacalone, 15, from New York, he has been studying piano for over nine years at The Bottazzi School of Music, under the direction of Dr. Ana Maria Trenchi Bottazzi and Dr. Bruno Bottazzi. In 2009 – 2011 Nicolas was awarded several highest prizes at the prestigious competitions. He has participated in numerous concerts including eleven performances at The Weill Recital Hall at Carnegie Hall. Nicolas has performed three times in Ozawa Hall at Tanglewood, in Lenox, Massachusetts. He has also participated in Master Classes with pianists Carol Montparker and Jeffery Biegel. Nicolas has performed four solo recitals and was invited to perform one at Steinway Hall in 2008. Nicolas is also studying the trumpet and drums at the Manhasset High School. He is a member of the School Wind Ensemble, Jazz Band, Drum Line and State Champion Marching Band. He is currently a junior teacher of piano with The Bottazzi School of Music.
Best Performance Award Winner
William Wong, 11, from New York, started to study piano at age 5 with Mr. Wei Chiu who completed the Masters degree at the Juilliard School. William has won 5 competitions this year and played 4 times at Carnegie Hall in 2011, including: New York 2011 Music Competition winners’ concert at Carnegie Hall, Nation Young Musician 2011 Competition winners’ concert, International Music Festival 2011 winners’ concert, and others.
Winners by Age Category
| NAME | AGE | CITY/COUNTRY/STATE |
| Young Musicians Category (age 5 to 9) | ||
| First Place Winners | ||
| Richard Gao, piano | 8 | Markham, ON, Canada |
| Student of Louise Luo | ||
| Varvara Soyfer, piano | 9 | Guanacaste, Costa Rica |
| Student of Dr. Alexandr Sklioutovski | ||
| Claire Qing-Yi Liu, piano | 9 | Arcadia, CA |
| Student of Lily Chu Chen | ||
| Second Place Winners | ||
| Sunny Kim, piano | 7 | Santa Rosa, CA |
| Student of Roxanne Michaelian | ||
| Serin Isabelle Park, violin | 7 | Fort Lee, NJ |
| Student of Solim Shin | ||
| Natalia Liviani Tandiono, piano | 8 | Surabaya, Indonesia |
| Student of Hendrata Prasetia | ||
| Gloria Cai, piano | 8 | Ellicott City, MD |
| Student of Yu-Hua Gu | ||
| Stephanie Ding Draughon, piano | 8 | Ashburn, VA |
| Student of Dr. Jun Yang | ||
| Third Place Winners | ||
| Rio Mangini, piano | 8 | Sherman Oaks, CA |
| Student of Gayane Sahakyan and Prof. Grace Han | ||
| Hilary Zen, piano | 9 | New York, NY |
| Student of Wei Chiu | ||
| Junior Category (age 10 to 13) | ||
| First Place Winners | ||
| Stella Sanchez Shih, piano | 10 | San Jose, Costa Rica |
| Student of Tamara Sklioutovskaia | ||
| William Wong, piano | 11 | Flushing, NY |
| Student of Wei Chiu | ||
| Szuyu Su, piano | 13 | Tainan City, Taiwan |
| Student of Gwhyneth Chen | ||
| Kaylah Paquette, voice | 13 | Aurora, ON, Canada |
| Student of Veronika Pressman | ||
| Harrison Li, piano | 13 | South Huntington, NY |
| Student of Phillip Kawin | ||
| Second Place Winners | ||
| James Sinigalliano, piano | 10 | New York, NY |
| Student of Dr. Ana Maria Trenchi Bottazzi | ||
| Mykhaylo Pokras, piano | 11 | Kiev, Ukraine |
| Student of Svitlana Sukhomlinova | ||
| Sarah R. Liu, piano | 11 | Arcadia, CA |
| Student of Lily Chu Chen | ||
| Lorenzo Adamo, piano | 11 | Milano, Italy |
| Student of Katya Genghini | ||
| Elise Zhao, piano | 13 | Hauppauge, NY |
| Student of Joanne Polk | ||
| Jingzi Linda Ruan, piano | 13 | Surrey, BC, Canada |
| Student of Xiao Li | ||
| Third Place Winners | ||
| Sebastian Barrientos Espeleta, piano | 11 | San Jose, Costa Rica |
| Student of Dr. Alexandr Sklioutovski | ||
| Mariana Saenz, piano | 12 | San Jose, Costa Rica |
| Student of Dr. Alexandr Sklioutovski | ||
| Pamela Beine, piano | 13 | San Jose, Costa Rica |
| Student of Dr. Alexandr Sklioutovski | ||
| Honorable Mention | ||
| Sophie Saremsky, piano | 10 | Chappaqua, NY |
| Student of Chi-Wen Lee | ||
| Bao-Anh Nguyen, piano | 10 | Boca Raton, FL |
| Student of Dr. Irena Kofman | ||
| Sebastian Piedra Rodriguez, piano | 13 | Cartago, Costa Rica |
| Student of Tamara Sklioutovsky | ||
| Matthew Kim, piano | 13 | Leesburg, VA |
| Student of Dr. Marjorie Lee | ||
| Intermediate Category (age 14 to 17) | ||
| First Place Winners | ||
| Spencer Kim, cello | 15 | Piedmont, CA |
| Student of Jonathan Koh | ||
| Clark Pang, cello | 15 | Orinda, CA |
| Student of Jonathan Koh | ||
| Bryan Ho, piano | 15 | Potomac, MD |
| Student of Dr. Marjorie Lee | ||
| Sitan Chen, piano | 16 | Suwanee, GA |
| Student of Dr. William Ransom | ||
| Ryo Kono, piano | 16 | Mamaroneck, NY |
| Student of Martin Canin | ||
| Roksana Kwasnikowska , violin | 17 | Koszalin, Poland |
| Student of Prof. Jan Stanienda | ||
| Second Place Winners | ||
| Nicolas Giacalone, piano | 15 | Manhasset, NY |
| Student of Dr. Ana Maria Trenchi Bottazzi | ||
| Alan Yang, piano | 15 | Dresher, PA |
| Student of Susan Lou | ||
| Lita Liviani Tandiono, piano | 15 | Surabaya, Indonesia |
| Student of Hendrata Prasetia | ||
| Casey Costello, piano | 15 | Dedham, MA |
| Student of Margarita Kotlyarova | ||
| Third Place Winners | ||
| Hyeri Bae, piano | 14 | Suwanee, GA |
| Student of Frances Yao | ||
| Nagima Karimova-Chaulet, piano | 14 | Paso Robles, CA |
| Student of Dr. Alexandr Sklioutovski | ||
| Patrick Brandl Suarez, piano | 15 | Heredia, Costa Rica |
| Student of Dr. Alexandr Sklioutovski | ||
| Honorable Mention | ||
| Emmeline Yoo, piano | 16 | Wyckoff, NJ |
| Student of Theresa Kim | ||
| Advanced Category (age 18 and older) | ||
| First Place Winners | ||
| Stephanie Popovits, violin | 18 | Harzelia, Israel |
| Student of Haim Taub | ||
| Shotaro Matsumoto, piano | 18 | Montebello, CA |
| Student of Joel Clifft and Ms. Nobuyo Nshizaka | ||
| Carolina Ramirez, piano | 18 | Heredia, Costa Rica |
| Student of Dr. Alexandr Sklioutovski | ||
| Michael Hansang Lee, Violin | 18 | Seoul, Korea |
| Student of Jungmi Kim | ||
| Giuseppe Gil Cano, piano | 19 | Turrialba, Costa Rica |
| Student of Dr. Alexandr Sklioutovski | ||
| Hector Estuardo Hernandez Villatoro, piano | 19 | Guatemala |
| Student of Dr. Alexandr Sklioutovski | ||
| Gerard Aimontche, piano | 20 | Moscow, Russia |
| Student of Sergey Porensky | ||
| Mauricio Fernández Picado, piano | 24 | San Jose, Costa Rica |
| Student of Ludmilla Meltzer and Luis Monge | ||
| Jane Kim, violin | 28 | New York, NY |
| Student of Todd Phillips | ||
| Hye-ri Jang, cello | 29 | New York, NY |
| Student of Janos Starker | ||
| Ar Ran Cho, piano | 36 | Daegu, Korea |
| Student of William Heiles | ||
| Hue Jeong Jang, piano | 37 | Urbana, IK |
| Student of Ian Hobson | ||
| Takeaki Miyamae, flute | 45 | Pittsburgh, PA |
| Second Place Winners | ||
| Valeria Delgado Camacho, piano | 24 | Heredia, Costa Rica |
| Student of Dr. Alexandr Sklioutovski | ||
| Kristie Janczyk, piano | 28 | Dallas, TX |
| Student of Alfred Mouledous | ||
| Marissa M. Rebadulla-Ramos, piano | 36 | Seattle, WA |
| Student of Peter Mack | ||
Other applicants received Diploma of Participation
CONGRATULATIONS TO ALL WINNERS!