International Competition of Romantic Music 2014
The American Protégé International Competition of Romantic Music is open to instrumentalists (piano, piano duo, winds, strings, chamber orchestras, voice) of all nationalities and countries. Participants are required to submit video/audio recording materials for the audition.
American Protégé International Competition of Romantic Music 2014 attracted applicants from across the United States, Canada, Mexico, Costa Rica, Italy, Bulgaria, Russia, Korea, China, Singapore, Thailand and Australia.
Awards
Winners performed at Weill Recital Hall at Carnegie Hall in New York City on
Saturday, March 21, 2015 at 1:00 PM at the Weill Recital Hall at Carnegie Hall,
Saturday, March 28, 2015 at 1:00 PM at the Weill Recital Hall at Carnegie Hall,
Sunday, April 5, 2015 (Easter) at 3:30 PM at the Weill Recital Hall at Carnegie Hall and
Sunday, April 12, 2015 at 7:30 PM at the Weill Recital Hall at Carnegie Hall in New York City.
Special prizes for best performances were awarded based on the judges’ recommendations.
Judges
Four qualified judges will evaluate 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 2014. 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 2014 Results:
Judges Distinction Award (Plaque Trophies) Winners
Emmie Guo, 6, from Chicago, IL, began piano studies with Sueanne Metz at age 4 and a half. During the past 19 months, little Emmie won first place awards for the 2013 Solo and Duet Programs at Granquist Competition in Geneva IL, the 2013 CAMTA Sonata Festival in Chicago IL, and the 2014 Piano Talent International Competition in Milan Italy. In June 2014, Emmie won 1st place in one of the renown competitions and was invited to perform at Weill Recital Hall at Carnegie Hall in New York City. Emmie performs regularly at senior homes, shopping malls, and libraries. Among other interests, Emmie enjoys reading, ice-skating, swimming, and playing with her little sister Ivanka.
At the age of 6, Erica Hong, 13-year-old from Duluth, Georgia, began to play piano and entered her first competition, the North Fulton Music Teachers Association, in 2009 and received a Superior Ranking and consecutively received the award of Outstanding Performance from 2010 to 2014. She earned the Superior Ranking award in 2010, 2011, and 2012 from the National Federation of Music Clubs. In 2010, she was given the Outstanding Performer award at the Bach Competition. She won Gold Prize at the Georgia Christian University Music Competition in 2013. Erica tried out for the Georgia Music Educators Association, or All-State, in both 6th and 7th grade and won the title of Master Class winner in 2013 and the title of Conference Recitalist in 2014. She also entered GMTA and won outstanding performance in 5th grade, award of excellence in 6th, and 1st place as the Conference Recitalist and Outstanding performer in 7th grade.
Golda Berkman, 15 year old soprano, made her professional concert debut with Maestro Daniel Suk and the Dream Orchestra at Irvine Barclay Theatre earlier this year – 2014 with leading female pianist Hai-Kyung Suh. Ms. Berkman has performed with L.A. Opera’s productions of “Noye’s Fludde” by Benjamin Britten, and “Brundibar” by Hans Krasa. Golda also performed from George Gerswin’s “Porgy and Bess” at The Centennial Gala Celebration for The City of Beverly Hills with other celebrities including Betty White, Florence Henderson, and composer Richard Sherman. Golda debuted again on April 28, 2014 as the soprano soloist alongside Tenor Vladimir Dmitruk and Mezzo-Soprano Cassandra Velascos of LA OPERA Domingo Thorton Young Artist Program, and professional Bass Patrick Blackwell for a world class production of Mozart’s Requiem.
Ila Shon,17, began her cello studies at age six with Sieun Lin in the San Francisco Conservatory of Music Pre-college Division. Ila has been a student in the Perlman Music Program’s Summer Music School in New York and in Florida since 2011, where she receives instructions from Ron Leonard and Paul Katz. Ila has performed in master classes with Yo-Yo Ma, Laurence Lesser, David Finckel, Hans Jorgen Jensen, Paul Watkins and the Pacifica String Quartet among others. Ila has won First Prize in the Pacific Musical Society Centennial Competition, the Korea Times Young Artist Competition, the Felix Khuner Young Artist Competition, the Diablo Valley College Young Artist Competition, the International Strings Competition, and the American Protégé International Piano and Strings Competition.
Winners by Age Category
| Name | Age | Country/State |
| Young Musicians Category, Age 5 to 9: | ||
| First Place Winners | ||
| Emmie Guo, piano | 6 | Chicago, IL |
| Student of Sueanne Metz | ||
| Yuxin Jiang, piano | 9 | Beijing, China |
| Student of Liuyi Tang | ||
| Second Place Winners | ||
| Eliza Podvalny, piano | 8 | Cortlandt Manor, NY |
| Student of Sheng-Hui Wu Chen | ||
| Alejandra Sarmiento, piano | 9 | LigthHouse Point, FL |
| Student of Maria Gomez | ||
| Jack Forestier | 9 | Edmonton, Canada |
| Student of Marie Forestier | ||
| Third Place Winners | ||
| Zi Meng Chu, piano | 5 | Shanghai, China |
| Student of Christine Gan Siew Hui | ||
| Ryan Yanming Phuan | 6 | Singapore |
| Student of Christine Gan Siew Hui | ||
| Noel Jones, violin | 9 | Pleasanton, CA |
| Student of Antoine Van Dongen | ||
| Sabine Kwon, piano | 9 | Haverford, PA |
| Honorable Mention | ||
| Abigail Bagby, piano | 8 | Berwyn, PA |
| Student of Anna Kislicyna | ||
| Zi Jun Zong, piano | 8 | Guang Xi, China |
| Student of Christine Gan Siew Hui | ||
| Christina Cai, piano | 9 | Bryn Mawr, PA |
| Student of Anna Kislicyna | ||
| Junior Category, Age 10 to 13: | ||
| First Place Winners | ||
| Anna Wang, piano | 10 | Westford, MA |
| Student of Yeehan Wu | ||
| Ian Maloney, cello | 10 | Hackensack, NJ |
| Student of Madeleine Golz | ||
| Jarell Tang, piano | 11 | Singapore |
| Student of Winnie Tay | ||
| Henry Tang, piano | 12 | Brooklyn, NY |
| Student of Frederick Kuok | ||
| Rachel Aina Call, violin | 12 | Provo, UT |
| Student of Monte Belknap | ||
| Erica Hong, piano | 13 | Duluth, GA |
| Student of Elena Cholakova | ||
| Ilina Lenkova Mihova, piano | 13 | Sofia, Bulgaria |
| Student of Milena Mihailova Pavlova | ||
| James Sinigalliano, piano | 13 | New York, NY |
| Student of Dr. Ana Maria Bottazzi | ||
| Piano Duo/Four Hands: | ||
| Pannita Mamanee | 12 | Bangkok, Thailand |
| Tarisa Chanpong | 11 | Bangkok, Thailand |
| Students of Dr. Pornphan Banternghansa | ||
| Second Place Winners | ||
| Jean Ying Fong, piano | 10 | Singapore |
| Student of Ralitsa Obretenova | ||
| Seojin Yoo, cello | 10 | Cresskill, NJ |
| Student of Madeleine Golz | ||
| Vevina Yang, piano | 10 | Willetton, Australia |
| Student of Yoon Sen Lee | ||
| Alex Qian, piano | 11 | Cedar Hills, UT |
| Student of Irene Peery-Fox | ||
| Hana Wang, piano | 11 | Sterling, VA |
| Student of Lisa Emenheiser Sarratt | ||
| Lina Hisada, piano | 11 | Los Aneles, CA |
| Student of Nobuyo Nishizaka | ||
| Matthew Gurning, piano | 11 | Fontana, CA |
| Student of Agatha Hou | ||
| Allison Lie, piano | 12 | Naperville, IL |
| Student of Sueanne Metz | ||
| Eliot Hodges, cello | 12 | Denver, CO |
| Student of Jim Todd | ||
| Ethan Yan, voice | 12 | Mountain View, CA |
| Student of Angelique Zuluaga | ||
| JT Sterle, piano | 12 | Clifton Park, NY |
| Student of Bella Brusilovsky | ||
| Pannita Mamanee, piano | 12 | Bangkok, Thailand |
| Student of Prof. Jamorn Jupapol | ||
| Andrew Vu, piano | 13 | San Diego, CA |
| Student of Viktor Shekhtman | ||
| Austin Chang, oboe | 13 | Closter, NJ |
| Student of Samei Im | ||
| Natalie Yee, piano | 13 | Newport Coast, CA |
| Student of Angela Leu | ||
| Peyton Chen, Oboe | 13 | Cupertino, CA |
| Student of Yu-Ting Wang | ||
| Sahana Shravan, violin | 13 | Boca Raton, FL |
| Student of Richard Coff | ||
| Sophia Li, piano | 13 | Vernon Hills, IL |
| Student of Sueanne Metz | ||
| Warren Lee, piano | 13 | Anaheim Hills, CA |
| Student of Ana Maria Eckstein | ||
| Piano Duo/Four Hands: | ||
| Angela Pham | 13 | Newport Coast, CA |
| Austin Pham | 13 | Newport Coast, CA |
| Students of Ana Marie Eckstein | ||
| Third Place Winners | ||
| Daniel Yuan, piano | 10 | Beltsville, MD |
| Student of Vivian Kwok | ||
| Marien Femerling Garcia, piano | 10 | Monterrey, Mexico |
| Student of Dr. Antonina Dragan | ||
| Michael Bagby, piano | 10 | Berwyn, PA |
| Student of Anna Kislicyna | ||
| Darren Chen, piano | 12 | Walnut, CA |
| Student of Sharon Hsin-I Cheng | ||
| Elena Chen, cello | 12 | Cupertino, CA |
| Student of Kyeong Hwa Kim | ||
| Jack Bagby, piano | 13 | Berwyn, PA |
| Student of Anna Kislicyna | ||
| Katie Sesi, violin | 13 | Ann Arbor, MI |
| Student of Judy Blank | ||
| Madelyn Chan, piano | 13 | Seattle, WA |
| Student of Marissa Rebadulla-Ramos | ||
| Michael Song, cello | 13 | Los Gatos, CA |
| Student of Michail Gelfandbein | ||
| Shinwho Kwun, piano | 13 | San Diego, CA |
| Student of Irina Bendetsky | ||
| Sally Han, violin | 13 | Cresskill, NJ |
| Student of Yu Jeong Lee | ||
| Honorable Mention Winners | ||
| Ethan Yan, violin | 12 | Mountain View, CA |
| Student of Antoine van Dongen | ||
| Katherine Zhao, piano | 12 | Potomac, MD |
| Student of Vivian Kwok | ||
| Rachel Dharmapalan, piano | 12 | Oakland, CA |
| Student of James Carmichael | ||
| Intermediate Category, Age 14 to 17: | ||
| First Place Winners | ||
| Kaitlyn Mann, piano | 14 | New York, NY |
| Student of Inesa Sinkevych | ||
| Golda Berkman, voice | 15 | Beverly Hills, CA |
| Student of Armen Guzelimian | ||
| Christopher Jessup, piano | 16 | Darien, CT |
| Student of Victoria Mushkatkol | ||
| Stanford Cheung, piano | 17 | Toronto, Ontario |
| Student of M. Orlov | ||
| Gerry Chen, violin | 17 | Cheswick, PA |
| Student of MaryBeth Schotting and Mairi Cooper | ||
| Ila Shon, cello | 17 | San Francisco, CA |
| Student of Eric Sung | ||
| Piano Duo/Four Hands: | ||
| Angelica Chen | 15 | Maple Ridge, Canada |
| Kelly Chan | 14 | Surrey, Canada |
| Students of Kathy Bjorseth | ||
| Second Place Winners | ||
| Andrew Jun Chen, piano | 14 | Staten Island, NY |
| Student of Frederick Kuok | ||
| Brendan Bourges-Sevenier, cello | 14 | Santa Clara, CA |
| Student of Kyeone Hwa Kim | ||
| Chantal Peng, piano | 14 | Wolfville, Canada |
| Student of John Hansen | ||
| Christy Cheung, piano | 14 | Brooklyn, NY |
| Student of Dr. Tian Song | ||
| Jonathan Ge, piano | 14 | Irvine, CA |
| Student of Dr. Emily Hung | ||
| Joshua Chiang, cello | 14 | San Jose, CA |
| Student of Kyeong Hwa Kim | ||
| Laura Zhang, piano | 14 | Marietta, GA |
| Student of Ping-yun Hsu | ||
| Sherrie Wang, piano | 14 | Williamsville, NY |
| Student of Violeta Arakelova | ||
| Stephen Yang, cello | 14 | San Diego, CA |
| Student of Ruslan Biryukov | ||
| Vivian Yong Zhou, piano | 14 | Staten Island, NY |
| Student of Frederick Kuok | ||
| Angelica Chen, piano | 15 | Maple Ridge, Canada |
| Student of Kathy Bjorseth | ||
| Eloise Hodges, violin | 15 | Denver, CO |
| Student of James Maurer | ||
| Jason Qu, piano | 15 | Vancouver, Canada |
| Student of Alex Lim | ||
| Justin Lee, piano | 15 | Walnut, CA |
| Student of Anne Bader | ||
| Rachel Won, cello | 15 | Saratoga, CA |
| Student of Kyeong Hwa Kim | ||
| William Lee, piano | 15 | Anaheim Hills, CA |
| Student of Ana Maria Eckstein | ||
| Alex Pham, piano | 16 | Newport Coast, CA |
| Student of Ana Maria Eckstein | ||
| Connie Chau, piano | 16 | Irvine, California |
| Student of Miranda Wu | ||
| Elise Zhao, piano | 16 | Hauppauge, NY |
| Student of Joanne Polk | ||
| Jason Lee, violin | 16 | Cupertino, CA |
| Student of Vitaly Leykin | ||
| Laura Street, piano | 16 | Atlanta, GA |
| Student of Nancy Elton | ||
| Min Ki Kim, cello | 16 | San Jose, CA |
| Student of Kyeong Hwa Kim | ||
| Claire Diaz, piano | 17 | San Marino, CA |
| Student of Nobuyo Nishizaka | ||
| Justin Kim, piano | 17 | River Edge, NJ |
| Student of Dr. Sohyun Ahn | ||
| Jeffrey Zhang, piano | 17 | Sugar Land, TX |
| Student of Dr. Dariusz Pawlas | ||
| Omar Gaidarov, flute | 17 | San Diego, CA |
| Student of Jane Masur | ||
| Piano Duo/Four Hands: | ||
| Allison Kao | 16 | Shaker Heights, OH |
| Elizabeth Ye | 16 | Shaker Heights, OH |
| Students of Ella Karasik | ||
| Third Place Winners | ||
| Christopher Yang, viola | 14 | San Diego, CA |
| Student of Michael Tseitlin | ||
| Key Ruan, piano | 14 | Surrey, Canada |
| Student of Li Xiao | ||
| Suzanne Carpenter, piano | 14 | Springfield , PA |
| Student of Anna Kislitsyna | ||
| Angelica Chen, violin | 15 | Maple Ridge, Canada |
| Student of Lawrie Hill and Nicholas Wright | ||
| Angela Yang, piano | 15 | Alpharetta, GA |
| Student of Dr. Keli Xu | ||
| Annie Zhen, piano | 15 | Covina, CA |
| Student of Sharon H. Cheng | ||
| Eric Shuren, piano | 15 | Montebello, NY |
| Student of Sergei Arzoumanov | ||
| Grace Jin, piano | 15 | Pittsburgh, PA |
| Student of Yeeha Chiu | ||
| Patrick James Staples, piano | 15 | Peru, VT |
| Student of Karine Poghosyan | ||
| Tina Jiang, piano | 15 | Brooklyn, NY |
| Student of Tian Song | ||
| James Li, piano | 16 | Woodbury, MN |
| Student of Yuen Tsai | ||
| Jasmine Zhou, piano | 16 | Ridgewood, NY |
| Student of Yuka Yoshino | ||
| Kevin Bao, piano | 16 | Walnut , CA |
| Student of Jenny Shin | ||
| Piano Duo/Four Hands: | ||
| Abigail Curtis | 15 | Manchester, NH |
| Valentine Schelkin | 14 | Manchester, NH |
| Students of Alla Nikitskaya | ||
| Honorable Mention | ||
| Asha Iyer, voice | 15 | Glen Allen, VA |
| Student of Anne O’Byrne | ||
| Sarah Jacobson, piano | 15 | Pelham, NY |
| Student of Alexander Budyonny | ||
| Juan Granados, piano | 16 | Singapore |
| Student of Christine Gan Siew Hui | ||
| Alexandra Moran, piano | 17 | Alexandria, VA |
| Student of Nina Kozin | ||
| Piano Duo/Four Hands: | ||
| Noah Cox | 14 | Durham, NC |
| Meredith Cox | 16 | Durham, NC |
| Students of Tanya Smirnov | ||
| Advanced Category, College Students and Professionals | ||
| First Place Winners | ||
| Eunhye Park, flute | 21 | East Northport, NY |
| Student of Minsang Park | ||
| Leonor Dill, piano | 24 | Union City, New Jersey |
| Student of Paul Coker | ||
| Soyoug Park, piano | 25 | Minneapolis, MN |
| Student of Lydia Artymiw | ||
| Eunhye Son, violin | 27 | Cincinnati, OH |
| Student of Won-Bin Yim | ||
| Lu Wang, voice | 27 | Beijing, China |
| Student of Zhao Dengying | ||
| Kyoo Hye Lim, piano | 28 | Ann Arbor, MI |
| Student of Logan Skelton | ||
| Myung-Ji Lee, piano | 28 | Denton, TX |
| Jooyeon Song, cello | 28 | Urbana, IL |
| Student of Dmitry Kouzov | ||
| Chia-Ying Chan, piano | 30 | Urbana, IL |
| Gang Zhu, piano | 30 | Champaign, IL |
| Student of Thomas Sauer and Timothy Ehlen | ||
| Hyojin Rhim, piano | 30 | Forest Hills, NY |
| Student of Gila Goldstein and Veronica Jochum | ||
| Marko Stuparevic, piano | 31 | Hartford, CT |
| Student of Dr. Paul Rutman | ||
| Moon Young Chang, violin | 31 | Lansing, MI |
| Student of Walter Verdehr | ||
| Jiwon Choi, piano | 32 | Lawrence, KS |
| Student of Steven Spooner | ||
| Rumi Oh, piano | 32 | Cincinnati, OH |
| Student of Timothy Ehlen | ||
| Larisa Smeshko, piano | 56 | Novosibirsk , Russia |
| Student of Mery Lebenzon | ||
| Second Place Winners | ||
| Darren Chen, piano | 19 | Ladera Ranch, CA |
| Student of Dr. Emily Hung | ||
| Juhyeon Lee, violin | 20 | Huntington, NY |
| Student of Jaram Kim | ||
| Igor Bardykin, piano | 22 | Moscow, Russia |
| Student of Alexander Malkus and Sergey Kuznetsov | ||
| Liu Min, voice | 22 | Beijing, China |
| Student of Lu Lanqing and Lu Lei | ||
| Bong-A Jung, piano | 31 | East Lansing, MI |
| Student of Panayis Lyras | ||
| Anna Arazi, piano | 32 | Cambridge, Massachusetts |
| Student of Boaz Sharon | ||
| Hyekyung Lee, piano | 33 | East Lansing, MI |
| Student of Panayis Lyras and Marc Silverman | ||
| Hyun Hee Park, piano | 44 | Fredericton, Canada |
| Student of Roger Lord | ||
| Piano Duo/Four Hands: | ||
| Maria Spirina | 27 | Nizhniy Novgorod, Russia |
| Alexander Panov | 27 | Nizhniy Novgorod, Russia |
| Piano Duo/Four Hands: | ||
| David Peroni | 33 | Caldogno, Italy |
| Silvia Bellani | 30 | Caldogno, Italy |
| Students of Pier Narciso Masi | ||
| Third Place Winners | ||
| No Third Places Were Awarded | ||
| Honorable Mention | ||
| Rui Jia Gladys Lim, piano | 18 | Singapore |
| Student of Christine Gan Siew Hui | ||
| Armon Safai, piano | 20 | Irvine, CA |
| Student of Anna Maria Eckstein | ||
| Josh Tyree, piano | 33 | Cumming, GA |
| Student of Raisa Isaacs | ||
| Piano Duo/Four Hands: | ||
| Christina Mandasari | 24 | Lawrence, KS |
| Somruedi Suchitphanit | 28 | Lawrence , KS |
Other applicants received Diploma of Participation
CONGRATULATIONS TO ALL WINNERS!