International Competition of Romantic Music 2017
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. Multiple winners will be chosen in each age category.
American Protégé International Competition of Romantic Music 2017 attracted applicants from across the United States, Canada, Costa Rica, Macedonia, Ukraine, South Korea, China, Singapore, Thailand and Vietnam.
Awards
Winners will perform at the Weill Recital Hall at Carnegie Hall in New York City on:
Sunday, December 17, 2017 (Limited placements)
Sunday, December 24, 2017 (Christmas, Limited placements)
Saturday, March 17, 2018 and
Sunday, March 25, 2018
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 2017. 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 2017 Results:
Judges Distinction Award (Plaque Trophies) Winners
Ryan Gannon is a 14-year-old 10th grader from Redwood City, California. At 4 years old, he joined Sujeeva Hapugalle’s studio. He began to compete in piano competitions at age 9. Ryan has excelled in regional and international piano competitions including numerous first-place finishes. He has performed at Carnegie Hall’s Weill Recital Hall three times. He completed the Young Artists Piano Program at Boston University’s Tanglewood Institute in the summer of 2017. He performed a 10-piece concert at age 8 to raise money to buy a piano for the local elementary school. Since 2011, Ryan has participated in annual community fundraising concerts to help send local children to the San Francisco Symphony and other musical venues. This year, he has started a Musical Outreach Club at his high school to bring music to members of the surrounding communities.
Isabel Chomnalez has attended the Precollege Division of Manhattan School of Music for the past nine years, where she studies violin with Professor Isaac Malkin and plays in the first violin section of the Precollege Philharmonic Orchestra. Isabel has won top prizes in several international competitions and performed three times at Weill Recital Hall in Carnegie Hall. In past summers, Isabel has participated and performed in music festivals in the United States, China, Germany, Greece and Italy (Cremona and Castelnuovo di Garfagnana). She also attended Interlochen Arts Camp six times. Born in the United States to Argentine parents, Isabel is currently a 12th grader at the Brearley School in New York City. She is fluent in English, Spanish and French, and has basic knowledge of Arabic.
Winners by Age Category
| Name | Age | Country/State |
| Young Musicians Category, Age 5 to 10: | ||
| First Place Winners | ||
| Not Awarded | ||
| Second Place Winners | ||
| Thannapas Luanpitpong, piano | 6 | Bangkok, Thailand |
| Student of Dr. Pornphan Banternghansa | ||
| Nichole Larsen, violin | 8 | Northumberland, PA |
| Student of Dr. Emily Rolka | ||
| Ryan Xing, piano | 8 | Darien, CT |
| Student of Konstantinos Valianatos | ||
| Adeline Shen, piano | 9 | Los Altos, CA |
| Student of Ekaterina Gueorguieva | ||
| Minghe Liu, piano | 9 | Beijing, China |
| Student of Hanze Liu | ||
| Ephraim Tan, cello | 10 | Singapore |
| Student of Guo Hao | ||
| Tiffany Zhang, piano | 10 | Katy, TX |
| Third Place Winners | ||
| Claire Jin, piano | 9 | Irvine, CA |
| Student of Miranda Wu | ||
| Zuriel Te, piano | 9 | Singapore |
| Student of Eunmi Choi | ||
| Zuriel Te, violin | 9 | Singapore |
| Student of Simon Browne | ||
| Alina Vinokur, piano | 10 | Westport, CT |
| Student of Tatiana Pikayzen | ||
| Enping Zhang, piano | 10 | Melbourne, FL |
| Student of Ann Rosen | ||
| Joseph Zhou, piano | 10 | Houston, TX |
| Student of Mei Rui | ||
| Honorable Mention | ||
| George Li, piano | 7 | Gainesville, FL |
| Student of Dr. Nadia Mezey | ||
| Lavender Hwang, piano | 10 | Gilroy, CA |
| Student of Majhon Phillips | ||
| Junior Category, Age 11 to 14: | ||
| First Place Winners | ||
| Zera Te, violin | 13 | Singapore |
| Student of Simon Browne | ||
| Amy Suwannatat, piano | 14 | Port Washington, NY |
| Student of Pippa Borisy and Dr. Donald Pirone | ||
| David Kwan, piano | 14 | Cupertino, CA |
| Student of Michelle Lee | ||
| Ines Nedelkovska, piano | 14 | Skopje, Macedonia |
| Student of Nina Kostova | ||
| Ryan Gannon, piano | 14 | Redwood City, CA |
| Student of Sujeeva Hapugalle | ||
| Second Place Winners | ||
| Crystal Cheng, piano | 11 | Cupertino, CA |
| Student of John McCarthy | ||
| Melody Qian, piano | 11 | Brooklyn, NY |
| Student of Frederick Kuok | ||
| Nina Huang, piano | 11 | Plano, TX |
| Student of Vita Zharkova | ||
| Truman Walker, piano | 11 | Eagle, ID |
| Student of Suzanne Winegar Clive | ||
| Aaron Becker, piano | 12 | Los Altos, CA |
| Student of Natalia Borodulin | ||
| Ryan Wang, piano | 12 | Champaign, IL |
| Student of Jing Hao | ||
| Siddharth Pant, piano | 12 | San Jose, CA |
| Student of Irina Prilipko-Morgan | ||
| Allison Yun, piano | 13 | Manhattan Beach, CA |
| Student of Esther Keel | ||
| Celine Chen, flute | 13 | Valencia, CA |
| Student of Mary Cervantes | ||
| David Su, piano | 13 | East Amherst, NY |
| Student of Violeta Arakelova | ||
| Ivan Cheng, piano | 13 | Staten Island, NY |
| Student of Frederick Kuok | ||
| Jesse Dong, piano | 13 | Diamond Bar, CA |
| Student of Jenny Shin | ||
| Eugene Choi, cello | 14 | Lorton, VA |
| Student of Heejung Jung | ||
| Katelyn Ge, piano | 14 | Irvine, CA |
| Student of Dr. Emily Hung | ||
| Third Place Winners | ||
| Ashley Dixon, piano | 12 | Mission Viejo, CA |
| Student of Melody Chiang | ||
| Eleanor Leung, piano | 12 | Staten Island, NY |
| Student of Frederick Kuok | ||
| Ethan Huan Nguyen, piano | 12 | Rancho Cucamongo, CA |
| Student of Aleksei Takenouchi | ||
| Stephen Morris, piano | 12 | New York, NY |
| Student of Dr Sohyun Ahn | ||
| Terrence Ho, piano | 12 | Brooklyn, NY |
| Student of Dr. Tian Song and Wai Han Cheung | ||
| Annie Cui, piano | 13 | Massillon, OH |
| Student of Tatsuya Nagashima | ||
| Irene Wang, piano | 13 | Williamsville, NY |
| Student of Violeta Arakelova | ||
| Keira Konson, piano | 13 | Oakton, VA |
| Student of Faith Zuniga | ||
| Ria Prasad, piano | 13 | Viera, FL |
| Student of Caroline Rosen | ||
| Andrew Wu, piano | 14 | Buena Park, CA |
| Student of Allison Edwards | ||
| Iris Lu, piano | 14 | Yorba Linda, CA |
| Student of Yin Yin Huang | ||
| Richard Chiu, piano | 14 | San Jose, CA |
| Student of Nataly Gingis | ||
| Yixuan (Lucy) Zhou, piano | 14 | Brooklyn, NY |
| Student of Tian Song | ||
| Honorable Mention | ||
| Nini Guo, piano | 11 | Miller Place, NY |
| Student of Rowena Arrieta | ||
| Michelle Yeoh, piano | 12 | San Diego, CA |
| Student of Rowena Asuncion | ||
| Neil Chen, piano | 12 | San Marino, CA |
| Student of Roger Wright | ||
| Doris Lee, piano | 13 | Irvine, CA |
| Student of Yu-Hui Jen | ||
| Audrey Yellich, piano | 14 | Carmel, CA |
| Student of Katie Gueoguieva | ||
| Brian Yeung, piano | 14 | Wixom, MI |
| Student of Irene Steyman | ||
| Dylan Giglio , piano | 14 | Pelham, NY |
| Student of Natalia Budyonny | ||
| Justin Pai, piano | 14 | Irvine, CA |
| Student of Emily Hung | ||
| Olivia Dunleavy, piano | 14 | River Edge, NJ |
| Student of Stacie Yao | ||
| Intermediate Category, Age 15 to 18: | ||
| First Place Winners | ||
| Nile Camai, piano | 15 | Issaquah, WA |
| Student of Dr. Ivona Kaminska | ||
| Christopher Lee, cello | 16 | Wexford, PA |
| Emily Yu, cello | 16 | Rockville, MD |
| Student of Ken Ding | ||
| James Sinigalliano, piano | 16 | New York, NY |
| Student of Dr. Ana Maria Bottazzi | ||
| Joanne Wang, piano | 16 | Roanoke, VA |
| Student of Melia Garber | ||
| Isabel Chomnalez, violin | 17 | New York, NY |
| Student of Isaac Malkin | ||
| Jasper Chang, cello | 17 | Palo Alto, CA |
| Student of Amy Hsieh | ||
| Rhea Park, viola | 17 | Livermore, CA |
| Student of Madeline Prager and Jodi Levitz | ||
| Second Place Winners | ||
| Alysa Cheung, piano | 15 | New York, NY |
| Student of Tian Song | ||
| Annika Huprikar, piano | 15 | Deerfield, IL |
| Student of Susan Merdinger | ||
| Josette Huang, piano | 15 | Honolulu, HI |
| Student of Joanna Zane Fan | ||
| Sara Min, piano | 15 | San Jose, CA |
| Student of Namiq Sultanov | ||
| Alexander Cheng, piano | 16 | Sandy, UT |
| Student of Gary Amano | ||
| Aneesha Sampath, violin | 16 | Gaitherburg, MD |
| Student of Leonora Karasina | ||
| Erin Liu, piano | 16 | Saratoga, CA |
| Student of Nataly Gingis | ||
| Ingrid Huang, piano | 16 | Beijing, China |
| Student of Prof. Wang Haibo | ||
| Karl Godard, piano | 16 | Richfield, OH |
| Student of Tatsuya Nagashima | ||
| Kevin Yiyang Li, voice | 16 | Vancouver, Canada |
| Student of Alex Lim | ||
| Mona Suzuki, violin | 16 | Andover, MA |
| Student of Michael Rosenbloom | ||
| Sylvia Tang, piano | 16 | Johns Creek, GA |
| Student of Shirley Irek | ||
| Evan Lam, piano | 17 | San Diego, CA |
| Student of Rinna Livshin | ||
| Kasey Yu, violin | 17 | Fremont, CA |
| Student of Ker Qi and Elaine Ubando | ||
| ManYun Wu, piano | 17 | Cerritos, CA |
| Student of Shun-Lin Chou | ||
| Third Place Winners | ||
| Josephine Kim, cello | 15 | San Diego, CA |
| Student of Luyan Guo | ||
| Miranda Wang, piano | 15 | Irvine, CA |
| Student of Dr. Bella Tseng | ||
| Tejas Srinivasan, piano | 15 | Mason, OH |
| Student of Allison Highland | ||
| Yijun Wang, piano | 15 | Vancouver, Canada |
| Student of Alex Lim | ||
| Evonne Iau, piano | 16 | Suwanee, GA |
| Student of Hwee Boon Ng | ||
| Joseph Feng, cello | 16 | Solon, OH |
| Student of Jerry Yarovich | ||
| Paige Brown, piano | 16 | San Jose, CA |
| Student of Ekaterina Gueorguieva-Ledford | ||
| Stephanie Pickrell, piano | 16 | Cypress, TX |
| Student of Alicia Shirley | ||
| Alan Zheng, piano | 17 | Ann Arbor, MI |
| Student of Christopher Carlon | ||
| Bruce Markman, classical guitar | 17 | San Diego, CA |
| Student of Andrey Chuguev | ||
| Jessica Chen, violin | 17 | Fremont, CA |
| Student of Ker Qi | ||
| Katryn Basso , piano | 17 | Stonington , CT |
| Student of Nonetta Shatakhtsian | ||
| Paul Overlie, piano | 17 | Newport News, VA |
| Student of Teri Falk | ||
| Samantha Won, piano | 17 | Fullerton, CA |
| Student of Soo Lee | ||
| Honorable Mention | ||
| Richard Jones, piano | 15 | Solon, OH |
| Student of Ella Karasik | ||
| Victoria Tran, piano | 15 | Goodyear, AZ |
| Student of Ed Anderson and Angela Anderson | ||
| Ana Cismaru, piano | 16 | Los Gatos, CA |
| Student of Katie Gueorguieva | ||
| Rebecah Huang, piano | 16 | Palo Alto, CA |
| Student of Joyce Lee | ||
| Tejas Thvar, piano | 16 | Los Altos, CA |
| Student of Maria Brodsky | ||
| Anna Petti, piano | 17 | Mountain View, CA |
| Student of Katie Gueorguieva-Ledford | ||
| Jennifer Wang, piano | 17 | Dallas, TX |
| Student of Grace Long and Ruth Ann Hoffman | ||
| Kevin Nea, piano | 17 | Rowland Heights, CA |
| Student of Aleksei Takenouchi | ||
| Scott Chen, piano | 17 | Los Gatos, CA |
| Student of Katie Gueorguieva | ||
| Zepu Wu, piano | 17 | La Verne, CA |
| Student of Jenny Shin | ||
| Advanced Category, College Students and Professionals | ||
| First Place Winners | ||
| Qianni Yang, piano | 25 | Columbus, OH |
| Student of Caroline Hong | ||
| Yu Mi Bae, cello | 30 | Allston, MA |
| Student of Michael Reynolds | ||
| Elena Korableva, cello | 31 | Brighton, MA |
| Jeong Hoon Lee, flute | 32 | Denton, TX |
| Student of Mary Karen Clardy | ||
| Second Place Winners | ||
| Tongtong Lei, violin | 19 | Boston, MA |
| Student of Tao Yan and Lv Xu | ||
| Suah Chang, piano | 37 | Westwood, NJ |
| Student of Deirdre O’Donohue | ||
| Honorable Mention | ||
| Zhengfang Bao, piano | 20 | Boston, MA |
| Student of Gila Goldstein | ||
| Andrea Arévalo Cuéllar, piano | 24 | Lima, Peru |
| Student of Marian Sobula and Carmen Escobedo | ||
| Amateur Category | ||
| Honorable Mention | ||
| Maiya Kenick, piano | 30 | Hacienda Heights, CA |
Other applicants received Diploma of Participation
CONGRATULATIONS TO ALL WINNERS!