International Concerto Competition 2018

Sofia Sourkova is 12 years old, was born in Kiev, Ukraine. She began her piano study at the age of six with her teacher Inna Goncharova. She played her first piano concerto with orchestra at the end of her first piano study year. Now she has already at her portfolio 4 concertos with orchestra. Sofia won the 1-st place at American Protégé, International Concerto Competition, 2014. She played twice with Vilnius opera theatre orchestra in Klaipeda (Lithuania), in 2014 and 2016, in XXI century Art Competition, where she achieved 1-st place in three nominations. She’s winner of Resonance Competition, Paris, France. Sofia also regularly performs as many times winner and Grand prix awarded of International and Ukrainian competitions. She was also awarded as 1-st degree Laureate diplomas in musical competitions more than 50 times. She’s experienced not only in piano duet but in trio and quartet as well as in trio with cello and violin. Sofia is the graduate student of the Mayor’s of Kiev (Ukraine) scholarship last five years for the successful study and significant creative successes and achievements.

Ella Kim started learning to play the violin at age 5, quickly developing a love for music. As the winner of the 2016 Rivers Youth Orchestra Concerto Competition, she made her debut as soloist with the Philharmonia Orchestra. Ella was a prizewinner in the 2017 Totenberg Young Strings State Competition as well the recipient of the Rivers Conservatory String Department Prize and Young Artist Diploma. She has served as Concertmaster of the Weston School Orchestras; Rivers Conservatory Youth Orchestras and she is one of the youngest members of the Boston Youth Symphony Senior BYS Orchestra. Ella enjoys sharing her music as a volunteer at the Weston Brook Apartments and Beth Israel Deaconess Medical Center. Ella studied with Lilia Muchik and currently studies with Magdalena Richter. She is in the seventh grade at the Weston Middle School.

Born in Montana, Tanner Jorden, 15, began his musical career at seven. His current teacher, Dorothea Cromley, is the former Professor of Piano at MSU-B. In 2015, Tanner began winning competitions locally. In 2016, he competed in the LA International Liszt Competition. In 2017, he received first place in the Montana Association of Symphony Orchestras Concerto Competition. He debuted with the Great Falls Symphony in 2017 and since has performed with the Billings, Helena and Glacier Symphonies. Tanner competed in the MTNA competition in 2016 and 2017, receiving honorable mentions in the Junior and Senior divisions at regionals. Tanner gave his debut recital at MSUB in 2017 and performed a recital in Wyoming sponsored by the Sheridan Arts Council. He attended Red Lodge Music Festival, BYU’s SummerFestival, and USU’s Piano Clinic and received the top award and a scholarship.

Mikhail Peysel, 17, Yekaterinburg, Russia, begun to play music since 10 years old. In four years of studies at the music school under Mrs. L. P. Nikitina, Mikhail has passed the entire school course and became the III-degree laureate of the II International Competition “Young Mozart” in Perm, Russia and I degree laureate of the International Festival-Contest “Mix-Art”. Since 2014, he continues the studies at the Urals College of Music, currently in the class of Prof. V.V. Clishyn. Mikhail has participated in masterclasses with A. Massarsky (St.-Petersburg), E. Rumyantsev (Moscow), A. Buzlov (Moscow), O. Bugaev (Moscow) and M. Katz (France). His awards in the competitions include 1st Places in Yekaterinburg city International Competition “The Urals are gathering friends”, “Tutte le corde” “Steps of Excellence” Competition, All-Russian Competition “The Magic of Sound” (solo and chamber ensemble categories), to name just a few. Mikhail performed with orchestras at Yekaterinburg Philharmonic Hall, The Ural College of Music, “Triumph” Philharmonic in Perm (Russia).