International Concerto Competition 2017
International Concerto Competition 2017 was open to all instruments, including strings, piano, voice and winds.
Participants were required to submit video/audio recording materials for the audition.
Eligibility
We invite school students and adults to participate in the Competition. There is no age limit for the adult participants.
Multiple winners will be chosen in each of the following age groups:
| School Students: | Adults (19 and older): |
| 12 and under | Amateur without professional degree |
| 13 – 18 | College students and professional musicians |
Awards
Winners performed at Weill Recital Hall at Carnegie Hall in New York City
on Sunday, November 26, 2017 at 11:30 AM, 3:30 PM and 7:30 PM
on Saturday, December 16, 2017 at 11:30 AM
$300 Scholarship and other Special Awards may be granted based on the judges’ recommendations.
Judges
International panel of qualified judges will evaluate audition materials. All judges are independent, and their students are not allowed to apply this season. The concert pianist and teacher Ms. Irina Kaufman-Brookes (U.K./Russia) is invited as a Chairwoman of the Concerto Competition 2017. A graduate from the Moscow Gnessin Academy of Music, classes of Prof. E. Lieberman and Prof. L. Naumov, Ms. Kaufman-Brookes won a number of the International Competitions and performed as a solo and chamber ensemble pianist with the Bolshoi Theater, Stanislavskiy and Nemirovich – Danchenko Opera Theatre, and many orchestras across the Europe and USA.
International Concerto Competition 2017 Results
Judges Distinction Award (Plaque Trophies) Winners
Natasha Harper is a happy 11-year old. She lives and studies in Minsk, Belarus. Natasha started taking piano lessons at the age of 5. At age 8 she was admitted to Belarus Music College. Natasha has performed and competed locally and internationally. She has played a number of solo pieces in Belarus State Philharmonic over past 4 years, including an opportunity to play with Belarussian State Orchestra. In 2016, Natasha received 1st place in 2 categories at the United States International Duo Piano Competition (USIDPC) in Colorado Springs, CO. The same year she was awarded 1st prize in London Grand Prize Virtuoso International Piano Competition in chamber music category. She was invited to perform on stage in Royal Albert Hall in London in 2016. Natasha also plays violin, enjoys choreography and studies foreign languages.
Olivia Yang, age 12, lives in Charlotte, NC, and is a seventh-grade student at Randolph middle school and has been studying the piano with Irena Hramenkova since the age of 5. She has participated in numerous local and state competitions and most recently has won the Grand Prize at the 2017 Young Artists Competition. She will perform with the Charlotte Symphony Orchestra at the concert on May 14, 2017. She has won first prizes at Piano solo festival state scholarship competitions and Concerto competitions last few years. She also plays cello and composes music pieces. Her compositions recently received first prize in the 2017 State Federation Junior Composers Competition and her composition is now competing at the Regional Competition.
Sarah Liu, age 12, has traveled across the country, performing on the violin in venues such as the Kennedy Center Concert Hall in Washington D.C., the Renée and Henry Segerstrom Concert Hall in California, and the world-famous Carnegie Hall. Sarah completed her Advanced level Certificate of Merit for violin in 2016. She was the Grand Prize winner for the Satori Strings contest in 2015 and has won numerous awards from the Southwestern Youth Music Festival competitions. In 2016, she won first place in the Music Teacher’s Association Vocalists, Orchestral Instrumentalists and Chamber Music Ensembles (VOCE) regional competition. Sarah is also active as an orchestral player. From 2013 to 2015, Sarah served as Concertmistress of the Prelude Chamber Strings.
Manou Magdalena Chakravorty studies with Richard Hirschl of the Chicago Symphony Orchestra. She began cello lessons at the age of four with Karen Schulz-Harmon and has been fortunate to have taken classes with many eminent cellists including a master class by Yo-Yo Ma in 2014. Manou was the winner of the Chicago Youth Symphony Concert Orchestra’s 2016 Concerto Competition, giving her an opportunity to perform the Haydn Cello Concerto in 2017. She is a first prize winner of the Fall 2016 American Protégé International Music Talent Competition and of the Indiana Summer String Academy 2015 Concerto Competition. She has placed in several other competitions including the DePaul Concerto Festival 2017, the Music Festival in Honor of Confucius (2011-2014) and performed as soloist in the US, Spain, Italy and Austria.
Stephen Nishi, age 12, is a seventh grader at Sunnyvale Challenger School. He began taking violin lessons at the age of five, and after studying under Li Lin and Jenny Rudin, he is now student of Robin Sharp. Stephen has won numerous competitions including US Open, VOCE Competition, and ECYS Solo Competition. In addition to studying Chinese and Japanese languages, Stephen enjoys swimming, skiing, basketball, and computer games such as Minecraft.
Belle Wang is a 10th grader student from Mountain view high school, Mesa, AZ. She started to learn violin when she was 7. Belle has won numerous awards as the Arizona Musicfest Young Musicians Competition 2016, American String Teachers Association State Solo Competition 2015, Philadelphia International Music Festival Solo Competition 2015, and Chandler Symphony Orchestra Youth Competition in which Belle had her first solo debut with Chandler Orchestra in 2016. Last year, her Trio won first place in American Protégé International Piano and String competition; they had first debut in Carnegie Hall. Belle is a grand prize winner in 57th Phoenix Youth Symphony Young Musicians competition.
Jenny Yoon has been studying clarinet since she was 8 years old under the guidance of Yong Jae Kim and now Sergio Coelho. She has loved it ever since then, and her passion for clarinet has been shown through her various awards and honors. Jenny has numerous 1st place awards from the annual SYMF competition clarinet category and 2nd place in SYMF Young Artist Woodwind Category in 2015 for playing Weber clarinet concerto No.2. She obtained MTAC CM advanced Level 10 at the age of 14. She has also consistently been chosen to be part of the All-Southern California Honor Orchestra for last 4 years. Jenny has performed as a soloist with orchestra, and has participated in the Colburn Conservatory Wind Ensemble Los Angeles for 3 years, and now the member of Colburn Chamber Music Ensemble by Ed & Mari Edelman Chamber Music Institute.
Korean violinist Jinwoo Jung graduated from Seoul High school in Korea. He was an award winner in The University of Seoul competition and Seokyeong University competion. At the age of 16, he performed with the Bulgaria State Parzardzhik Orchestra. The following year, he was invited by the Russian ambassador to perform in Saint Petersburg; that same year, he performed in the Sejong International Music Festival. Most recently, he won the 2nd prize in both the New York Artists International Competition and the New York International Concours. He had the privilege to perform at the Winner Concert at Lincoln Center Bruno Walter Auditorium which became his debut in New York. Also, he got a Young Artist of International Grand Music Competition, so he performed in Merkin Concert Hall at Kufman Music Center.
Justina la Cour was born in Odense, Denmark in 1996. At the age of 6 she was admitted to the National M. K. Ciurlionis school of Arts in Vilnius, Lithuania and moved to Eastern Europe, where she lived and studied violin performance for 12 years. In this period, Justina became a laureate of 10 national and international music competitions, including 1st prize in 7th International Augusts Dombrovskis String Competition, 1st prize in 4th International Saulius Sondeckis Violin Competition and Grand Prix in 1st National Forum “Ars Lituanica” String Competition. Justina performed as a soloist with Lithuanian National Symphony Orchestra, Riga National Symphony Orchestra, Kaunas National Symphony Orchestra, Klaipeda Music Theaters Orchestra, Sankt Christopher Chamber Orchestra etc. She has played concerts and recitals in Studio Scenen DKDM, Copenhagen, Rennhof Castle, Germany, Riga National Philharmonic Hall, Latvia, Kaunas State Philharmonic Hall, Lithuania and appeared in such festivals as International Festival of Young Musicians and Pazaislis International Music Festival as well participated in Masterclasses with B. Garlitsky (France), S. Krylov (Italy) and L. Chang (USA).
Winners by Age Category
| NAME | AGE | CITY, STATE/COUNTRY |
| Age Group 12 and under: | ||
| FIRST PLACE WINNERS | ||
| Benjamin Luo, piano | 8 | Apex, NC |
| Student of Florence Ko | ||
| Mozart, Piano Concerto No.12 in A Major, K.414. I Mvt. | ||
| Ashley Foong Shu Yan, violin | 10 | Singapore |
| Student of Luo Wei | ||
| Haydn, Violin Concerto in C Major, Hob.VIIa, I Mvt. | ||
| and De Bériot, Violin Concerto No.9, Op.104 | ||
| Sophie Deng, cello | 10 | Stillwater, OK |
| Student of Meredith Blecha-Wells | ||
| Kabalevsky, Cello Concerto No. 1 in G Minor, I Mvt. | ||
| Natasha Harper, piano | 11 | Minsk, Belarus |
| Student of Alexander Borovikov | ||
| Bach, Concerto in F Minor | ||
| Xinyu Wang, flute | 11 | San Marino, CA |
| Student of Amy Tsai | ||
| J. J. Quantz, Flute Concerto in G Major, I Mvt. | ||
| Ian Barnett, violin | 12 | Key Biscayne, FL |
| Student of Scott Flavin | ||
| Bruch, Violin Concerto No. 1 in G Minor Op. 26 | ||
| Olivia Yang, piano | 12 | Charlotte, NC |
| Student of Irena Hramenkova | ||
| Beethoven, Concerto No. 4, III Mvt. | ||
| Sarah Liu, violin | 12 | Yorba Linda, CA |
| Student of Eunhee Kim | ||
| Wieniawski, Violin Concerto No. 2 in D Minor Op. 22, I Mvt. | ||
| SECOND PLACE WINNERS | ||
| Isabella Liu, piano | 8 | Honolulu, HI |
| Student of Dr. Thomas Yee | ||
| Kabalevsky, Piano Concerto No. 3 in D Major, I Mvt. | ||
| Emily Wu, piano | 10 | West Chester, PA |
| Student of Joy Kiszely | ||
| Mozart, Concerto No. 20 in D Minor, K. 466 | ||
| Andrew Manzella, piano | 11 | Murrysville, PA |
| Student of Rodrigo Ojeda and Bilu Manzella | ||
| Haydn, Concerto in D Major Hob. XVIII:11, I Mvt. | ||
| Leo Chang, cello | 12 | Bellevue , WA |
| Student of Kai Chen | ||
| Elgar, Concerto in E Minor Op. 85, I Mvt. | ||
| Noah Chen, cello | 12 | Chicago, IL |
| Student of Laura Chen | ||
| Saint-Saëns, Molto Allegro | ||
| THIRD PLACE WINNERS | ||
| Andrew Han, violin | 12 | Demarest , NJ |
| Student of Elizabeth Faidley | ||
| Mozart, Violin Concerto No.3 in G Major K.216, I Mvt. | ||
| HONORABLE MENTION | ||
| Jasper Y. Ng, violin | 6 | Edmonton, Canada |
| Student of Dr. Bianca Baciu | ||
| Rieding, Concerto in B Minor Op. 35 | ||
| Justin J. Ng, violin | 9 | Edmonton, Canada |
| Student of Frank Ho | ||
| Oskar Rieding, Concerto in G Major Op. 24, I Mvt. | ||
| and Vivaldi, Concerto in G Major Op. 3, No. 3, RV 310 | ||
| Catherine Chu, violin | 12 | Palo Alto, CA |
| Student of Chia-Hsin Chu | ||
| Accolay, Violin Concerto No.1 in A Minor | ||
| Age Group 13 to 18: | ||
| FIRST PLACE WINNERS | ||
| Anastasia Barabanova, piano | 13 | Moscow, Russia |
| Student of Miroslava Marchenko | ||
| Beethoven, Piano Concerto No. 1 in C Major, Op. 15, II and III Mvt. | ||
| Beatrice Chen, viola | 13 | Chicago, IL |
| Student of Paul Neubauer | ||
| von Weber, Andante and Rondo Ungarese, Op. 35 | ||
| Manou Magdalena Chakravorty, cello | 13 | Chicago, IL |
| Student of Richard Hirschl | ||
| Saint-Saëns, Cello Concerto in A Minor I Mvt and Coda | ||
| Sora Hoppo, piano | 13 | Sewickley, PA |
| Student of Luz Manriquez | ||
| Mendelssohn, Piano concerto No. 1 Op. 25, I Mvt. | ||
| Stephen Nishi, violin | 13 | Cupertino, CA |
| Student of Robin Sharp | ||
| Bach, Violin Concerto No. 1 | ||
| Tiffanie Huang, piano | 14 | Fremont, CA |
| Student of Katherine Lee and Wei Xing | ||
| Mozart, Piano Concerto No. 20 K 466, III Mvt | ||
| Alexander Zhang, violin | 15 | Trumbull, CT |
| Student of Shan Jiang | ||
| Veuxtemps, Concerto No. 5 in A Minor, Op. 37 | ||
| Chelsie Park, violin | 15 | Palo Alto, CA |
| Student of E. Park | ||
| Wieniawski, Violin Concerto No. 2 in D Minor | ||
| Daniel (Jehoon) Yoo, cello | 15 | Irvine, CA |
| Student of Sarah Koo | ||
| Elgar, Cello Concerto in E Minor, I Mvt. | ||
| Fiona Cunninghame-Murray, violin | 15 | Reisterstown, MD |
| Student of Lenelle Morse | ||
| Kabalevsky, Violin Concerto in C Major, Op. 48, I Mvt. | ||
| Hannah Lee, cello | 15 | Cupertino, CA |
| Student of Kyeong Hwa Kim | ||
| Lalo, Cello Concerto in D Minor, I Mvt. | ||
| and Elgar, Cello Concerto in E Minor, I Mvt. | ||
| Jenny Yoon, Bb clarinet | 15 | Studio City, CA |
| Student of Yongjae Kim | ||
| Von Weber, Clarinet Concerto No. 1, I Mvt. | ||
| Katherine Guo, cello | 15 | Fremont, CA |
| Student of Jihee Kim | ||
| Kabalevsky, Cello Concerto No. 1 in G Minor | ||
| Maine Hoppo, violin | 15 | Sewickley, PA |
| Student of Hong-Guang Jia | ||
| Saint-Saëns, Violin Concerto No. 3 Op. 61, I Mvt. | ||
| Ryan Har, cello | 15 | Palo Alto, CA |
| Student of Eric Sung | ||
| Elgar, Cello Concerto Op. 85, I Mvt. | ||
| Sean Lee, cello | 15 | San Ramon, CA |
| Student of Jonathan Koh | ||
| Elgar, Concerto in E Minor, Op. 85, IV Mvt. | ||
| and Dvorak, Concerto in B Minor, Op. 104, III Mvt. | ||
| Sophia Zheng, violin | 15 | West Palm Beach, Fl |
| Student of Carol Cole | ||
| Sarasate, Zigeunerweisen | ||
| Stephan Xie, piano | 15 | Sugar Land, TX |
| Student of Yanzi Lin | ||
| Chopin, Piano Concerto No. 2 | ||
| Alvin Chung, flute | 16 | Saratoga, CA |
| Student of Liling Chen and Anny Cheng | ||
| Cecile Chaminade, Concertino Op. 107 in D Major | ||
| and Mozart, Concerto No. 2, K.314 in D Major, III Mvt. | ||
| Bo Fei Wang, piano | 16 | Palm Harbor, Fl |
| Student of Grigorios Zamparas | ||
| Grieg, Piano Concerto in A Minor | ||
| Daniel Choo, violin | 16 | Knoxville, TN |
| Student of Dr. Miroslav Hristov | ||
| Maurice Ravel, Tzigane | ||
| Jakob Schoenfeld, marimba | 16 | Oviedo, FL |
| Student of Bryant Bernal and Brad Kuperman | ||
| Ney Rosauro, Concerto for Marimba and Orchestra | ||
| Julie Karam, violin | 16 | Englewood Cliffs, NJ |
| Student of Joey Corpus | ||
| Tchaikovsky, Violin Concerto in D Major, Opus 35, I and II Mvt. | ||
| Justin Nguyen, viola | 16 | Irvine, CA |
| Student of Dr. Jerzy Kosmala | ||
| Walton, Viola Concerto, I Mvt. | ||
| KyungHwan (Alex) Hwang, cello | 16 | San Diego, CA |
| Student of Ruslan Biryukov | ||
| Saint Saens, Concerto No. 1 in A Minor Opus 33 | ||
| Aveek Ganguly, piano | 17 | Portland, OR |
| Student of Dr. Renato Fabbro | ||
| Saint-Saëns, Piano Concerto No. 2 in G Minor Op 22, I Mvt. | ||
| Edward Li, cello | 17 | San Diego, CA |
| Student of Lu Yan Guo | ||
| Haydn, Concerto in C Major for Cello, I Mvt. | ||
| Minsu Seo, cello | 17 | Bayside, NY |
| Student of Lee In Hwa | ||
| Lalo, Concerto in D Minor, III Mvt. | ||
| Stella Faux, violin | 17 | Urbana, IL |
| Student of Igor Kalnin | ||
| Kabalevsky, Violin Concerto in C Major, Op. 48-1, I Mvt. | ||
| SECOND PLACE WINNERS | ||
| Emilee Kitmahawong, violin | 14 | New york, NY |
| Student of Min Sun Kim | ||
| Lalo, Symphonie Espagnole – Intermezzo | ||
| Wenson Tang, piano | 14 | Houston, TX |
| Student of Rodolfo Morales | ||
| Mozart, Piano Concerto No. 13 in C Major, K. 415, I Mvt. | ||
| An Hoang, piano | 15 | Garden Grove, CA |
| Student of Molly Nguyen | ||
| Rachmaninoff, Piano Concerto No. 1 Op. 18 in C Minor, III Mvt. | ||
| Carolyn Chen, cello | 15 | Los Altos, CA |
| Student of Amy Hsieh | ||
| Lalo, Cello Concerto in D Minor, I Mvt. | ||
| Jacey Yang, violin | 15 | San Diego, CA |
| Student of Hernan Constantino | ||
| Ravel, Tzigane | ||
| Junyoung (David) Choi, clarinet | 15 | San Jose, CA |
| Student of Hye Min Yun | ||
| von Weber, Concertino in E-Flat Major, Op.26 | ||
| Kevin Chen, violin | 15 | Manhattan Beach, CA |
| Student of Elmer Su | ||
| Tchaikovsky, Violin Concerto in D Major, III Mvt. | ||
| Christopher Lee, cello | 16 | Wexford, PA |
| Popper, Hungarian Rhapsody Op. 68 | ||
| Jason Xu, clarinet | 16 | San Jose, CA |
| Student of Janet Averett | ||
| Rossini, Introduction, Theme and Variations for Clarinet | ||
| Keven Zhang, piano | 16 | Salt Lake City, UT |
| Student of Ya Liu | ||
| Saint-Saëns, Piano Concerto No. 2 in G Minor Op. 22 | ||
| Sarah Sun, piano | 16 | Cedar City, UT |
| Student of Irene Peery-Fox | ||
| Rachmaninoff, Concerto No. 2 in C Minor, Op. 18, I Mvt. | ||
| Sylvia Tang, piano | 16 | Johns Creek, GA |
| Student of Shirley Irek | ||
| Beethoven, Concerto No. 3 | ||
| Trevor Jensen, violin | 16 | Sunnyside, NY |
| Student of Dr. Yu Jeong Lee | ||
| Bruch, Scottish Fantasy, Op.46, Finale | ||
| Isabella Chang, piano | 17 | Potomac, MD |
| Student of Hyun Park | ||
| Grieg, Piano Concerto, II Mvt. | ||
| Laura Deng, cello | 17 | Stillwater, OK |
| Student of Meredith Blecha-Wells | ||
| Elgar, Cello Concerto in E Minor | ||
| THIRD PLACE WINNERS | ||
| Jason Zhuang, violin | 13 | Johns Creek, GA |
| Student of Yue Yang | ||
| Bruch, Concerto Op. 26, I Mvt. | ||
| William Suwandi, violin | 13 | Stevenson Ranch, CA |
| Student of Paul Lee | ||
| Kabalevsky, Concerto in C Major Op. 48 | ||
| Christina Wang, piano | 14 | Herndon, VA |
| Student of Anna Ouspenskaya | ||
| Saint-Saens, Second Concerto in G Minor Op. 22, I Mvt. | ||
| Ko-Wei Chang, cello | 14 | Sunnyvale, CA |
| Student of Amy Hsieh | ||
| Elgar, Concerto in E Minor Op. 85 | ||
| Nova Meng, piano | 14 | Copley, OH |
| Student of Tatsuya Nagashima | ||
| Von Weber, Konzertstück in F minor, Op.79 | ||
| Grace Zhang, viola | 15 | Chandler , AZ |
| Student of Ms.Susanne Rothaar | ||
| Hummel, Fantasie for Viola and Orchestra Op. 94 | ||
| Jeffrey Yang, cello | 15 | Saratoga, CA |
| Shostakovich, Cello Concerto No. 1 in E-Flat Major, Op. 107 | ||
| Alan Zheng, piano | 16 | Ann Arbor, MI |
| Student of Christopher Carlon | ||
| Liszt, Liszt Concerto No. 1, IV Mvt. | ||
| Valen Yamamoto, viola | 16 | Saratoga, CA |
| Student of Yen-yin Lee | ||
| Hoffmeister, Viola Concerto in D Major | ||
| HONORABLE MENTION | ||
| Alisa Wang, piano | 16 | Buffalo Grove, IL |
| Student of Ann Birman | ||
| Beethoven, Piano Concerto No. 2 in B Flat Major, Op. 19 | ||
| College students and professional musicians | ||
| FIRST PLACE WINNERS | ||
| Jinwoo Jung, violin | 20 | New York, NY |
| Student of Koichiro Harada and Patinka Kopec | ||
| Max Bruch, Violin Concerto No. 1 in G Minor, Op. 26, I Mvt. | ||
| Justina la Cour, violin | 20 | Copenhagen, Denmark |
| Student of Prof. Virginie Robilliard | ||
| Sibelius, Violin Concerto Op. 47 in D Minor, I Mvt. | ||
| SooJi Lee, piano | 23 | Cleveland, OH |
| Student of Emanuela Friscioni | ||
| Ginastera, Danzas Argentinas Op. 2, I and II Mvt. | ||
| Yejin Han, viola | 26 | Boston, MA |
| Student of Michelle LaCourse and Ettore Causa | ||
| Bartok, Concerto for Viola | ||
| Bingjie Liu, piano | 27 | Minneapolis, MN |
| Student of Dr. Paul Shaw and Elizabeth Wolff | ||
| Saint-Saens, Piano Concerto No. 2, Op. 22, I Mvt. | ||
| Ekaterina Paniukova, piano | 28 | Lubbock, TX |
| Student of Dr. William Westney | ||
| Tchaikovsky, Piano Concerto No. 1 in B-flat Minor, Op.23 | ||
| Hanbing Jia, violin | 28 | Middle River, MD |
| Student of Herbert Greenberg | ||
| Tchaikovsky, Vioin Concerto in D Major | ||
| Xiao Chen, piano | 28 | Los Angeles, CA |
| Student of Inna Faliks | ||
| Rachmaninoff, Piano Concerto No.2 in C Minor, Op.18 | ||
| Xin Xia, piano | 29 | Winchester, VA |
| Student of John O’Conor and Ieva Jokubaviciute | ||
| Beethoven, Piano Concerto No. 4 Op. 58 | ||
| SECOND PLACE WINNERS | ||
| Ha Eun An, oboe | 23 | Denton, TX |
| Student of James Ryon | ||
| Kalliwoda, Oboe concertino, I and II Mvt. | ||
| Sunhwa Hong, piano | 32 | Bayside, NY |
| Beethoven , Piano Concerto No. 1, I Mvt. | ||
| Merab Ebralidze, piano | 41 | Brooklyn, NY |
| Student of Prof. Tamara Poddubnaya and Prof. Nino Katamadze | ||
| Chopin, Piano Concerto No. 2 | ||
| Amateur Category | ||
| FIRST PLACE WINNER | ||
| Toshitaka Hoppo, violin | 48 | Sewickley, PA |
| Student of Chiharu Kano | ||
| Shostakovich, Violin Concerto No. 1, Op. 77, Cadenza and IV Mvt. | ||
Other applicants received Diploma of Participation
CONGRATULATIONS TO ALL WINNERS!