International Music Talent Competition Fall 2017
The American Protégé International Music Talent Competition is open to all instrumentalists (piano, winds, strings, brass, traditional, etc.), vocalists and traditional folk and jazz groups of all nationalities and countries. Participants are required to submit video recording materials for the audition. American Protégé is looking for genuinely talented people, who have creativity and stage charisma.
We invite talented performers of any age and genre to participate in the Competition.
All applicants who are signed with the manager or producer must submit via email a General Representation and Release Form signed by the Manager/Producer to be eligible for the Competition.
Awards
Winners performed at the Weill Recital Hall at Carnegie Hall in New York City on:
Sunday, December 17, 2017
Sunday, December 23, 2017 (Christmas weekend)
Saturday, March 17, 2018 at 1:00 PM
Sunday, March 25, 2018 at 1:00 PM
Sunday, April 1, 2018 (Easter).
Star Performer Award, Judges’ Favorite Award Trophy, Judges’ Distinction Award Trophy and other Special Awards may be granted based on the judges recommendations.
Judges
Three qualified judges evaluate audition materials. All judges are independent, their students are not allowed to apply this season.
International Music Talent Competition Fall 2017 Results:
Judges' Distinction (Plaque Trophy) Award and First Place Winners:
Joie Bianco made her cabaret debut in 2015 at the MetroStar competition at NY’s Metropolitan Room at the age of 14 where she placed in the top 7 and won the “Audience Favorite” award. Since then she’s appeared in numerous Cabaret Cares/Equity Fights Aids benefits and debuted her first solo show in 2017 at the Metropolitan Room. Joie has attended the prestigious Michael Feinstein’s Songbook Academy, Carmel Indiana in 2016 where she was awarded the “Most Talented Young Artist” by Sylvia McNair and finished in the top 10 in 2017. Joie has performed at the New York Cabaret Convention at Lincoln Center in 2016 and 2017. In November she won the prestigious “Julie Wilson” award and scholarship at the convention, where she was both the youngest performer and youngest to ever win the award. Joie is a student of the marvelous Marilyn Maye.
Piano Duo/Four Hands:
Hannah Zhao, 12 years old, from Irvine California, started her music journey when she was five. She loves playing piano and violin, especially playing piano with her younger sister. Hannah has participated in numerous local and regional competitions. Most recently she won 1st place in the SYMF Piano Duet Open competition, 2nd place in NYDYMC ensemble competition, Gold medal winner in SWV Festival competition, 2nd place in MTAC String and Voice competition. Hannah was also invited to perform in CMEOC Young Talents on Stage Concert 2017. Hannah had been a member in Pacific Symphony Santiago Strings Orchestra. Currently she is part of the Junior Chamber Music as a violinist. Some of Hannah’s favorite composers are Vivaldi, Bach, Chopin, and Tchaikovsky.
Helaine Zhao, 11 years old, is a talented young girl from Irvine, California. She started piano lessons when she was four and composition at the age of eight. Helaine’s most recent piano accomplishments include: 1st place winner in the SYMF Young Pianist Concerto competition which awarded her the opportunity to perform with the Festival Orchestra, 1st place in the SYMF Piano Duet Open competition. She also won 2nd place in MTAC State Final Concerto competition, 2nd place in NYDYMC ensemble competition, 2nd place in the CAPMT Sonata competition, 3rd place in the CAPMT & JCM Young Musicians Concerto Competition. In addition, she also won multiple composition awards in MTAC Composers Today State Contest. In 2017, Helaine was selected into the IUSD Honor Chorus, and had the opportunity to be the piano accompanist performing at Segerstrom Concert Hall. Helaine loves sharing music with many performances at a senior center.
Piano Duo/Four Hands:
Sarah Ning started playing piano at the age of 6 and has been studying under Dr. Olga Chichova for almost 10 years. She has received numerous awards which include two Age Achievement Trophies at the North York Music Festival in 2014 and 2015. Sarah was the 2nd place winner in the American Protégé International Competition of Romantic in 2016. She also placed 2nd at the il Pozzolino International Piano Competition in Italy 2014. As a first prize winner of the Young Artist Competition in Burlington, she performed Mozart Concerto No. 24 with the Burlington Symphony Orchestra in 2016. Sarah is focusing on playing duets with her partner Oliver Zhou and they have won 2nd place at the Canadian Music Competition 2017. She and Oliver also performed at the Musikverein Golden Hall in Vienna, Austria in 2016. Sarah is currently a grade 10 student at Cawthra Park Secondary School in Mississauga.
Oliver Zhou is a grade 11 student at St. Aloysius Gonzaga Catholic Secondary School in Mississauga, Ontario. He was first introduced to the piano and its euphonic potential at the age of 8, and is currently under the guidance of Dr. Olga Chichova, his teacher. Since 2010, Oliver has been participating in numerous music festivals such as the Kiwanis Music Festival, CCC (Chinese Cultural Centre) Piano Competition, Peel Music Festival, North York Music Festival and Rotary Burlington Music Festival, from which he has received numerous scholarships and awards. In the years 2013, and 2014, he was a finalist in the Canadian Music Competition; he and his duet partner Sarah also won second prize at this year’s finals. Oliver has been invited to, and has performed in the Rotary Burlington Music Festival Gala concert in 2010 where he received the prize of Junior Piano Star. He has also played 3 consecutive times in the CCC Rising Stars Concert.
Piano Duo/Four Hands:
Hye Jung Kang obtained her Doctor of Musical Arts from Sookmyung Women’s University, Masters of Music from Manhattan School of Music and Bachelor of Music from Sookmyung Women’s University. She performed in many different Festivals, Concerts and Recitals, including Daejeon Music Festival (Concert of Ensemble “WITH”), Busan Cultural Center (“The 2nd Manhattan piano Ensemble Concert”), Gumho Art Hall, Seodaemun Cultural Center and other venues in South Korea, and Los Angeles Korean Festival, Manhattan School of Music Recitals, IBLA Competition (Italy), to list just a few. Currently, Ms. Kang works as an instructor at Deokwon Arts High School (Seoul, Korea).
Jin Ah Choi graduated from Yonsei University (B.M.) and Boston New England Conservatory of Music (M.M.). Among her awards are the first prizes of Korea Times Competition, Chungnam National University Competition and Boston Arlington Philharmonic Young Artist Competition; and the third prize of Osaka International Competition for Chamber Ensemble part. Ms. Choi performed with Daejeon festival Orchestra and was invited for chamber ensemble recitals at Carnegie Weill Hall in New York, solo performance for the festival of Messiaen pieces at Jordan Hall in NEC and solo recitals at Aspen Music Festival. She performed in S. Korea and many other countries. Currently Ms. Choi works as an instructor at Mok-Won University, Pai-Chai University, Daejeon Arts High school and Koyang Arts High School. She is a leader of Chamber Ensemble WITH.
| Music Talent Competition Fall 2017 Winners: | ||
| Name | Age | Country/State |
| First Place Winners | ||
| Ka Bao Hayden Chong, piano | 8 | Tawau , Malaysia |
| Student of Linda Koh Fui Tze | ||
| Reika Liang , flute | 8 | Singapore |
| Student of Larisa Tupitsyna | ||
| Ceicilia Limargana, piano | 9 | Riverton, Australia |
| Student of Prof. Yoon Sen Lee | ||
| Grace Li, piano | 9 | Newport Beach, CA |
| Student of Prof. Ana Maria Eckstein | ||
| Arya Babu, piano | 10 | Solon, Oh |
| Student of Cynthia Crotty | ||
| Christian Gerald Esteban, piano | 10 | Darien, IL |
| Student of Sueanne Metz | ||
| Nantacha Sethanandha, voice | 10 | Bangkok, Thailand |
| Student of Warunee Boonrang | ||
| Jason Dong, piano | 11 | Diamond Bar, CA |
| Student of Jenny Shin | ||
| Sophie Elliott, flute | 12 | Singapore |
| Student of Larisa Tupitsyna | ||
| Ivan Wang, cello | 13 | Trabuco Canyon, CA |
| Student of Sarah Koo | ||
| Tonya Hu, piano | 13 | Sugar Land, TX |
| Student of Qi Ding | ||
| Joanna Wang, Piano | 14 | Scarsdale, NY |
| Student of Dr. Adam Kent | ||
| Maggie Liu, Vocal | 14 | Temecula, CA |
| Student of Milena Kitic | ||
| Neeharika Panda, Voice | 14 | Bengaluru, India |
| Sara Maxman, violin | 14 | San Diego, CA |
| Student of George Maxman | ||
| Allison Chang, flute | 15 | Fremont, CA |
| Student of Kris Palmer and Isabelle Chapuis | ||
| Ashley Kim, piano | 15 | Demarest, NJ |
| Student of Kay Rhee | ||
| Joseph Dong, cello | 15 | Diamond Bar, CA |
| Student of Vahe Hayrikyan | ||
| Aileen Park, voice | 16 | Syosset, NY |
| Student of Seongsook Choi | ||
| Annie Lu, piano | 16 | San Diego, CA |
| Student of Rinna Livshin | ||
| Brawner Quan, cello | 16 | New York, NY |
| Student of Alex Croxton | ||
| Christina Lam, guzheng | 16 | Fremont, CA |
| Student of Chiffon Fu | ||
| Danielle Lee, cello | 16 | Tustin, CA |
| Student of Sarah Koo | ||
| Erica Hong, Piano | 16 | Duluth, GA |
| Student of Elena Cholakova | ||
| Eton Shon, voice | 16 | Portola Valley, CA |
| Student of Jimmy Kansau | ||
| Joey Zhu, piano | 16 | San Ramon, CA |
| Student of Jed Galant | ||
| Kevin Yiyang Li, voice | 16 | Vancouver, Canada |
| Student of Alex Lim | ||
| Mona Suzuki, violin | 16 | Andover, MA |
| Student of Michael Rosenbloom | ||
| Tiffany Zhao, piano | 16 | Saratoga, CA |
| Student of Nataly Gingis | ||
| Warren Lee, piano | 16 | Anaheim Hills, CA |
| Student of Ana Maria Eckstein | ||
| Daniel Yadegar, Voice, Broadway/Musical Theatre | 17 | Encino, CA |
| Student of Dr. Joel Ewing | ||
| Gloria Lam, viola | 17 | Jericho, NY |
| Jiaxin Lin, violin | 17 | Shanghai, China |
| Student of Qing Zheng | ||
| Katryn Basso, piano | 17 | Stonington, CT |
| Student of Nonetta Shatakhtsian | ||
| Shijie Ma, cello | 17 | Shanghai, China |
| Student of Dahai Liu | ||
| Yang Wang, piano | 17 | Shanghai, China |
| Student of Jin Tang | ||
| Yongyuan Huang, piano | 17 | Rumford, RI |
| Student of Nonetta Shatakhsian | ||
| Celyna Peck, voice, Musical Theatre | 18 | Singapore |
| Student of Grace Ng Ee Wern | ||
| Tingting Wang, violin | 25 | San Diego, CA |
| Student of Xuefeng Wang | ||
| Laura Pillman, flute | 27 | Denton , TX |
| Piano Duo/Four Hands: | ||
| Ceicilia Limargana | 9 | Riverton, Australia |
| Sidney Eric | 11 | Perth, Australia |
| Students of Prof. Yoon Sen Lee | ||
| Cello Duo: | ||
| Sunny Fan | 13 | San Diego, CA |
| Josephine Kim | 15 | San Diego, CA |
| Students of Lu-Yan Guo | ||
| WLM-Trio: | ||
| Jiaxin Lin, violin | 17 | Shanghai, China |
| Yang Wang, piano | 17 | Shanghai, China |
| Shijie Ma, cello | 17 | Shanghai, China |
| Students of Wenxuan Shao | ||
| The York Street Duo: | ||
| Alejandro Olson, classical guitar | 24 | Denver, CO |
| Mary Margaret Neel, violin | 24 | Denver, CO |
| Second Place Winners | ||
| Chloe Ng, piano | 4 | Rockville, MD |
| Student of Vivian Kwok | ||
| Karis Lau, piano | 7 | Flushing, NY |
| Student of Vivian Fang Liu | ||
| Derek Li, piano | 8 | Newport Beach, CA |
| Student of Prof. Ana Maria Eckstein | ||
| Lorenz Ludwig Lentschig, violin | 8 | Munich, Germany |
| Student of Kirill Troussov | ||
| Maggie Deng, piano | 8 | Potomac, MD |
| Student of Vivian Kwok | ||
| Valentina Canas, piano | 8 | San Jose, Costa Rica |
| Student of Valentina Tumanova | ||
| Elizabeth Liu, piano | 9 | Plano, TX |
| Student of Vita Zharkova | ||
| Ka Foo Ashton Chong, piano | 10 | Tawau , Malaysia |
| Student of Linda Koh Fui Tze | ||
| Elizabeth Levine, violin | 11 | Great Neck, NY |
| Student of Roslyn Huang and David Gale | ||
| Isabel Xu, piano | 12 | East Setauket, NY |
| Student of Rowena Arrieta | ||
| Juan Manrique, viola | 12 | Lenox, MA |
| Student of Olga Romoff | ||
| Michelle Skylar, voice | 12 | London, United Kingdom |
| Student of Marika Rauscher | ||
| Siddharth Easwaran, piano | 12 | Fair Lawn, NJ |
| Student of Stacie Yao | ||
| John Lin, piano | 13 | Cerritos, CA |
| Student of Aleksei Takenouchi | ||
| Loana El Achtar, piano | 13 | San Jose, Costa Rica |
| Student of Valentina Tumanova | ||
| Trisha Ganesh, piano | 13 | Beaverton, OR |
| Student of Bella Sheykman | ||
| Yana Ebbing, voice | 13 | West Bloomfield, MI |
| Student of Gracie Calvaneso | ||
| Alexander Hom, violin | 14 | Syosset, NY |
| Student of Roslyn Huang | ||
| Esther Kim, violin | 14 | Yorktown, VA |
| Student of Ara Gregorian | ||
| Junah Kim, violin | 14 | Fullerton, CA |
| Student of Chul Mi Oh | ||
| Stephanie Yu, piano | 14 | Dover, MA |
| Student of Margarita Kotlyarova | ||
| Hyunji Shim, voice | 15 | Johns Creek, GA |
| Student of Sookhyun Hong | ||
| Greta Luo, clarinet | 16 | Penn Valley, PA |
| Student of Joseph Dvorak | ||
| Teah Snively, piano | 16 | Stafford, VA |
| Student of Susan Flinn | ||
| Daniel Yadegar, Voice, Classical | 17 | Encino, CA |
| Student of Dr. Joel Ewing | ||
| Ariel Noel, Voice, Classical | 19 | Rutherford, NJ |
| Student of Therese Noel | ||
| Jullianne Alonzo, voice | 19 | Chicago |
| Student of Natalie Chami | ||
| Third Place Winners | ||
| Emma Lee, cello | 6 | San Diego, CA |
| Student of Lu-Yan Guo | ||
| Luciana Monge, piano | 8 | San Jose, Costa Rica |
| Student of Valentina Tumanova | ||
| Jackie Cao, cello | 9 | North Potomac, MD |
| Student of Ning Wang | ||
| Keya Annam, piano | 9 | Astoria , NY |
| Student of Lianhua Chi | ||
| Venice Lauren Barbiran, voice | 10 | San Jose, CA |
| Student of Pamela Serrano | ||
| Claire Yao, Piano | 12 | Millwood, NY |
| Student of Chiwen Lee | ||
| Fiona Sechrist, piano | 13 | Sacramento, CA |
| Student of Shigemi Nishite | ||
| Joshua Lee, piano | 13 | Weston, MA |
| Student of Margarita Kotlyarova | ||
| Austin Dick, piano | 14 | Newport Beach, CA |
| Student of Ana Maria Eckstein | ||
| Elise Marra, voice/piano | 14 | Commerce Twp, MI |
| Student of Danielle Wright | ||
| Timothy Chu, cello | 14 | San Diego, CA |
| Student of Lu-yan Guo | ||
| Justin Wang, piano | 15 | Trabuco Canyon, CA |
| Student of Miranda Wu | ||
| John Dick III, piano | 16 | Newport Beach, CA |
| Student of Ana Maria Eckstein | ||
| Patrick Akarapimand, piano | 16 | Hacienda Heights, CA |
| Student of Aleksei Takenouchi | ||
| Raven Angelique Barbiran, voice | 16 | San Jose, CA |
| Student of Pamela Serrano | ||
Honorable Mention Winners and other participants will be notified of their standing via email.
CONGRATULATIONS TO ALL WINNERS!