International Music Talent Competition Fall 2018
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. This fall International Music Talent Competition attracted applicants from across the United States, Canada, Costa Rica, China, South Korea, Azerbaijan, Republic of Georgia and Singapore.
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:
– December 15, 2018, December 23, 2018, March 31, 2019 and April 21, 2019 (Easter).
Judges’ Distinction Award Trophy was 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 2018 Results:
Judges’ Distinction (Plaque Trophy) Award Winners

Sonya Moomaw is a third grader from Cincinnati, Ohio. She is seven years old and has been studying cello with Dr. Sarah Kim for four years. She played her first wedding when she was four years old, and has been invited to perform solo works at cello workshops including the Cincinnati Young Artist Workshop in 2017 and Chicago Suzuki Institute Workshop in 2018. She is the 2018 winner of the Cleveland Cello Society Scholarship Competition’s Elementary Division. In addition to classical music, she also loves playing and listening to bluegrass, and was invited to play bluegrass at the 2018 Appalachian Festival in Cincinnati.

Jennifer Liu, 15 years old, is a sophomore at Montgomery High School. She started to learn piano at four and she currently studies with Prof. Ingrid Clarfield. Jennifer has won numerous awards from competitions including the “I Got Rhythm” Young Artist Competition, Music-Fest, IMPACT, Hartford international Chopin Competition, Music and Art Festival, Cecillan Club Piano Competition, NJMTA competitions, to name just a few. She made her concerto debut at the Killian Hall of MIT, and she has performed numerous times at Carnegie Weill Recital Hall and other musical halls. Jennifer is committed to using her music to help the community. She has actively performed for fundraising events and other community outreach programs. Jennifer also plays the guitar, and she enjoys drawing and painting, photography, reading.
Music Talent Competition Fall 2018 Winners | ||
Name | Age | Country/State |
First Place Winners | ||
Crystal ZiQi Yu, piano | 6 | West Vancouver, Canada |
Student of FaFan Xiao | ||
George Yi Han Wang, piano | 6 | Vancouver, Canada |
Student of Fafan Xiao | ||
Anjali Singh, voice | 7 | Claremont, CA |
Anson Zhuo Heng Yu, piano | 7 | West Vancouver, Canada |
Student of FaFan Xiao | ||
Julia Gentry, piano | 7 | Newport Beach, CA |
Student of Ana Maria Eckstein | ||
Maxwell Brown, violin | 7 | Wilmington, DE |
Student of Shelley Beard and Andrew Vogts | ||
Sonya Moomaw, cello | 7 | Cincinnati, OH |
Student of Dr. Sarah Kim | ||
Helen Fang, piano | 8 | Singapore |
Student of Helen Lin | ||
Jessica Linqin Wang, piano | 8 | West Vancouver, Canada |
Student of Fafan Xiao | ||
Mia Ye, voice | 9 | Owings Mills, MD |
Student of ChunFeng Li | ||
William Maeda, violin | 9 | Schaumburg, IL |
Student of Taka Matsunaga | ||
Alice Malakhov, voice | 10 | Richmond Hill, Canada |
Student of Elisabeth Pomes | ||
Christie Kim, voice | 10 | Ridgewood, NJ |
Student of Lara Nie | ||
Sophia Lin, piano | 10 | Irvine, CA |
Student of Yu Hui Jen | ||
Josephine Kelleher, violin | 11 | Chestnut Hill, MA |
Student of Fudeko Takahashi | ||
Vera Lin, piano | 11 | Fremont, CA |
Student of YiFang Wu | ||
Henry Li, piano | 12 | Sugar Land, TX |
Student of Ding, Qi | ||
Chloe Liao, piano | 13 | Pasadena, CA |
Student of Yin Yin Huang | ||
Maximilian Belyantsev, piano | 13 | North Potomac, MD |
Student of Lara Parris | ||
Emily Wu, piano | 14 | Virginia Beach, VA |
Student of Teresa Falk | ||
Grace Wang, piano | 14 | Basking Ridge, NJ |
Student of Prof. Ingrid Clarfield | ||
Riley Kong, piano | 14 | San Jose, CA |
Edric Han, piano | 15 | Yorktown, VA |
Student of Teresa Compos-Falk | ||
Issa Okamoto, voice | 15 | Portland, OR |
Student of Hannah Penn | ||
Jennifer Liu, piano | 15 | Princeton, NJ |
Student of Ingrid Clarfield | ||
Joanna Wang, violin | 15 | Scarsdale, NY |
Student of Yang Xu | ||
Junah Kim, piano | 15 | Fullerton, CA |
Student of Hye Kyung Lee | ||
Sung Ho Wui, trumpet | 15 | South Pasadena, CA |
Student of Ohtae Kwon | ||
Allison Jia, piano | 16 | Cupertino, CA |
Student of Liang-Yun You | ||
Jue Li, piano | 16 | Irvine, CA |
Student of Joyce Lee | ||
Lara Hairapetian, piano | 16 | Newport Coast, CA |
Student of Ana Maria Eckstein | ||
Maria Fernanda Chaves, piano | 16 | Alajuela, Costa Rica |
Student of Valentina Tumanova | ||
Maxwell Tsao, flute | 16 | Diamond Bar, CA |
Student of Bolin Pan | ||
Wenqing Zhao, Erhu | 16 | Ma An Shan, China |
Ana Jgerenaia, voice | 17 | Republic of Georgia |
Student of Giorgi Lomtadze | ||
Bailey Yang, violin | 17 | Bluffton, SC |
Student of Na You and Laurel Thomson | ||
Christine Ramirez, violin | 17 | Glen Head, NY |
Student of Dr. Ann Setzer | ||
Kevin Yiyang Li, voice | 17 | Vancouver, Canada |
Student of Alex Lim | ||
Lina Kim, violin | 17 | Cerritos, CA |
Student of Rachel Oh | ||
Anar Valizada, balaban | 18 | Baku, Azerbaijan |
Student of Ilham Najafov | ||
Jaehan Kim, tenor trombone | 19 | Seoul, South Korea |
Student of Ohtae Kwon | ||
Kara Cantele, violin | 25 | Port Washington, NY |
Seungwon Lee, piano | 25 | Kearney, NE |
Student of Jayoung Hong | ||
Yibing Zhang, piano | 30 | Plano, TX |
Student of Pamela Mia Paul and Joaquin Achucarro | ||
Zither and Piano Duo: | ||
Annie Tong, Chinese zither | 16 | Sunnyvale, CA |
Ankie Tong, piano | 14 | Sunnyvale, CA |
Students of Chiffon Fu and Ling Braun | ||
Piano Duo/Four Hands: | ||
Dylan Gu, piano | 11 | Great Neck, NY |
Alan Gu, piano | 13 | Great Neck, NY |
Students of Vivian Fang Liu | ||
Saxophone and Cello Duo: | ||
Jeremy Li, alto saxophone | 15 | San Diego, CA |
Kevin Wang, cello | 15 | San Diego, CA |
Students of Luyan Guo | ||
Second Place Winners | ||
Kayla Fang, piano | 5 | West Newton, MA |
Student of Yidan Guo | ||
Grace Luo, piano | 7 | Potomac, MD |
Student of Vivian Kwok | ||
Sophia Chao, piano | 7 | North Potomsc, MD |
Student of Vivian Kwok | ||
Chloe Chan, piano | 8 | Queens Village, NY |
Student of Vivian Fang Liu | ||
Noelle Hadsall, piano | 9 | Santa Barbara, CA |
Student of Lana Bodnar | ||
Richard Bodrug, piano | 9 | Calgary, Canada |
Student of Ekaterina Paniukova | ||
Russell Dlugosz, piano | 9 | Frederick, MD |
Student of Vivian Kwok | ||
Tristan Mankovsky, piano | 9 | Sterling, VA |
Student of Vivian Kwok | ||
Gabriella Rose, voice | 10 | Tampa, FL |
Student of Olick Glick and Kristi Beinhauer | ||
Shayla Feng, piano | 10 | San Jose, CA |
Student of Le Yu | ||
Kaitlyn Hong, cello | 11 | Pasadena, CA |
Student of Ben Hong | ||
Kobe Langen, piano | 11 | Newport News, VA |
Student of Teresa Compos Falk | ||
Priscilla Meyer, piano/voice/harmonica | 11 | Winchester, MA |
Student of Rebecca Helm | ||
Yia Yien Kwok, piano | 11 | Singapore |
Student of Rosy Chua | ||
Caroline Xiong, piano | 12 | Fresh Meadows, NY |
Student of Vivian Liu | ||
Emma Sun, cello | 12 | Potomac, MD |
Student of Ning Wang | ||
Grace Sun, piano | 12 | San Diego, CA |
Student of Tatiana Stignev | ||
Paige McCubbins, piano | 12 | Meridian, ID |
Student of Suzanne Winegar Clive | ||
Sharani Bhattacharya, viola | 12 | La Canada Flintridge, CA |
Student of Michael Larco | ||
Sharon Sun, violin | 12 | Wichita, KS |
Student of Evgeny Zvonnikov | ||
Ingrid Li, piano | 13 | Leawood, KS |
Student of Ying-Yu Emily Yeh | ||
Isabelle Baron, piano, voice | 13 | Lexington, MA |
Student of Rebecca Helm | ||
Alice Zheng, piano | 14 | Rockville, MD |
Student of Vivian Kwok | ||
Jenny Hu, Chinese zither | 14 | Cincinnati, OH |
Student of Shuo Feng | ||
Tammy Shen, piano | 14 | Fremont, CA |
Student of Le Yu | ||
Boris Borissov, piano | 15 | Scottsale, AZ |
Student of Ekaterina Gueorguieva | ||
Frank Zhou, piano | 15 | Suwanee, GA |
Student of Yongxu Ye | ||
Junah Kim, violin | 15 | Fullerton, CA |
Student of Oh Chul Mi | ||
Qiyang (Rosalinda) Chen, piano | 15 | Arcadia, CA |
Student of Alexsei Takenouchi | ||
Kira Berman, piano | 16 | New York, NY |
Student of Yoojung Kim | ||
Elya Lavi, piano | 17 | Scarsdale, NY |
Student of Leke Salihu | ||
Frank Li, piano | 17 | Manvel, TX |
Student of Amy Wang | ||
Justin Chiu, piano | 17 | Dove Canyon, CA |
Student of Joyce Lee | ||
Helen Tran, piano | 38 | Temecula, CA |
Student of Yiyi Ku and Carol Levin | ||
Karen Salicath Jamali, piano | Greenwich, CT | |
Piano Duo/Four Hands: | ||
Samuel Fishback, piano | 13 | Beaverton,OR |
Timothy Fishback, piano | 14 | Beaverton,OR |
Students of Bella Sheykman | ||
Third Place Winners | ||
Simone Shvarts, violin | 10 | Warminster, PA |
Student of Larisa Odlyvanska | ||
Kaila Canubas, piano | 11 | Rockville, MD |
Student of Vivian Kwok | ||
Tyler Turetsky, voice | 13 | East Hills, NY |
Student of Mason G. Senft and Jenna Giannone | ||
Ayan Nath, tabla | 14 | Cupertino, CA |
Student of Satish Tare | ||
Erin Kim, piano | 14 | Poolesville, MD |
Student of Vivian Kwok | ||
Jason Chiu, piano | 14 | Dove Canyon, CA |
Student of Joyce Lee | ||
Annie Liang | 16 | Seaford, VA |
Student of Teri Falk | ||
Eshika Aggarwal, piano | 16 | Fremont, CA |
Student of Helen Lee | ||
Alaina Olaez, piano | 17 | Rockville, MD |
Student of Vivian Kwok | ||
Piano Duo/Four Hands: | ||
Maxwell Yang, piano | 6 | Weston, FL |
Edward Zhang, piano | 11 | Weston, FL |
Students of Yvette Greene |
Honorable Mention Winners and other participants will be notified of their standing via email.
CONGRATULATIONS TO ALL WINNERS!