International Music Talent Competition Fall 2019
The American Protégé International Music Talent Competition is opened 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 the following dates:
December 14, December 15, 2019, and April 12, 2020
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 2019 Results:
Judges’ Distinction (Plaque Trophy) Award Winners
Maxwell Brown is an 8-year-old violinist with flying fingers, a fluid bow arm, and rich tone that belies his quarter sized violin. Max studies classical violin with Shelley Beard and fiddle with Andrew Vogts. Max has won prizes in several international classical music competitions and was awarded a special prize for Exceptional Young Talent. Max has won youth fiddle championships in Delaware, Pennsylvania, and Maryland, and placed second at Virginia’s Galax Convention. He also has placed in adult fiddle competitions in DE, MD, and VA, and is the youngest ever Grand Champion for PA’s Lyons Fiddle Festival.
Airi Ito, now thirteen years old and in 8th grade at Margaret Mead Jr High. She started violin study at the age of 7, and is currently a student of Taka Matsunaga. As a member of the Midwest Philharmonic Orchestra, Airi has performed in Vienna as well as Carnegie Hall. She served as Concertmaster of the Illinois Music Association District 7 Orchestra in the summer of 2018. And, she was awarded 1st place in the 2017 and 2019 Midwest Conservatory of Music Concerto Competition, and was featured as a soloist with the Midwest Philharmonic Orchestra. This summer, she was chosen to attend the International HeifetzPEG Summer camp in Virginia.
Ailin Li is 16 years old. She is a junior at Milpitas High School. She has been playing Guzheng for ten years and has participated in regional competitions. Ailin took 1st place in the 35th Taiwanese and Chinese American Athletic Tournament Traditional Music Competition and passed the Chinese Traditional Instrument Grade Examination of Guzheng in level 10. She also participated on numerous occasions and program, from MusicNBrain Family Concert, the 5th Panda International Arts Festival (Voice of Spring Grand Arts Performances), Ohlone College, Cupertino Library, Quinlan Center, and the 2nd International Aimusic Festival, etc.
Zachary Bowden is a pianist who lives in Eagle, Idaho. He began playing at the age of five and currently studies under the direction of Suzanne Clive. Now 18 years old, Zach is a senior at Eagle High School and looking forward to college. While Zach continues to love and play classical music, his favorite musical style is jazz. Zach has been the pianist in the Varsity Jazz Band at his high school, under the direction of T.J. Eriksen, since his sophomore year. In the last three years, the Varsity Jazz Band has completed in several district-wide competitions including District III and the Gene Harris Jazz Festival, where the band has won many awards.
| Music Talent Competition Fall 2019 Winners: | ||
| Name | Age | Country/State |
| First Place Winners | ||
| Emma Wang, piano | 8 | Palo Alto, CA |
| Student of Shu-Ju Yoh | ||
| Maxwell Brown, violin | 8 | Wilmington, DE |
| Student of Shelley Beard and Andrew Vogts | ||
| Zhiyi Yang, piano | 9 | Singapore |
| Student of Helen Lin | ||
| Daniel Pan, piano | 10 | Houston, TX |
| Student of Qi Ding | ||
| Kayley Xu, violin | 10 | San Diego, CA |
| Student of Michael Tseitlin and Pasha Tseitlin | ||
| Richard Bodrug, piano | 10 | Calgary, Canada |
| Student of Dan Morin | ||
| Sylvie Kim, violin | 10 | Irvine, CA |
| Student of Min Jeong Park and Yuki Mori | ||
| Edric Zhang, piano | 11 | Fremont, CA |
| Student of Le Yu | ||
| Hana Tsai, violin | 11 | New York, NY |
| Student of Yu Jeong Lee | ||
| Moisey Portnenko, piano | 11 | Singapore |
| Student of Natalia Kumkova | ||
| Zoe Park, piano | 11 | Los Angeles, CA |
| Student of Sung Lee | ||
| Anna Lui, piano | 12 | South Jordan, UT |
| Student of Ya Liu | ||
| Anyuu Inomoto-Fong, violin | 12 | Concord, MA |
| Student of Fudeko Takahashi Cohler | ||
| Jessica Yi, piano | 12 | Richfield, OH |
| Student of Christina Choy | ||
| Raymond Tangning Zhang, voice | 12 | Burnaby, Canada |
| Student of Zhenyu Liu | ||
| Airi Ito, violin | 13 | Elk Grove Village, IL |
| Student of Taka Matsunaga | ||
| Fang-Heng Du, violin | 13 | Lexington, MA |
| Student of Fudeko Takahashi | ||
| Isabelle Baron, voice | 13 | Lexington, MA |
| Student of Rebecca Helm and Jamie Shannon Ferguson | ||
| Channie Hong, cello | 14 | Saratoga, CA |
| Student of Jonathan Koh | ||
| Jasmine Lin, cello | 14 | San Jose, CA |
| Student of Kyeong Hwa Kim | ||
| Olivia Zhao, piano | 14 | Chandler, AZ |
| Student of Yuerong Gong | ||
| Shirley Xu, piano | 14 | San Diego, CA |
| Student of Tatiana Stignev | ||
| Anna Xie, piano | 15 | Buffalo Grove, IL |
| Student of Sueanne Metz | ||
| Ashley Brooke, voice | 15 | Colonia, NJ |
| Student of Amelia Demayo and Gulnara Mitzanova | ||
| Cassidy Feng, piano | 15 | Mayfield Heights, OH |
| Student of Ella Karasik | ||
| Esha Perala, voice | 15 | San Ramon, CA |
| Student of Svetlana Nikitenko | ||
| Ailin Li, guzheng | 16 | Milpitas, CA |
| Student of Chiffon Fu | ||
| Qingping Ye, piano | 16 | Fremont, CA |
| Student of Dorothy Su | ||
| Sua Shin, piano | 16 | Los Angeles, CA |
| Student of Yun Hee Lee | ||
| Allison Jia, piano | 17 | Cupertino, CA |
| Student of Dr. Liang-Yun You | ||
| Ashley Chung, cello | 17 | Irvine, CA |
| Student of Sang Won Cho | ||
| Richard Chen, violin | 17 | San Diego, CA |
| Student of Shu Xiang Quintero | ||
| Zachary Zhang, cello | 17 | Bellevue, WA |
| Student of Zhenlun Li | ||
| Zachary Bowden, piano | 18 | Eagle, ID |
| Suzanne Winegar Clive | ||
| Bogyeong Lee, piano | 30 | Iowa City, IA |
| Student of Emile Naoumoff and Ksenia Nosikova | ||
| Yunhan Shen, guzheng | 33 | San Bruno, CA |
| Student of Chiffon Fu | ||
| Piano Duo/Four Hands: | ||
| Daniil Temkin, piano | 14 | Boca Raton, FL |
| Isabel Guevara, piano | 14 | Boca Raton, FL |
| Students of Olga Romoff | ||
| Piano Duo/Four Hands: | ||
| Ivy Lin, piano | 16 | East Greenwich, RI |
| Hugo Lin, piano | 15 | East Greenwich, RI |
| Students of Nonetta Shatakhtsian | ||
| Second Place Winners | ||
| Dylan Newell, piano | 6 | Rockville, MD |
| Student of Vivian Kwok | ||
| Ava Trinh, piano | 7 | Rosemead, CA |
| Student of Lin Liu | ||
| Mikkel Myer Lee, piano | 7 | Singapore |
| Student of Professor Helen Lin | ||
| Peter Sorensen, piano | 7 | Ann Arbor, MI |
| Student of Hsiu-Hui Peng Chen | ||
| Raphael Tran, piano | 7 | Benbrook, TX |
| Student of Van Bui | ||
| Julia Gentry, piano | 8 | Newport Beach, CA |
| Student of Ana Maria Eckstein | ||
| Sophie Wang, piano | 8 | Singapore |
| Student of Helen Lin | ||
| Chengry Hsien, piano | 9 | Fremont, CA |
| Student of Le Yu | ||
| Kin Wang Keith Chan, piano | 10 | Singapore |
| Student of Ou Yang Lei Lei | ||
| Nathan Choi, piano | 10 | Los Gatos, CA |
| Student of Jaclyn Kim | ||
| Ryan Chan, piano | 10 | San Jose, Costa Rica |
| Student of Valentina Tumanova | ||
| Nick Eliav, piano | 10 | Boca Raton, FL |
| Student of Olga Romoff | ||
| Samuel Meyer Buch, piano | 10 | Sherman Oaks, CA |
| Student of Rita Shen | ||
| Angelika Indzhigulyan, voice | 10 | Bayside, NY |
| Student of Vego Ohanyan | ||
| Lucas Ke, piano | 11 | Englewood Cliffs, NJ |
| Student of Jongsun Lee | ||
| Sophia Lin, piano | 11 | Irvine, CA |
| Student of Yuhui Jen | ||
| Aaron Zhu, piano | 12 | Aliso Viejo, CA |
| Student of Dr. Emily Hung | ||
| Eunseo Ryu, piano | 12 | San Jose, CA |
| Student of Jaclyn Kim | ||
| Jocelyn Tian, piano | 13 | Canton, MI |
| Student of Hsiu-Hui Chen | ||
| Melissa Lee, piano | 13 | San Diego, CA |
| Student of Irina Bendetsky | ||
| Nathan LI, piano | 13 | Boise, ID |
| Student of Suzanne Winegar Clive | ||
| Anika Yadati, piano | 14 | Beachwood, OH |
| Student of Cynthia Crotty | ||
| Anna Moon, piano | 14 | New York, NY |
| Student of Yoojung Kim | ||
| Isabel Guevara, piano | 14 | Boca Raton, FL |
| Student of Olga Romoff | ||
| Jakub Maciej Jeżak, vibraphone | 14 | Poznań, Poland |
| Student of Łukasz Berlin | ||
| Sophia Luo, piano | 14 | Orinda, CA |
| Student of Elena Bai Pang | ||
| Twisha Subramanyam, piano | 15 | Morgantown, WV |
| Student of Juliana Yap | ||
| Tyler Sheu, marimba | 15 | Palo Alto, CA |
| Student of Jacob Nissly | ||
| Brian La, viola | 16 | Sunnyvale, CA |
| Student of Byung Woo Kim | ||
| Junah Kim, violin | 16 | Fullerton, CA |
| Student of Kwang Jae Woo | ||
| Kristen Liu, voice | 16 | Palo Alto, CA |
| Student of Julie Valentine | ||
| Samantha Berg, voice | 16 | Old Brookville, NY |
| Student of Mason G. Senft and Cynthia Feinman | ||
| Sarah Wang, violin | 16 | Cary, NC |
| Student of Dovid Friedlander | ||
| Suhasna Liyanaarachchi, erhu | 16 | East Brunswick, NJ |
| Student of Li Cangxiao | ||
| Viraj Mehta, piano | 16 | Scottsdale, AZ |
| Student of Sherry Lenich | ||
| Abhinav Kumar, voice | 17 | Rye, NY |
| Merritt Zhang, piano | 17 | Scottsdale, AZ |
| Student of Robert Avril | ||
| Peter Lee, piano | 18 | Weston, MA |
| Student of Margarita Kotlyarova | ||
| Ye-Ji Son, haegeum | 18 | Portland, OR |
| Student of Esther Han | ||
| Tassneen Bashir, violin | 20 | Plano, TX |
| Tong Liu, piano | 25 | Salt Lake City, UT |
| Student of Vedrana Subotic | ||
| Soyeon Seo, violin | 27 | Baton Rouge, LA |
| Piano Duo/Four Hands: | ||
| Jody Chen, piano | 9 | Fair Lawn, NJ |
| Choco Chen, piano | 12 | Fair Lawn, NJ |
| Students of Stacie Yao | ||
| Piano Duo/Four Hands: | ||
| Benjamin Slive, piano | 10 | Boca Raton, FL |
| Julian Slive, piano | 10 | Boca Raton, FL |
| Students of Tiffany Goff | ||
| Piano Duo/Four Hands: | ||
| Christine Jones, piano | 13 | San Jose, Costa Rica |
| Michelle Jones, piano | 10 | San Jose, Costa Rica |
| Students of Valentina Tumanova | ||
| Piano Duo/Four Hands: | ||
| Jacquelyn Wu, piano | 14 | Newport Beach, CA |
| Johnny Wu, piano | 12 | Newport Beach, CA |
| Students of Sally Liu | ||
| Third Place Winners | ||
| Elizabeth Grace Zhang, violin | 7 | Basking Ridge, NJ |
| Student of Ning Mu | ||
| Abby Trinh, piano | 9 | Rosemead, CA |
| Student of Lin Liu | ||
| Hourod Rakhshanfar, cello | 10 | West Vancover, Canada |
| Student of Mary Thomson | ||
| Xinyi (Maggie) Wang, piano | 10 | Northville, MI |
| Student of Hsiu-Hui Peng Chen | ||
| Max Matsuzaka, piano | 11 | New York, NY |
| Student of Dr. Yoojung Kim | ||
| Simone Shvarts, violin | 11 | Warminster, PA |
| Student of Larisa Odlyvanska | ||
| Solomiia Savuliak, violin | 11 | Feasterville, PA |
| Student of Larisa Odlyvanska | ||
| Rodrigo Landa Romero, piano | 13 | Mexico City, Mexico |
| Student of Rosa Mariaa Torner and Margarita de la Mora | ||
| Ahana Guin, voice | 14 | Fremont, CA |
| Student of Kamerin McDonald | ||
| Ashley Zheng, piano | 14 | Suwanee, GA |
| Student of Feng Liu | ||
| Avinash Chalasani, piano | 14 | Princeton Jct, NJ |
| Ganesh Kumar, piano | 14 | Fremont, CA |
| Student of Helen Lee | ||
| Richard Zhou, piano | 14 | Suwanee, GA |
| Student of Yongxu Ye | ||
| Brandon Tung, piano | 15 | Suwanee, GA |
| Student of Yongxu Ye | ||
| Bryan Hu, piano | 15 | Suwanee, GA |
| Student of Yongxu Ye | ||
| Grace Mao, voice | 15 | Cupertino, CA |
| Student of Min Sheng Yang and Tian Yu Yang | ||
| Ria Prasad, piano | 15 | Rockledge, FL |
| Student of Caroline Rosen | ||
| Vijay Tummalapenta, piano | 15 | Wyckoff, NJ |
| Student of Stacie Yao | ||
| Ali Ochoa, piano | 33 | Maracaibo, Venezuela |
Honorable Mention Winners and other participants will be notified of their standing via email.
CONGRATULATIONS TO ALL WINNERS!