International Music Talent Competition Fall 2021
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.
American Protégé Music Talent Competition Fall 2021 attracted very competitive applicants from 9 countries, including the United States, Canada, China, Costa Rica, Indonesia, Italy, Poland, Singapore and Thailand.
Awards
Winners will be offered to perform at the Weill Recital Hall at Carnegie Hall, or to receive a Winner’s Package by mail.
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.
American Protégé
International Music Talent Competition Fall 2021 Results:
American Protégé Scholarship Award Winner:
Hailed by Opera News as “first rate,” Megan Cullen is a young, dramatic soprano whose powerful voice and compelling characterizations are capturing the devotion of audiences throughout the world. Just finished in 2021, Megan sang the role of Medji in Dana Kaufman’s Diary of a Madman with Lowbrow Opera Collective in Seattle, WA. Coming up she has the finals of several international competitions and a concert at Carnegie Hall in March. In summer 2022, Megan will revisit the title role in Die Walküre with Opera Programs Berlin. In the 2019-2020 season, Ms. Cullen had several role debuts, including Abigaille in Nabucco, the Witch in Hansel and Gretel, Nella in Gianni Schicchi, the Mother in Amahl and the Night Visitors, and Lady Macbeth in Macbeth. She also reprised the Mother in Hansel and Gretel. During the pandemic (2021), Megan learned and performed the role of Anna Maurrant (Street Scene) in an innovative on-line production with Young Artists of America.
Judges’ Distinction (Plaque Trophy) Award Winners
Born in Hong Kong in 2009, Cho Wing Tsun is studying at the Australian International School of Hong Kong and is currently the Concertmaster of the school’s String Orchestra. Cho Wing Tsun has participated in competitions and won various awards including First Place in the 68th Hong Kong Schools Music Festival in 2016, First Place in the 5th Hong Kong International Music Festival in 2018, First Prize in China Conservatory of Music National Competition in 2019 and Second Runner up and winner of “My Favorite Violinist” in Inheritage Philharmonic Youth Online Music Competition in 2021. In 2019, Wing Tsun was invited as violin solo in Beijing “Rising Stars” Symphony Concert to play Bruch Violin Concerto. Wing Tsun is a caring person, she volunteered in various performances in care home for the elderly and played in charity concerts, donated all the proceeds to people in need.
Charlotte Jeong is a eleven-year-old sixth grader at Mount Pisgah Christian School. Charlotte became passionate about the violin after hearing a performance by the Atlanta Symphony Orchestra when she was 5 years old and began playing right away. She began her violin studies with Ms. Amy Chang at the age of six and has been studying with Mr. William Pu, the former Associate Concertmaster for the Atlanta Symphony Orchestra since she was nine. She began her violin studies with Ms. Amy Chang at the age of six and has been studying with Mr. William Pu, the former Associate Concertmaster for the Atlanta Symphony Orchestra since she was nine. Charlotte was the winner of the Georgia Music Teacher Association (GMTA) 2019. She won second place at the Strings Junior Division of the Atlanta Festival Academy Competition 2020. As the winner, Charlotte was selected as one of the finalists of the 1st international violin competition for the China- Italy youth Concorso Internazionale per Giovani violinisti Cina e Italia.
Travis Li is a six-year-old little boy studying at Meadowridge school in Vancouver, Canada. Travis showed his great talent in music at his younger age and started his piano journey with his teacher, Ms. Fafan Xiao, at the age of five. Travis has won many honours over the past year, including overall awards from Canada Steinway Piano Competition in 2020 & 2021, and has been awarded masterclasses with Gary Graffman; He has won the gold stars from Europe Music & Star International Piano Competition in 2020 & 2021, and grand prize in overall performance from Northern Lights Piano Competition 2021; He has also been awarded First Prize in the 8th Global Outstanding Chinese Artists Association (GOCAA) International Piano Competition, and first prize in the French VIVACE international piano competition, and many other rewards.
| Name | Age | City, State, Country |
| First Place Winners | ||
| Travis Genpeng Li, piano | 6 | Langley, Canada |
| Student of Fafan Xiao | ||
| Alexander Wong, piano | 7 | Newport Beach, CA |
| Student of Claudia Xi | ||
| Elaine Chen, piano | 7 | Sugar Land, TX |
| Student of Qi Ding | ||
| Esme Tran, piano | 7 | Newport Coast, CA |
| Student of Ana Maria Eckstein | ||
| Unyew Kim, violin | 7 | Saratoga, CA |
| Student of Sung-Hee Park | ||
| Zimo Wen, piano | 8 | Amherst, NY |
| Student of Dr. Violeta Arakelova and Diana Kezerashvili-Upton | ||
| William Yan, violin | 9 | Foothill Ranch, CA |
| Student of Wendy Castille | ||
| Nathan Wang, piano | 9 | Palo Alto, CA |
| Student of Tatiana Romanovsky | ||
| Sophia Shao, piano | 9 | Lexington, MA |
| Student of Yidan Guo | ||
| Tianze Liu, piano | 9 | Commack, NY |
| Student of Di Jiao | ||
| Leem Jia En, guzheng | 10 | Singapore |
| Student of Joanne Wanglu | ||
| Nisha Udomaksorn, voice | 10 | Phuket, Thailand |
| Student of Sirikhwan Buathong | ||
| Alexie Koh, violin | 11 | Mountain View, CA |
| Student of Iskandar Widjaja | ||
| Ava Shu, piano | 11 | Fremont, CA |
| Student of Dr. Violeta Arakelova | ||
| Charlotte Jeong, violin | 11 | Duluth, GA |
| Student of William Pu | ||
| Hoor Siddiqui, piano | 11 | Getzville, NY |
| Student of Alexander Bator and Diana Kezerashvili | ||
| Beatrice Jean Consolata Gobang, voice | 12 | Jawa Barat, Indonesia |
| Student of Valentina Nova Aman | ||
| Benjapha Yongsakul, voice | 12 | Phuket, Thailand |
| Student of Sirikhwan Buathong | ||
| James Zhou, piano | 12 | Lake Forest, CA |
| Student of Sushing Chiu | ||
| Jaynie Lee, violin | 12 | Newport Beach, CA |
| Student of Heesun Choi | ||
| Wing Tsun Cho, violin | 12 | Hong Kong, China |
| Student of Zhuang Sheng | ||
| Yeonjoo Oh, violin | 12 | Irvine, CA |
| Student of Heesun Choi | ||
| Alice Xie, clarinet | 13 | Princeton Junction, NJ |
| Student of Dr. Jeb Ohkubo | ||
| Daniel Wang, piano | 13 | Danville, CA |
| Student of Yingwen Lewis | ||
| Dave Zheng, piano | 14 | Diamond Bar, CA |
| Student of Lin Liu | ||
| Hannah Choi, piano | 14 | Fullerton , CA |
| Student of Sung Eun Lee | ||
| Kaede Suzuki, piano | 14 | Mason, OH |
| Student of Dr. Polina Bespalko | ||
| Nolan Woo, cello | 14 | Saratoga, CA |
| Student of Kyeong Hwa Kim | ||
| Yvonne Wu, piano | 14 | San Jose, CA |
| Student of Tatiana Romanovsky | ||
| Debora Okhotina, cello | 15 | San Diego, CA |
| Student of Ruslan Biryukov | ||
| Max Chen, cello | 15 | Glendora, CA |
| Student of Ling Yan | ||
| Derek Choi, violin | 15 | Portland, OR |
| Student of Hae-Jin Kim | ||
| Zhong Zhang, piano | 15 | Duluth, GA |
| Student of Frances Yao | ||
| Allison Kuan, flute | 16 | Mountain View, CA |
| Student of Dr. Chin-Fei Chan | ||
| Angela Mo, piano | 16 | Temple City, CA |
| Student of Chun-Yi Wang | ||
| Erin Tsui, violin | 16 | Dublin, CA |
| Student of Juyi Peng | ||
| Gwyneth Gherzan, violin | 16 | Highland Park, NJ |
| Student of Sharon G. Cho | ||
| Jakub Maciej Jeżak, vibraphone | 16 | Poznan, Poland |
| Student of Grzegorz Siek | ||
| Sophia Katsma, voice | 16 | Hoffman Estates, IL |
| Student of Theresa Brancaccio | ||
| Stanislaw Kurkowski, vibraphone | 16 | Poznan, Poland |
| Student of Grzegorz Siek | ||
| Weiwei Xiang, guzheng | 16 | Fremont, CA |
| Student of Fu, Xufang | ||
| Chloe Lim, cello | 17 | Irvine, CA |
| Student of Joon Sung Jun | ||
| Grace Wang, piano | 17 | Andover, MA |
| Student of Prof. Jonathan Bass | ||
| Isabel Wu, guzheng | 17 | Boyds, MD |
| Student of Bing Xia | ||
| Lily Walters, flute | 17 | Fairfax, VA |
| Student of Jennifer Lapple | ||
| Evelyn Davenport, piano | 19 | Thunder Bay, Canada |
| Student of Dr. Evgeny Chugunov | ||
| Megan Cullen, voice | 38 | San Jose, CA |
| Student of Darrell Babidge | ||
| Piano Duo/Four Hands: | ||
| Julia Mu, piano | 9 | East Amherst, NY |
| Student of Dr. Violeta Arakelova and Diana Kezerashvili | ||
| Haolin Jin, piano | 9 | East Amherst, NY |
| Student of Dr. Violeta Arakelova | ||
| Piano Duo/Four Hands: | ||
| Audrey Fang, piano | 15 | Williamsville, NY |
| Sophie Wang, piano | 14 | Williamsville, NY |
| Students of Violeta Arakelova | ||
| Piano Duo/Four Hands: | ||
| Petrina Steimel, piano | 15 | Germantown, MD |
| Preston Steimel, piano | 18 | Germantown, MD |
| Students of Robert Durso | ||
| Second Place Winners | ||
| Ilya Khazhinsky, piano | 7 | Austin, TX |
| Student of Julia Hsiao | ||
| Chloe Wu, piano | 8 | Solon, OH |
| Student of Xiaoling Anderson | ||
| Ethan Xia, piano | 9 | San Diego, CA |
| Student of Tatiana Stignev | ||
| Aaron Zhang, piano | 10 | San Jose, CA |
| Student of Xue Feng | ||
| Adam Kim, cello | 10 | Hillsborough, CA |
| Student of Jonathan Koh | ||
| Diego Acosta, piano | 10 | Grecia, Costa Rica |
| Student of Jason Arroyo and Alex Castro | ||
| Megan Kate Lim Montefrio, voice | 10 | Singapore |
| Chloe Song, piano | 11 | Storrs, CT |
| Student of Sima Brodsky | ||
| Niyati Ramanathan, piano | 11 | San Jose, CA |
| Student of Matthew Wang | ||
| Brianna Tang, saxophone | 12 | Staten Island, NY |
| Student of Timothy Hayward and Lukas Gabric | ||
| Ethan He, piano | 12 | San Jose, CA |
| Student of Grace Lin | ||
| Lucas Wang, violin | 12 | Los Altos, CA |
| Student of Iskandar Widjaja | ||
| Alice Hu, flute | 13 | Tampa, FL |
| Student of Francesca Arnone | ||
| Charlize Tan, piano | 13 | New York, NY |
| Student of Kyungmi Nam | ||
| Serena Wu, piano | 13 | Solon, OH |
| Student of Xiaoling Anderson | ||
| Sophia Lin, piano | 13 | Irvine, CA |
| Student of Dr. Emily Hung | ||
| Vivian Yue, piano | 13 | Santa Clara, CA |
| Student of Kuei-Kuan Chen | ||
| Yuner Qing, voice | 13 | Singapore |
| Student of Ai Ming Khor | ||
| Alyssa Kuang, piano | 14 | Spring, TX |
| Student of Yan Shen | ||
| Christopher Lee, piano | 14 | San Diego, CA |
| Student of Eunice Ahn | ||
| Claire Jin, piano | 14 | Irvine, CA |
| Student of Miranda Wu | ||
| Jinoo Park, violin | 14 | Chandler, AZ |
| Student of Xiaolin Li | ||
| Katie Osborn, piano | 14 | San Ramon, CA |
| Student of Yingwen Lewis | ||
| Anoushka Pandit, piano | 15 | Dublin, CA |
| Student of Sofia Biktimir | ||
| Daniel Qiu, piano | 15 | Alpharetta, GA |
| Student of Frances Yao | ||
| Denise Cheng, flute | 15 | Arcadia, CA |
| Student of Bolin Pan | ||
| Hannah Park, flute | 15 | Valencia, CA |
| Student of Yun Hee Lee | ||
| Sabrina Liu, flute | 15 | San Marino, CA |
| Student of Bolin Pan | ||
| Sophia Somers, violin | 15 | Plymouth Meeting, PA |
| Student of Larisa Odlyvanska | ||
| Uno Yanagi, piano | 15 | Studio City, CA |
| Andrew Chang, marimba | 16 | Cupertino, CA |
| Student of Tammy Chen | ||
| Joshua Qin, piano | 16 | Irvine, CA |
| Student of Sushing Chiu | ||
| Phoebe Shi, piano | 16 | Solon, OH |
| Student of XiaoLin Anderson | ||
| Antonia Bonnis, voice | 17 | Vancouver, Canada |
| Ethan Chen, piano | 17 | Richmond, Canada |
| Student of Alex Lim | ||
| Shannon Dugan, voice | 17 | Wantagh, NY |
| Student of Joel Ewing | ||
| Soheila Farajpour, voice | 37 | Yerevan, Armenia |
| Student of Prof. Armineh Der Megrdichian | ||
| Maria Simona Fruscella, organ | 47 | Vescovato, Italy |
| Student of Stefano Molardi | ||
| Piano Duo/Four Hands: | ||
| John Patterson, piano | 8 | Getzville, NY |
| Matthew DiPaola, piano | 11 | Amherst, NY |
| Students of Alexander Casey Bator and Diana Kezerashvili | ||
| Third Place Winners | ||
| Kai-Ri Hsueh, voice | 10 | Fremont, CA |
| Student of Minsheng Yang and Tianyu Yang | ||
| Leem Jia En, piano | 10 | Singapore |
| Student of Khoong Shok Meng | ||
| Megan Mak, violin | 10 | Temple City, CA |
| Student of Misha Vayman | ||
| Ethan Zhang, piano | 11 | Naperville, IL |
| Student of JeongSoo Kim | ||
| Ivarine Kanthamanond, voice | 11 | Bangkok, Thailand |
| Student of Sasinee Aswajesdakul | ||
| Allison Zhou, voice | 12 | Santa Clara, CA |
| Student of Haruna Shiokawa-Mo | ||
| Clement Koh, piano | 12 | San Jose, CA |
| Student of Matt Wang | ||
| Aditya Ramanathan, piano | 13 | San Jose, CA |
| Student of Matthew Wang | ||
| Carrie Ma, piano | 13 | Chandler, AZ |
| Student of Yan Zhang | ||
| Corrina McNevin, piano | 13 | Pasadena, CA |
| Student of Lin Liu | ||
| Amelia Spielman, piano | 15 | Austin, TX |
| Student of Julia Hsiao | ||
| Joning Wang, piano | 15 | Scarsdale, NY |
| Student of Anna Stoytcheva | ||
| Mina Lim, piano | 15 | Orinda, CA |
| Student of Elena Pang | ||
| Mia Chen, piano | 16 | San Diego, CA |
| Student of Tatiana Stignev | ||
| Niranjan Girish, piano | 16 | Pepper Pike, OH |
| Student of Aswa Keen | ||
| Joshua Kim, violin | 17 | Los Angeles, CA |
| Student of Johnny Nam and Yun Hee Lee | ||
| James Hou, piano | 18 | Austin, TX |
| Student of Julia Hsiao | ||
| Riddha Iyengar, voice | 18 | Scarsdale, NY |
| Student of Anna Veleva | ||
| Piano Duo/Four Hands: | ||
| Ethan Xia, piano | 9 | San Diego, CA |
| Joann Xie, piano | 12 | San Diego, CA |
| Students of Tatiana Stignev | ||
| Honorable Mention | ||
| Ivarine Kanthamanond, flute | 11 | Bangkok, Thailand |
| Student of Tipok Phinitsakul | ||
| Molly Kearney, piano | 11 | Lexington, MA |
| Student of Eyran Katsenelenbogen and Emily Murphy | ||
| Austin Xiao, classical guitar | 13 | Glendora, CA |
| Student of Wenjun Qi | ||
Other applicants received Diploma of Participation
CONGRATULATIONS TO ALL WINNERS!
1. Each Winner will perform at one Recital. Recital date and time will be offered to the Winner based on the Competition results.
2. Only ONE piece from the audition repertoire within a time limit will be performed at the Winners Recital.
3. Extra performance time of up to 1 minute can be accepted for the Winners Recital with an additional fee of $100.
4. Only piano accompaniment can be used at the Winners Recital. No acoustic system will be provided.
5. Participants must bring their own piano accompanist. American Protégé does not provide piano accompanist, but can recommend one after enrollment into the program.
6. Photo or video recording during the recital is strictly prohibited per the Carnegie Hall policy. A professional photographer will be taking pictures of the performers.
7. Recital and Photo Fees are not refundable.
8. During the COVID-19 pandemic, U.S. participants, who are unable to or unwilling to take a risk to travel to NYC for the Recital, may request a Competition Winner’s Package with a non-refundable $300 fee. The Package includes online recognition, Winner’s Certificate, Teacher’s Diploma, four Booklets with biographies and photos, and participation Plaque Trophy. International participants may arrange a Package pickup or request a shipment to the friends or relative residing in the U.S. We do not mail packages internationally.
9. All participants are responsible for their own expenses (travel, housing accommodations, etc.).
10. Detailed Winners Recital Guidelines will be emailed to the participants.