International Music Talent Competition Spring 2016
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 on
Sunday, July 3, 2016 at 11:30AM at the Weill Recital Hall at Carnegie Hall,
Saturday, December 17, 2016 at 11:30AM and at 3:30PM at the Weill Recital Hall at Carnegie Hall and
Sunday, December 18, 2016 at 11:30AM at the Weill Recital Hall at Carnegie Hall in New York City.
Judges’ Distinction Award Trophy were 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 Spring 2016 Results:
Judges’ Distinction (Plaque Trophy) Award Winners

Meagan Lee, 8 years old, a student of Dr. Tian Song since age 6, has been the winner of many piano competitions, which include First Absolute Prize of International Music Competition Grand Prize Virtuoso, Gold Medal of AADGT International Young Gifted Musicians Festival, first place of American Protégé International Piano and Strings Competition, first place of American Protégé International Competition of Romantic Music, second prize of VII Chopin International Piano Competition, and second place of NYSMTA Winners Concert Audition.

Celine Wang is a 12 year old 7th grader living in Buffalo NY USA. She started learning piano with Mrs. Violeta Arakelova at the age of six. She has placed in numerous piano competitions including International Piano and Strings Competition, International Young Gifted Musicians Festival, Hartford International Chopin Competition and Canadian Stamford Musical Festival. She was awarded a scholarship to attend a music festival in Germany in 2014. Celine loves reading, skiing, and traveling.

Ines Nedelkovska, 12, from Macedonia, began her studies of piano at the age of six in the class of assist. Prof. PhD Nina Kostova, a student of the eminent Russian professors Ljudmila and Boris Romanov. Frequently performing at national and international competitions where she won first places. Ines won the second prize (first prize was not awarded) at the international competition for piano (four hands) in Monte-Carlo, in the “Superior” category. In 2015, she won 2 first prices on international competitions in Italy in one day. First price at the Associone Culturale Musicale in Napoli and the absolute price at the Euterpe Music Competition in Corato, Bari.

Herman Liu, 14 years old, began to play piano at 8 and a half. At age 9, he began studying with Dr. Tian Song. At age 13, Herman won the first place in the New York State Music Teacher Association Winners Concert Audition. In 2015 and 2016, Herman won the Gold Medal and Silver Medal in the American Association for the Development of the Gifted and Talented (AADGT) International Young Gifted Musicians Festivals. In the American Protege International Piano and Strings Competition, Herman won the Second Place in 2015 and won the First Place in 2016. Herman won the Silver Award in the 2015 Sinovision American Youth Talent and Art Contest. In 2016, Herman won the First Prize of the International Music Competition “London” Grand Prize Virtuoso. He also won Honorable Mention in The VII Chopin International Piano Competition in Hartford, CT. As the winner of these competitions, Herman has been invited to perform at Isaac Stern Auditorium and Weill Hall at Carnegie Hall, Royal Albert Hall in London.

Angela Zhang is sixteen and lives in Cresskill, NJ. She has been playing flute for eight years and is actively involved in her school’s orchestra and other musical activities. Angela won first place in Crescendo International Competition in 2015. She also won second place in Camerata Artists International in 2016. Angela was the winner for first place in the Mid-Atlantic Music Teacher’s Guild in 2014 and 2015. In addition, she has been participating annually in the music exams for the Associated Boards of the Royal Schools of Music. In 2013, she achieved the highest distinction mark in the tri-state-area for the Grade Five flute exam. Angela has also participated in the New York Flute Club’s Young Musicians Contests and received the blue ribbon award in 2014 and 2012. Angela has been selected through competition to play in a masterclass with New York Philharmonic Orchestra flutist/piccolo player Mindy Kaufman.

An accomplished violinist named as the Hong Kong Young Musician of the Year in 2006, Hong Kiu Mak has performed around the world including in London, Prague, Warsaw, Athens and Beijing. A regular performer in the Windsor Festival, Hong Kiu has most memorably performed before Queen Elizabeth II in Her Majesty’s Jubilee. More recently, he was selected to a masterclass by world-renowned violinist Leonidas Kavakos. Hong Kiu’s success is marked by his winning both the violin concerto competitions for age 18 or under and for age 15 or under (at age 11 and 10 respectively) in the Hong Kong Music Festival. An accomplished pianist, he has also won the 13th and 14th Hong Kong (Asia) Piano Open Competitions. He obtained Grade 8 violin at the age of 8 and LTCL Advanced Diploma at the age of 11, all with distinction. Currently, he is under the tutelage of Prof. Maciej Rakowski.
Music Talent Competition Spring 2016 Winners : | ||
Name | Age | Country/State |
First Place Winners | ||
Chengjie (JayJay) Zhou, piano | 6 | West Vancouver, Canada |
Student of Fafan Xiao | ||
Jayden Wu, piano | 7 | Brooklyn, NY |
Student of Dr. Tian Song | ||
Kristie Lu, violin | 7 | Great Neck, NY |
Student of Laura Broverman | ||
Lin Zheng, piano | 7 | Boyds, MD |
Student of Vivian Kwok | ||
Matthew Chang, piano | 7 | Bethesda, MD |
Student of Kuei-I Wu | ||
Sarah Yang, violin | 7 | Tustin, CA |
Student of Michael Chang | ||
Celicia Thendean, piano | 8 | Pleasanton, CA |
Student of Anna Poklewski and Fonny Chandra | ||
Leo Bailey-Yang, piano | 8 | Manchester, United Kingdom |
Student of Simon Bottomley | ||
Meagan Lee, piano | 8 | Staten Island, NY |
Student of Dr. Tian Song | ||
Victoria Tan, piano | 9 | Jericho, NY |
Student of William McNally | ||
Eliza Ruffle, piano | 10 | Taiwan |
Student of Pitor Tomasz and Stephanie Huang | ||
LeAnn Tai, violin | 10 | Irvine, CA |
Student of Kayoko Adachi | ||
Celine Wang, piano | 12 | Buffalo, NY |
Student of Violeta Arakelova | ||
Eamon Riley, cello | 12 | Berkeley, CA |
Student of Sergei Riabtchenko | ||
Ines Nedelkovska, piano | 12 | Skopje, Macedonia |
Student of Nina Kostova | ||
Joanna Wang, piano | 12 | Scarsdale, NY |
Student of Anna Stoytcheva | ||
Sophia Horng, piano | 12 | Saratoga, CA |
Student of Amy Chiu | ||
Celena Ho, piano | 13 | Brooklyn, NY |
Student of Dr. Tain Song | ||
George Shum, piano | 14 | Broadview Hts, OH |
Student of Haewon Song | ||
Herman Liu, piano | 14 | Brooklyn, NY |
Student of Dr. Tian Song | ||
Joanna Ahn, piano | 14 | San Diego, CA |
Student of Dana Burnett | ||
Anni Wang, piano | 15 | Yorktown, VA |
Student of Jolanta Szewczyk | ||
Benjamin Xu, piano | 15 | Mississauga, Canada |
Student of Olga Chichova | ||
Carly Yang, piano | 15 | Pleasanton, CA |
Student of Rozina Tenenbaum | ||
Constance Horng, piano | 15 | Saratoga, CA |
Student of Amy Chiu | ||
Edward Lee, violin | 15 | Boyds, MD |
Student of Semo Adrian and Michelle Roberts | ||
Eunji Sarah Shim, viola | 15 | Irvine, CA |
Student of Helen Callus | ||
Ji Hoon Haam, violin | 15 | New City, NY |
Student of Yujeong Lee | ||
Joon Kyun, cello | 15 | Concord, MA |
Student of Allison Eldredge | ||
Melvyn Gnai Zhi Yong, guitar | 15 | Bandar Bukit Jalil, Malaysia |
Student of Amanda Gnai Song Hui | ||
Philena Sun, piano | 15 | McLean, VA |
Student of Marjorie Lee | ||
Angela Zhang, flute | 16 | Cresskill, NJ |
Student of Noelle Perrin | ||
Angela Zhang, piano | 16 | Cresskill, NJ |
Student of Lu Meng | ||
Christy Cheung, piano | 16 | Brooklyn, NY |
Student of Dr. Tian Song | ||
Darren Liou, clarinet | 16 | San Jose, CA |
Student of Juliana Tseng | ||
David Winograd, tenor saxophone | 16 | Morganville, NJ |
Student of John Flynn | ||
Grace Cai, piano | 16 | Allen, TX |
Student of Dr. Grace Long | ||
Hong Kiu Mak, violin | 16 | Windsor, United Kingdom |
Jeffrey Liew, piano | 16 | Frisco, TX |
Student of Grace Long | ||
Kevin Hong, piano | 16 | Virginia Beach, VA |
Student of Teresa Compos-Falk | ||
Yuliya Taustsiak, piano | 16 | Surrey, BC |
Student of Inna Shimbaleva | ||
Antonio Roccia, piano | 21 | Sarno, Italy |
Student of Francesco D’ovidio and Marian Mika | ||
Adam Clifford, piano | 23 | Norfolk, VA |
Student of Teresa Compos Falk and Andre-Michel Schub | ||
Tanya Karamanos, violin | 31 | Montreal, Canada |
Alejandro Valverde, guitar | 32 | Desamparados, Costa Rica |
Student of Pablo Ortiz and Jorge Luis Zamora | ||
String Sextet: | ||
Kevin Li, cello | 16 | Fremont, CA |
Student of Amy Hsieh | ||
Cassandra Liu, cello | 15 | San Ramon, CA |
Student of Amy Hsieh | ||
Benjamin Shih, viola | 14 | Santa Clara, CA |
Student of Yen-yin Lee | ||
Jerry Peng, viola | 14 | San Jose, CA |
Student of Yen-yin Lee | ||
Christina Chen, violin | 15 | Milpitas, CA |
Student of Seohee Byun | ||
Alisha Luo, violin | 16 | Saratoga, CA |
Student of Ying Zhao | ||
Ukulele Duo: | ||
Hew Jun Wei | 15 | Bandar Bukit Jalil, Malaysia |
Melvyn Gnai Zhi Yong | 15 | Bandar Bukit Jalil, Malaysia |
Students of Sebastian Gnai Yoke Wah and Amanda Gnai Song Hui | ||
Violin and Piano Duo: | ||
Annelle Gregory, violin | 20 | San Diego, CA |
Alexander Sinchuk, piano | 27 | Moscow, Russia |
Second Place Winners | ||
Kenneth Liu, piano | 6 | Gaithersburg, MD |
Student of Vivian Kwok | ||
Angelina Hubertus, piano | 8 | New Canaan, CT |
Student of Tatiana Kunik | ||
Caitlyn Wee, piano | 8 | Singapore |
Student of Rosy Chua | ||
Zhen Wei Wong, piano | 8 | Singapore |
Student of Natalya Kuznetsova | ||
Tyler Zhou, piano | 9 | Davie, FL |
Student of Yvette Greene | ||
Andrew Manzella, piano | 10 | Murrysville, PA |
Student of Rodrigo Ojeda | ||
Ella Grace Malcom, violin | 10 | Alpharetta, GA |
Student of Sonja Foster | ||
Marianne Cubero, piano | 10 | San Jose, Costa Rica |
Student of Prof. J.Arroyo | ||
Julia Ashikhmin, guitar | 11 | Brooklyn, NY |
Student of Eleazer Rodriguez | ||
Brandon Deleon, piano | 12 | Yorktown, VA |
Student of Teresa Falk and Karina Bailey Miers | ||
Ryan Xu, piano | 12 | Weston, FL |
Student of Yvette Greene | ||
Ethan Yan, violin | 13 | Mountain View, CA |
Student of Antoine van Dongen | ||
Joanne Chan, violin | 13 | Singapore |
Student of Lynette Lim | ||
Ye Nan Zhou, piano | 13 | Beijing, China |
Student of Christine Gan | ||
Yuliana Fartachuk, violin | 13 | Jenkintown, PA |
Student of Larisa Odlyvanska | ||
Angela Ryu, violin | 14 | Palo Alto, CA |
Student of Byungwoo Kim | ||
Faith Nguyen, piano | 14 | Irvine, CA |
Student of Miranda Wu | ||
Sophie Andrews, violin | 14 | Chatham, NJ |
Student of Duoming Ba | ||
Annie Cao, piano | 15 | Yorktown, VA |
Student of Jolanta Szewczyk | ||
Fiona Thendean, piano | 15 | Pleasanton, CA |
Student of Dr. Yu-Ting Chen | ||
Karen Su, piano | 15 | Irvine, CA |
Student of Miranda Wu | ||
Katryn Basso, piano | 15 | Stonington, CT |
Student of Nonetta Shatakhtsian | ||
Melissa Zhu, piano | 16 | Yorktown, VA |
Student of Jolanta Szewczyk | ||
Violin and Piano Duo: | ||
Alexandra Manzella, violin | 9 | Murrysville, PA |
Student of Marybeth Schotting | ||
Andrew Manzella, piano | 10 | Murrysville, PA |
Student of Rodrigo Ojeda | ||
Violin Duo: | ||
Yuliana Fartachuk, violin | 13 | Jenkintown, PA |
Amber Liu, violin | 17 | Philadelphia, PA |
Students of Larisa Odlyvanska | ||
Third Place Winners | ||
Matthew Alexander Villalobos, piano | 9 | San Jose, Costa Rica |
Student of Prof. J.Arroyo | ||
Yash Vij, piano | 13 | Union City, CA |
Student of Helen Lee | ||
Johanna Alstott, oboe | 16 | Guilford, CT |
Student of Olav van Hezewijk | ||
Kaden Culp, violin | 16 | Orchard Park, NY |
Student of Ansgarius Aylward | ||
Amber Liu, violin | 17 | Philadelphia, PA |
Student of Larisa Odlyvanska | ||
Honorable Mention | ||
Komal Pamujula, piano | 11 | Pleasanton, CA |
Student of Helen Lee | ||
Arik Katz, piano | 14 | Sarasota, FL |
Student of Teresa O’Connell | ||
Debbie Dunnick, piano | 53 | Bradenton, FL |
Other participants will be notified of their standing via email.
CONGRATULATIONS TO ALL WINNERS!