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International Music Talent Competition Spring 2018
The American Protégé International Music Talent Competition Spring 2018 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.
Winners will perform at the Weill Recital Hall at Carnegie Hall in New York City on:
Saturday, April 21, 2018
Monday, May 28, 2018 (Memorial Day)
Saturday, June 30, 2018.
American Protégé
Music Talent Competition Spring 2018 Results:
$300 Scholarship Award Winner
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Tzu-Hsuan Yang, a singer and a pianist from Taiwan. She is now pursuing a master degree in piano performance at Illinois State University. Currently, she is also part of the Midwest Institution Opera as an emerging singer. She received her B.M. from University of Taipei of Vocal in 2016. She attended at Salzburg International festival and learned in Mezzo-soprano Helene Schneiderman’s studio Festival. She also performed at University of Taipei, Yuanlin performance hall, Taiwan National music performance hall. |
Judges’ Distinction (Plaque Trophy) Award Winners
| James Lacey, III, age 8, is from South Pasadena, CA and has been playing the cello since he was 5 years old. At age 7, James placed first in the Diamond Bar Performing Arts Challenge on the cello. In the past year, he was a Regional Winner in the Southern California Junior Bach Festival and selected to advance to the Complete Works Audition where he placed third overall in solo cello. In 2017, James also performed in the New York International Music Festival at Carnegie Hall with his local youth orchestra. He is currently a member of the Cello Choir at the Colburn School in Los Angeles. When James is not playing the cello, he can be found on the soccer field. James studies the cello with Vardan Gasparyan. |  |
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Bang Tam Tran, from Hanoi – Vietnam, is a Grade 1 student at Newton Grammar International School. She started her piano lesson with Linh Hoang Khanh Doan at the age of 4. After 6 months studying piano, she received a Distinction in the Trinity Music Exam (from Trinity College London) at Initial Level. At the age of 6, she became the youngest person in Vietnam received Grade 3 certificate from Trinity Music Exam. She won a numerous of national and international competitions such as International Competition in Rome Italy (1st prize and prize for exceptional young talent), Music Award in New York (1st prize), American Protégé Piano and Strings Competition (2nd prize), International Competition in Austria (1st prize) and Hanoi Piano Festival (2nd Prize) and CEG Festival (3rd Prize) in Vietnam. |
| Yen-Chun Wang, 10 years old . At 7 years old , he met his piano teacher ~ Veronica Yen. He is highly influenced by Veronica’s performance, and built the strong foundation for playing techniques . At 8 years old, he passed ABRSM grade 5. In the past two years, he has played two recitals. In just 3 years, he has participated in more than 60 local piano competitions. Inspired by his teacher, who has extensive international performance experience, he participated in the International Piano Competitions in 2016, including Japan (PIARA), Hong Kong, and Macau, and has won numerous awards. |  |
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Sophia Motai is a junior at Tenafly High School, NJ where she plays violin as a principal in the Philharmonic Orchestra and in the chamber trio. She studied at MSM Precollege and is currently in the studio of Elizabeth Faidley and a member of the flagship quintet at NY Youth Symphony, premiering a commissioned piece at Carnegie Hall. She performed in the NJ Regional and All State Orchestra and in master classes with Lisa Batiashvili, Katie Lansdale, Ray Chen, Vadim Gluzman and Elizabeth Chang. She participated in the “Music for All” National Festival and played as a soloist with the Washington Heights Chamber Orchestra. She won the prizes from VIVO, East Coast, Great Composer, United States Classical, Enkor, Camerata International, National Young Maestro, Rondo Young Arts, National Artists and International Music Organization NY, for whom she will play as a soloist in the 1st NY Concerto Debut Concert with orchestra. |
| Name | Age | City/State/Country |
| First Place Winners | ||
| Bang Tam Tran, piano | 7 | Hanoi, Vietnam |
| Student of Hoang Khanh Linh Doan | ||
| Jianuo Zhou, piano | 7 | Beijing, China |
| Student of Yan Ren | ||
| James Lacey, cello | 8 | South Pasadena, CA |
| Student of Vardan Gasparyan | ||
| Yen-Chun Wang, piano | 10 | Kaohsiung City, Taiwan |
| Student of Veronica Yen | ||
| Alissa Chen, piano | 12 | Staten Island, NY |
| Student of Dr. Tian Song | ||
| Anjulie Djearam, voice | 12 | Victoria, Canada |
| Student of Joanne Hounsell | ||
| Sunny Xiao, piano | 13 | San Diego, CA |
| Student of Inessa Litvin | ||
| Ellen Zhang, guzheng | 14 | Potomac, MD |
| Student of Bing Xia | ||
| Elliott Park, violin | 15 | San Diego, CA |
| Student of Hee Jeong and Pasha Tseitlin | ||
| Ivan Lin, piano | 15 | Brooklyn, NY |
| Student of Dr. Tian Song | ||
| Jimmy Chen, piano | 15 | Francis Drive, NJ |
| Student of Devi Yee | ||
| Julia Pepper, piano | 15 | Staten Island, NY |
| Student of Dr. Tian Song | ||
| Kristen Yang, violin | 15 | Jericho, NY |
| Student of Roslyn Huang | ||
| Margaret Wu, piano | 15 | West Chester, PA |
| Student of Joy Kiszely | ||
| Rachelle Lee, flute | 15 | Jericho, NY |
| Student of Min Jung Moon | ||
| Erin Liu, piano | 16 | Saratoga, CA |
| Student of Nataly Gingis | ||
| Ethan Resnik, piano/composition | 16 | Bedford, NY |
| Student of Jacob Friedman and Arlene Portney | ||
| Sophia Motai, violin | 16 | Alpine, NJ |
| Student of Elizabeth Faidley and James Millar | ||
| Bibo Feng, piano | 17 | Irvine, CA |
| Student of Joan Lai | ||
| Chloe Metz, violin | 17 | Great Neck, NY |
| Student of Roslyn Huang | ||
| Curtis Kim, piano | 17 | Santa Clarita, CA |
| Student of Lee Yun Hee | ||
| Guang Zeng, violin | 17 | Shenzhen, China |
| Student of Li Chun | ||
| Perry Yam, piano | 17 | New York, NY |
| Student of Mason G. Senft | ||
| Trini Leung, piano | 17 | Fremont, CA |
| Student of Fonny Chandra | ||
| Ye-Dam Kim, cello | 18 | Gyeonggi-do, South Korea |
| Student of Miyoung Woo | ||
| Peng Wu, voice | 20 | Arcdia, CA |
| Student of Jia Shuangfei and Pan Shiming | ||
| Tzu Hsuan Yang, voice | 24 | Normal, IL |
| Josue Berrocal Berrocal, Marimba | 25 | Antwerp, Belgium |
| Student of Ludwig Albert and Bismarck Fernádez | ||
| Second Place Winners | ||
| Hailey Chan, piano | 5 | San Jose, Costa Rica |
| Student of Valentina Tumanova and Tamara Sklioutovski | ||
| Elijah Chang, violin | 6 | Campbell, CA |
| Student of Theresa Woo | ||
| Stella Li, piano | 6 | Rockville, MD |
| Student of Vivian Kwok | ||
| Nikolai Nyagolov, piano | 8 | Edmonton, Canada |
| Student of Dr. Yoana Kyurkchieva | ||
| Ray Tang, piano | 9 | Wading River, NY |
| Student of Rowena Arrieta | ||
| Serena Wu, piano | 9 | Solon, OH |
| Student of Xiaoling Anderson | ||
| Danielle Carr, piano | 10 | Lewes, DE |
| Student of Bonnie Kellert | ||
| Mariia Gasiuk, piano | 10 | Kyiv, Ukraine |
| Student of Inna Goncharova | ||
| Run He (Kelly) Deng, piano | 10 | Shanghai, China |
| Student of Wang Jue | ||
| Isaac Hwang, violin | 12 | Gilroy, CA |
| Student of Victoria Morton | ||
| Lauren Liu, piano | 12 | Saratoga, CA |
| Student of Nataly Gingis | ||
| Marcus Yeung, piano | 12 | Wilmette, IL |
| Student of Sueanne Metz | ||
| Selena Wang, piano | 12 | Suwanee, GA |
| Student of Frances Yao | ||
| Trisha Sarma, voice | 12 | Monmouth Junction, NJ |
| Raina Bandekar, flute | 13 | Ambler, PA |
| Student of Michael Maizels | ||
| Aiden Tang, violin | 14 | Pleasanton, CA |
| Student of Amy Liu | ||
| Emily Tianshi, piano | 14 | San Diego, CA |
| Student of Rinna Livshin | ||
| Irene Wang, piano | 14 | Williamsville, NY |
| Student of Violeta Arakelova | ||
| Jimin Jun, violin | 14 | Syosset, NY |
| Student of Roslyn Huang | ||
| Shawn Duan, piano | 14 | Pleasanton, CA |
| Student of Julia Wang | ||
| Vivian Hir, piano | 14 | Danville, CA |
| Student of Julia Wang | ||
| Amanda Tran, piano | 15 | San Diego, CA |
| Student of Tatiana Stignev | ||
| Chi Yu, piano | 15 | Irvine, CA |
| Student of Sheve-Hwa Su | ||
| Christopher Oh, viola | 15 | Syosset, NY |
| Student of Karen Rostron | ||
| Ethan Nguyen, piano | 15 | Haymarket, VA |
| Student of Haewon Min | ||
| Morgan Lee Lee, piano | 15 | Irvine, CA |
| Student of Sheve-Hwa Su | ||
| Roshita Anandani, piano | 15 | Scarsdale, NY |
| Student of Irena Portenko | ||
| Clarissa Chan, flute | 16 | San Ramon, CA |
| Student of Monica Williams | ||
| Hannah Hwang, flute | 16 | La Crescenta, CA |
| Student of Yunhee Lee | ||
| Jihoon Jun, violin | 16 | Syosset, NY |
| Student of Roslyn Huang | ||
| Joochan George Koo, violin | 16 | Wynnewood, PA |
| Student of Yayoi Numazawa | ||
| Michelle Zemlyak, voice | 16 | San Jose, CA |
| Student of Simona Snitkovskaya | ||
| Nikhilganeesh Varadarajan, violin | 16 | Cary, NC |
| Student of Shelley Livingston | ||
| Aining Liang, guzheng | 17 | Whitby, Canada |
| Student of Julian Smerdon | ||
| Shannon Liu, dizi (Chinese bamboo flute) | 17 | San Jose, CA |
| Student of Jun Gao | ||
| Daniel Yadegar, voice | 18 | Encino, CA |
| Student of Dr. Joel Ewing | ||
| Ankita Goswami Goswami, voice | 23 | Hamilton Township, NJ |
| Piano Duo/Four Hands: | ||
| Lauren Chen | 10 | San Diego, CA |
| Katelyn Chen | 12 | San Diego, CA |
| Students of Tatiana Stignev | ||
| Piano Duo/Four Hands: | ||
| Adam Pascual | 16 | White Plains, NY |
| Nick Vlasto | 11 | Rye, NY |
| Students of Dr. Irena Portenko | ||
| Piano Duo/Four Hands: | ||
| Ryan Luo | 13 | Erie, CO |
| Jenny Zhang | 13 | Louisville, CO |
| Students of Ling Yu McLoughlin | ||
| Piano Duo: | ||
| Tony Feng, violin | 15 | Chapel Hill, NC |
| Yue-Bo (Ben) Jia, piano | 15 | Chapel Hill, NC |
| Students of Jinglong Zhang and Dr. Tatiana Gutnik | ||
| Piano Duo/Four Hands: | ||
| Adam Pascual | 16 | White Plains, NY |
| Jack Silvers | 15 | Scarsdale, NY |
| Students of Dr. Irena Portenko | ||
| Third Place Winners | ||
| Victory Brinker, voice | 6 | Latrobe, PA |
| Student of Desirée Soteres | ||
| Alexander Wang, piano | 7 | Johns Creek, GA |
| Student of Frances Yao | ||
| Clara Jean Lim, violin | 8 | Kuala Lumpur, Malaysia |
| Student of Su Tzu-Yuan | ||
| Kelly Gallagher, piano | 8 | Singapore |
| Student of Rosy Chua | ||
| Gasmine Wan Zheng Ka, piano | 9 | Singapore |
| Student of Rosy Chua and Diana Konggidinata | ||
| Chloe Song, piano | 10 | Singapore |
| Student of Christine Gan | ||
| Keena Gallagher, piano | 10 | Singapore |
| Student of Rosy Chua | ||
| Masanaga Marc Seno Seno, violin | 10 | Cupertino, CA |
| Student of Po Wei Lai | ||
| Jae Lin Lee, piano | 11 | Morgantown, WV |
| Student of Youngju, Lee | ||
| Jonathan Lin, violin | 11 | Olmsted Township, OH |
| Student of Laura Simna | ||
| Mikayla Berestecki, violin | 11 | Manhasset, NY |
| Student of Roslyn Huang and David Gale | ||
| Sophia Somers, violin | 11 | Plymouth Meeting, PA |
| Student of Larisa Odlyvanska | ||
| Zoe Rowe, voice | 11 | Singapore |
| Student of Natalia Kumkova | ||
| Yehong Jiang, voice | 11 | Los Altos, CA |
| Neola Low, violin | 12 | Manhasset, NY |
| Student of Roslyn Haung and David Gale | ||
| Jessie Lee, violin | 13 | Great Neck, NY |
| Student of Roslyn Huang | ||
| Olivia Sheng, piano | 13 | Irvine, CA |
| Student of Sheve-Hwa Su | ||
| Robin Yeh, piano | 13 | Irvine, CA |
| Student of Sheve Hwa Wu | ||
| Twisha Subramanyam, piano | 13 | Morgantown , WV |
| Student of Juliana Yap | ||
| Christopher Fonseca, piano | 14 | Weston, FL |
| Student of Yvette Greene | ||
| Daniel Liu, piano | 14 | Champaign, IL |
| Student of Margaret Escobar | ||
| Sua Shin, piano | 14 | Los Angeles, CA |
| Student of Yun Hee Lee | ||
| Albert Chen, piano | 15 | Hinsdale, IL |
| Student of Sueanne Metz | ||
| Alkrena Gjeli, violin | 15 | Philadelphia, PA |
| Student of Larysa Odlyvanska | ||
| Eden Yeh, piano | 15 | Irvine, CA |
| Student of Sheve Hwa Wu | ||
| Jennifer Xu, violin | 15 | Bethany, CT |
| Student of Shan Jiang | ||
| Yash Vij, piano | 15 | Union City, CA |
| Student of Helen Lee | ||
| Amy Moon, violin | 16 | Chino Hills, CA |
| Student of Woo Kwang Jae | ||
| Kushal Boggavarapu, piano | 16 | Suwanee, GA |
| Student of Min Yeong | ||
| Patrick Akarapimand, piano | 16 | Hacienda Heights, CA |
| Student of Aleksei Takenouchi | ||
| Vincent Lin, violin | 16 | Olmsted Township, OH |
| Student of Laura Simna | ||
| Charles Tang, piano | 17 | Morganville, NJ |
| Student of Asuza Komiyama | ||
| Elya Lavi, piano | 17 | Scarsdale, NY |
| Student of Peggy Reich | ||
| Yuxiao Jiang, piano | 17 | Alpharetta, GA |
| Student of Feng Liu | ||
| Lan Jefferies, piano | 63 | Dallas, TX |
| Student of Dr. Jose Pablo Quesada | ||
| Flute Duo: | ||
| Raina Bandekar | 13 | Ambler, PA |
| Jianna Kim | 11 | Blue Bell, PA |
| Students of Michael Maizels | ||
Honorable Mention Winners will be notified of their standing via email.
CONGRATULATIONS TO ALL WINNERS!
Winners Recital Information
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 Protege 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. The total Recital and Photo Fee for Solo Participants is $400:
– $300 Recital Fee, includes admission for participant and piano accompanist (if needed), Recital booklets with all Recital performers’ biographies and photos (for the booklet sample please click here), Certificate, Teacher’s Diploma, four guests’ tickets.
– $100 Photo Fee, includes set of digital photos taken by professional photographer during participant’s performance on the stage. Average set is 20-30 digital photos.
8. Recital Fee for Ensemble Members is $230 per Member plus $100 Photo Fee per group. Recital Fee includes admission for Ensemble Member, Recital booklets with all Recital performers’ biographies and photos (for the booklet sample please click here), Certificate, Teacher’s Diploma, four guests’ tickets per Member.
9. Recital and Photo Fees are not refundable.
10. All participants are responsible for their own expenses (travel, housing accommodations, etc.).
11. Detailed Winners Recital Guidelines will be emailed to the participants.
To pay the Solo Application Fee on-line please click on the button below. A transaction fee of $15.00 will be added to the fee amount. By clicking on the button you will be re-directed to PayPal
Solo Application Fee
To pay the Ensemble Application Fees on-line please click on the button below. A transaction fee of $10.00 will be added to the fee amount. By clicking on the button you will be re-directed to PayPal Application Fee