COMPETITION WINNERS

Join us at Weill Recital Hall at Carnegie Hall in New York City on February 22nd, 2022 @ 2pm to hear them live

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Meet our competition winners from June 2020 and December 2021

CLICK ON THEIR PICTURES TO HEAR THEM Perform

Our Honorable Mention Recipients are also amazing! They can be heard HERE!

Ages 5-7 Division

Bentley Penn, pianist

***GOLD AWARD RECIPIENT - 2020***
Bentley Penn, from Fort McMurray, Alberta, Canada. He is 8 years old. He began learning piano at the age of Five. He always sees his mother playing the piano and he has developed a natural passion for it as well. Over the past year, Bentley has won several international piano competitions and performed in venues worldwide. Bentley currently studies with Professor Junghyun Kim.

Owen Greene, pianist

***SILVER AWARD RECIPIENT - 2020***
Owen Greene is a 9 years old who loves science and arts. He is fascinated with the universe; he has unlimited questions about Black Holes and even wants to visit one someday. Owen enjoyed playing soccer; he feels stronger when playing on a team and being challenged with his peers. He started learning piano with his mother when he was 6 years old. For him, piano is the key to the music world, and it gives him a special connection to the whole family. He is very proud to have the opportunity to play in the Carnegie Hall, New York. Owen currently lives in Seattle with his younger brother, Jesse, and parents.

Maggie Chen, pianist

***GOLD AWARD RECIPIENT - 2021***
Maggie Chen – Born in 2013, Maggie has been playing piano since age 5 and been studying with Ms. Sukyoung Kwon for almost 2 years. Her favorite composer is J.S.Bach. She thinks the restrained tone in Bach’s music is unusually beautiful. Now, Maggie is 8 years old and a 2nd-grade tiny antler at Grove Valley Elementary School in Oklahoma, U.S.A. She is a very happy kid most of the time. Maggie enjoys playing piano pieces that reflect and express her feelings and she enjoys polishing her playing and progressing further technically. She likes to draw, put together puzzles, and bicycling in her leisure time.

Amelia Ly, pianist

***GOLD AWARD RECIPIENT - 2021***
Seven-year-old Amelia Ly has been awarded numerous times as an exceptional young musician and first place winner for international piano competitions. She was featured by ABC news and NPR news. As a result, she has been invited to perform at the winner's concert at prestigious venues including Musikverein in Vienna Austria, and Carnegie Hall in New York City. In 2022, Amelia will be performing at The Royal Albert Hall in London England, and Amphitheatre Paris Philharmonie and will be invited back to perform at Carnegie Hall for the third time.
Amelia was awarded first place for all the following competitions Grand prize Virtuoso, the Chicago International Music Competition, Golden Classical International Music Competition, American Protégé International Piano & Strings Competition, AADGT Passion of Music, and won second place for Chopin International Piano Competition at the age of five.
Since age of four, Amelia started to perform solo piano concerts and annual Christmas shows at numerous retirement homes and for many none profit organizations. Organizations includes Ignite Peoria, OSF hospital, Peoria Women’s Club, PAME Fundraising events, Fine Art Festival, Easter Seals, and Dream Center. Amelia attends all Peoria Symphony Orchestra concerts where her Mom serves as a director on the board. Yet she also enjoys Jazz concerts and also performs her Ukulele with Emily the Band at local coffee shops.

AGES 8-10 Division

Jodi Brielle Brown, pianist

***GOLD AWARD RECIPIENT - 2020***
Jodi Brielle plays the piano and the violin. She was awarded First Place at the 2021 Rocky Mountain Piano Competition, Young Musicians Category 7-8 years old, and the 2021 North International Music Competition. She was the First Prize Winner and Exceptional Young Talent Special Prize Winner of the 2021 Golden Classical Music Awards International Competition, and was awarded Gold in the Progressive Musicians Piano, Violin & Guitar Competition 2020, 8-10 division, and will be playing at Carnegie Hall in 2022. She was also awarded third place in the Rocky Mountain Winter Classical Music Festival, and Virtual International Malaysia Music Competition, 2020. She was awarded second prize in the Group II division of the Great Composers Artist of the Year Competition, 2020, the 2021 Nomea International Piano Competition, and in the 2021 21st Century Talents Keyboard Competition, Advanced Category, 9-10 years old, and was the winner of the Best Bach Performance, Great Composers Competition for Age Group 1, 2020. She is a Strings Orchestra ensemble member. She loves to sing, and is a member of the children’s choir at her church. She also loves to swim, dance and cook.

Louisa Marie Cordes, violinist

***SILVER AWARD RECIPIENT - 2020***
Louisa began playing the violin with five years in the Suzuki Class of Isabel Morey Suau in Kiel, Germany. In 2018 she changed to Ralf Krögers violin Class.  During the years she played many regional Competitions in which she won first prizes with distinction in her devision. And some international Competitions with first, second and third prizes.  She had Master Classes, with Prof. Lutz Leskowitz (Salzburg), with Prof. Maria Egelhof (Lübeck) and Prof. Andreas Lehmann (Weimar)  From October 2019 till June 2020 Louisa was at the Network of the YARO (Young Academy Rostock) at the HTM Rostock. Now Louisa has also lessons with Prof. Daniel Sepec, Musikhochschule Lübeck and has two scholarships, one at the Konservatorium Hamburg and one at the IJK Hamburg, where she plays in a piano quintet.

Louisa Valentina Schewe, violinist

***SILVER AWARD RECIPIENT - 2021***
Louisa Valentina has been practicing hard since the last Progressive Musicians round. She won further first prizes in local competitions, has a grant from the IJK Hamburg for chamber music and won a first place in the 25th composers‘ competition in Sachsen-Anhalt for her first ever own composition.

Ages 11-14 Division

Krisztina Nagy, pianst

***JURY DISTINCTION AWARD RECIPIENT - 2020***
My name is Krisztina Nagy and I am 15 years old. I was born in Targu Mures Romania, and i lived there until i was 13 years old. I studied piano at the art school with Andrea Gyarmati. I have competed in many races with nice results. At the time i was admitted to the Special Talents Department of the Liszt Ferenc University of Music in Budapest Hungary. I have been continuing my studies with the wonderful specialists Gabor Eckhardt and Imre Hargitai. Since then, i have achieved good results in competitions and performances, although it was very difficult to develop this profession due to the covid 19 pandemic. I am very happy to be here and study here. It s a great opportunity to get out into USA and show the people what i work day by day.

Christine Kim, pianist

***GOLD AWARD RECIPIENT - 2021***
I've been playing piano since I was 6 years old. Since then, I have had many ups and downs. Even though I sometimes had a hard time I never wanted to quit my dream. I had three teachers, but the teacher that influenced my piano dream the most was teacher Sukyoung Kwon. I've learned many pieces from her and have competed in many piano competitions. I am blessed for having this talent and I hope to learn more in the future.

Josh Thai, violinist

***GOLD AWARD RECIPIENT - 2020***
Josh Thai is a 15-year-old violinist from Tucson, Arizona. Currently a student of Dr. Katie McLin and David Rife, he began studying violin at the age of 7. At age 11 he made his solo debut with the Arizona Symphonic Winds conducted by Maestro Lazlo Veres. In 2018 and 2019 he placed first in the concerto competition at RRMC and soloed with the faculty orchestra. In 2019 he was a part of the HeifetzPEG program where he studied with Bela Horvath. In 2020 he placed first in the SASO Youth Concerto Competition. Josh attended the Bowdoin International Music Festival in 2021 where he studied with Janet Sung. He also enjoys playing chamber music, having taken part in the Southwest String Quartet Workshop 3 times. He has been coached by many renowned musicians including Annie Fullard, Tiezheng Shen, Elizabeth Faidley, Amy Beth Horman, Michael Wittenburg, Paul Kantor, and Mike Russell. Josh is a sophomore at Quest for Education and Arts where he excels at math and science. Away from music and academics, he enjoys cooking and hiking.

Katelyn Lee, pianist

***SILVER AWARD RECIPIENT - 2020***
Katelyn Lee began playing piano at the age of four. She formerly played the flute and played in the 2019 and 2020 Detroit Symphony Orchestra Middle School Honor Bands. She has received several awards, including the Progressive Musicians Piano Silver Award, the 2018 Michigan Sonatina Festival Recital, and the 2017 Michigan 48th Annual Bach Festival Honors Recital.

Linda West Wang, violinist

***SILVER AWARD RECIPIENT - 2020***
Linda has been playing violin since she was eight years old. She studies with David Chernyavsky and is currently a part of the CYS senior orchestra. Besides playing violin, Linda likes to read, hang out with friends, and play video games.

Ashmit Pal, pianist

***BRONZE AWARD RECIPIENT - 2020***
Hello, my name is Ashmit and I am 14 years old now. I live in Milton, Ontario (Canada) and I go to Bishop P.F. Reding Catholic Secondary School in Grade-9. I am playing Piano since I was 4 years old. I love to play Piano and flute and love to perform in front of audience. I love to participate in many music festivals around Greater Toronto Area (GTA). I am also 2 times Royal Conservatory of Music Provincial Gold Medalist (2017 and 2019) for achieving highest marks in Ontario in Piano examination. I am in Level-10 in Royal Conservatory of Music. I also play flute (RCM Level 6) and guitar. I play in my school’s Talent show, Volunteers Tea and charity at my school. I also play various other musical instruments, like Recorder, Ukulele and Djembe (African Drum). I love math, science and activities like volunteering in my community, swimming and biking with my family in the neighbourhood. I am a member of “Milton Youth Task Force” in my community and I advocate and promote environmental sustainability for our better future. I love sports cars and car racing too. 24 hours Le Mans is my favorite. It is a true honor for me to perform in prestigious Carnegie Hall in New York. To know more about my music, please visit my music channel in YouTube Channel "Ashmit's Music" and my website.

Ages 15-18 Division

Jason Zhang, pianist

BRONZE AWARD RECIPIENT - 2020

Jason Zhang is a junior at Skyline High School in Sammamish, Washington. He began playing piano at the age of 6 and is currently studying with Yiling Huang. Other than piano, Jason also plays violin and studies with Karin Islip. In his free time, Jason enjoys running, biking outside, and hanging out with his friends.

Clara Abrahams, soprano

***GOLD AWARD RECIPIENT - 2021***
Clara Abrahams is a 17 year old soprano from Northern California and is currently a High School Senior. She has been studying voice for 15 years and currently works with Alina Ilchuk at the Sacramento Academy of Musical Arts. Clara also takes diction lessons from Marcie Stapp, a faculty member at the San Francisco Conservatory of Music. In addition to Clara’s vocal training, she has been studying piano for over 10 years with Noriko Meguro. In February of 2020, Clara worked with Yefim Maizel in his Aria Practicum workshop and has continued private lessons with him. In August of 2020, she participated in the San Francisco Conservatory of Music’s Summer Intensive program and studied with César Ulloa. She also performed in a masterclass held by mezzo-soprano Frederica von Stade and the San Francisco Conservatory of Music. In the spring of 2021, Clara sang in a masterclass with mezzo-soprano Virginia Kelsey which was hosted by the San Francisco Bay Area Chapter of the National Association of Teachers of Singing. During the summer of 2021, Clara attended the Boston University Tanglewood Institute and worked with Deborah Selig and Douglas Sumi. She also performed in a masterclass with Carol Vaness hosted by the Boston University Tanglewood Institute. Currently, Clara is working with Rhoslyn Jones and Jonathan Beyer through the Curtis Mentor Network's Audition Prep program. During the past year, Clara has competed and has been awarded Grand Prix and First place in a number of competitions and has also sung in several online recitals hosted by the National Association of Teachers of Singing.

Adult Amateur Division

Ursina Boehm, pianist

***GOLD AWARD RECIPIENT - 2021***
Ursina Boehm was born in Stuttgart, Germany. She starts to learn the piano at the age of 6. Having studied Industrial Engineering, she continues her academic career with a PhD in Business Administration before becoming a faculty member of the department of International Business at the Baden-Württemberg Cooperative State University (DHBW) in Mannheim, Germany. After many years dedicated to the accompaniment of lieder under the guidance of Burkhard Schaeffer, Musikhochschule Mainz, she enlarges her solo repertoire when moving to France in 2016 by taking private lessons with Christine Girard, who was formed by France Clidat and Anne Queffelec. In 2017, Ursina receives the special price Schubert at the International Piano Competition Ile de France in the category Amateur Concert Pianist. In 2018, she meets the Fleurons de l’Entreprise Musicienne and their founder Françoise Parrot-Hanlet, former professor at the École Normale de Musique in Paris. The activities and concerts of the Fleurons (« Debussy au piano », 2018 and « Peintures - Piano - Portraits », 2019) give her piano play new inspirations. In September 2020, she joins AMA (Associations Musiciens Amateurs) Ile de France and starts to actively participate in their concert series. In December 2020, Ursina participates the online edition of Pianoweek, UK, and in October 2021, she follows a masterclass with Elena Nesterenko in Weimar, Germany. In December 2020, Ursina participates for the first time in an online competition and wins the first price in the Adult Amateur Division of the Online Classics Competition 2020 organized by The Progressive Musicians. This motivates her to apply for other competitions in 2021: She wins third price in the category Amateur Concert Pianist of the 22nd International Piano Competition Ile-de-France, second price in the amateur pianist category of the international piano competition “La note céleste” (with Rena Shereshevskaya as president of the jury), and first price in the category Own Choice – 19 years old and older from non-music institution of the London Youth Piano Competition 2021 Online.

Professional Division

Yixiang Hou, pianist

***JURY DISTINCTION AWARD RECIPIENT - 2021***
Chinese pianist Yixiang Hou has performed in China, Japan, Italy and the U.S. Yixiang has appeared as soloist with the Taiwan Sanchong Orchestra, the Shanghai Conservatory Orchestra and NEC Philharmonia. He has worked with such conductors as Xiaoou Zhao, Jiahong Liao and Andrew Litton. In 2006, Yixiang made his debut recital at the Shanghai Oriental Art Centre and Shanghai Conservatory Hall. Yixiang has been prize winner of various competitions. At only ten years of age, Yixiang became a prize winner of the 2004 Shanghai Haydn Piano Competition, and in 2009, Yixiang won the Wiesbaden Piano Competition in Shanghai. Yixiang has also received awards in the Tianjin "Flying Melody”Competition and the Steinway Competition of China in Beijing, both in 2009. As a student in Shanghai, Yixiang received the highest honors, including the Tang Scholarship. In 2016, he won NEC Piano Concerto Competition and NEC Piano Honors Competition and a finalist of Serge & Olga Koussevitzky Young Artist Award in 2018. In 2019, Yixiang have been chosen as a FIRST PRIZE Winner in International Music Competition "Salzburg and Amsterdam" Grand Prize Virtuoso and third prize in the Los Angeles Young Musician International Competition. Yixiang also won the Robert Beardsley Piano Prize Competition. Yixiang is a Member of Pi Kappa Lambda. Born in China, Yixiang moved to Shanghai at the age of nine to study with pianists Qi Zhang, William Chen, Dachun You and Ting Zhou at the Middle School Affiliated to Shanghai Conservatory of Music. Following his studies in Shanghai, Yixiang moved to Boston in 2012, where he began his studies with Wha Kyung Byun at New England Conservatory. Yixiang completed his Bachelor of Music degree, Master of Music degree and Graduate Diploma at NEC, as a recipient of the Carol and Robert Henderson Presidential Scholarship. He is currently enrolled in Doctor of Musical Arts program on a full tuition scholarship at Cincinnati Conservatory of Music and studies with Ran Dank.

Jana Studynkova

***JURY DISTINCTION AWARD RECIPIENT - 2021***
Jana Studynkova studied violin in the class of her father Cyril Studynka at the Hellenic Conservatory of Athens and obtained the Artist Diploma of Violin Performance with distinction. She graduated from the Department of Preschool Education of the Pedagogical School of the University of Crete in 2004.
She has participated in violin masterclasses with the professors Lydia Mordkovitch and Zakhar Bron. She won the 1st prize and a gold medal in the Panhellenic Violin Competition in 2005. In the orchestra category of the same competition, she won the 1st prizes and gold medals as the concertmaster of the string ensemble "Harmony" in 2005 and 2006. She was also awarded the Diploma of Special Distinction in the competition for the European Union Youth Orchestra 2005. She has given violin recitals in Greece and has collaborated as a soloist with various orchestras. She has also performed in chamber music concerts, cultural and charitable events and live shows on Greek television. In 2009 she became a member of the Greek MENSA. Since 2006 she has been teaching violin and chamber music at the Hellenic Conservatory of Athens.

Julio Reyes, guitarist

***JURY DISTINCTION AWARD RECIPIENT - 2021***
Gifted at an early age with a fine-tuned musical ear, he made his recital debut at the age of 12. The following year, he was an award winner at the International Agustin Barrios Guitar Competition in Mexico City where the average age of his competitors was at least 20 years his senior! Also, by then he had commenced studies in piano, cello, bass, voice, music theory and conducting, and had won the Martin Luther King, Jr., Music Competition on cello and guitar. At age 14 at the invitation of the Paraguayan government, he traveled to South America to perform guitar recitals on radio and TV and was a guest artist at the Annual Independence Day festivities at the Municipal Soccer Stadium performing for over 80,000 attendees. By 1986 Julio had become principal cellist of Oakland Symphony Youth Orchestra, had toured internationally as both cellist and guitar soloist, and was ultimately appointed Assistant Conductor to its then-Music Director, Kent Nagano. During this same period, he was Music Director for Oakland Summer Theatre’s productions of The Wiz and Kiss Me Kate and had commenced his conducting studies with maestros Nagano, the legendary Calvin Simmons, Dennis DeCoteau and Richard Buckley, and had conducted the Oakland Symphony Youth Orchestra in Pops Concerts throughout the Bay Area. Entering his 20s, Julio began a secondary career as instructor of cello, classical guitar, bass and music theory, teaching at both Meadowood Music Camp and El Cerrito High School, the latter at which he was appointed String Specialist and Orchestra Conductor. As a performer he toured for 10 years as bassist for country band, The Rangers, opening for such headliners as the Charlie Daniels Band, Crystal Gayle, Sawyer Brown, Wynona Judd and other celebrated artists, and produced a critically acclaimed CD for the band. He also conducted the American opera, Fey Yen Fah, with the Monte Carlo Symphony and soloists from the United States in the Monte Carlo Opera House, which was the model for the Paris Opera House. He currently performs around the San Francisco Bay Area and gives lecture/master classes on the music of Agustin Barrios at Conservatories of Music, Universities, and Guitar Societies around the country. Mr. Reyes feels that music education for our youth is very important because it can be a great form of therapy or just a way to have some fun with other young musicians. Therefore, he accepted the position of Instrumental Music Director at Holy Names High School in Oakland, California.

Danielle Yi, pianist

**Professional Division**
***JURY DISTINCTION AWARD RECIPIENT - 2020***
Los Angeles based pianist Danielle Yi is an active performer and educator that has appeared in concert venues across the country and abroad. She received her Bachelor of Music degree in Piano Performance from the Bob Cole Conservatory of Music at CSULB, graduating as a Cole Scholar and Distinguished Graduate Honoree and received her Master of Music degree from USC's Thornton School of Music. She has won many notable awards and continues to be an active performer in the greater Los Angeles area. Currently, Danielle holds a full private teaching studio in the South Bay, where she has been teaching for over 13 years. Danielle hopes to continue growing as a musician to one day become a university professor, combining her love for performing and teaching to share with others.

Pablo Menéndez, guitarist

***GOLD AWARD RECIPIENT - 2020***
Born in 1992 in Asturias (Spain), Pablo Menéndez is one of the most renowned classical guitarists of his generation.  He has been awarded in several national and international music competitions, such as Concurso Internacional "Juan Crisóstomo de Arriaga" in Bilbao (Spain), Concurso “Villa de Zarautz” (Spain), Twents Gitaaar Festival (Enschede, Netherlands), Gevelsberg Guitar Competition (Germany), Florence Guitar Competition (Italy) or International Moscow Music Competition (Russia).  As a soloist, Pablo has given concerts all over Spain, Germany, Netherlands, Belgium, Portugal, Italy, Austria, Sweden… during the last few years. His first CD, entitled “Esencia” and dedicated to Spanish music from the XIX and XX century, has received great reviews by the specialized critics. He also has an intense chamber music labour, which took him to record a CD together with the tenor Joaquín Pixán and the pianist Mario Bernardo, in which they recorded Spanish music from the XIX Century. Moreover, he worked as an orchestral player as well, being a member of the Spanish Young National Orchestra during the season 2014/15. He is also a member of Synestha Guitar Duo, an ensemble dedicated to historically informed performance and bringing classical music to new audiences. Beside this, he has been a EuroStrings artist, a platform for promotion of the most talented European young guitarists, which will lead him to perform and teach all around Europe.  Pablo began his musical studies at the age of 12 in his hometown, and afterwards he studied his Bachelor degree in San Sebastián with the prestigious guitarist Marco Socías, finishing with the highest qualifications. Since 2014, he studies with the great Maestro Carlo Marchione in the Conservatory of Maastricht (Netherlands), where he gets his Master degree, being awarded “cum laude” in 2016. Afterwards, he continues studying with Zoran Dukic, Pablo Márquez, Paolo Pegoraro, Lorenzo Micheli, Judicael Perroy, Antonio Duro and Francisco Bernier, in the context of Sevilla’s Guitar Master Degree. Beside his academic formation, he enrolls plenty of courses and masterclasses for adquiring complementary formation on historically informed interpretation, contemporary music, new musical languages and improvisation. He also studies orchestral conducting under the guidance of Maestros Miguel Romea and Andrés Salado.  Nowadays, Pablo combines his concert activity with his pedagogical labour as professor at the Higher Conservatory of Córdoba (Spain).  In constant evolution, in 2020 Pablo made his debut in the prestigious Musikverein (Vienna, Austria), and he is appointed to perform at Carnegie Hall (New York, USA) and Royal Albert Hall (London, UK) during season 2021/2022.

Amalia Diaz, violinist & Camilo Ortiz, guitarist

***SILVER AWARD RECIPIENTS - 2020***
Originally from Colombia, Camilo and Amalia met in Salinas, California while sharing their passion for teaching music to children in El Sistema. What started as a fun playing time during their teaching breaks, became a recognized ensemble that performs in diverse venues throughout the Northern California area. Camilo is an award winning classical guitarist, and Amalia has been a successful performer and singer since childhood. Their participation in different music projects from classical to world music, has influenced and shaped their performance style. With a repertoire choice that walks through the richness of Latin and European classical composers, the duo brings its unique flavor and passion of their Colombian roots with a distinctive sound that is a signature of their performances.Originally from Colombia, Camilo and Amalia met in Salinas, California while sharing their passion for teaching music to children in El Sistema. What started as a fun playing time during their teaching breaks, became a recognized ensemble that performs in diverse venues throughout the Northern California area. Camilo is an award winning classical guitarist, and Amalia has been a successful performer and singer since childhood.  Their participation in different music projects from classical to world music, has influenced and shaped their performance style. With a repertoire choice that walks through the richness of Latin and European classical composers, the duo brings its unique flavor and passion of their Colombian roots with a distinctive sound that is a signature of their performances.

Xinshuang Jin, pianist

SILVER AWARD RECIPIENT - 2020

A native of China, Xinshuang Jin is an active soloist, accompanist, and chamber musician in both Asia and United States. Xinshuang is prolific with a wide range of repertoire and styles, and has successfully given numerous solo concerts and ensemble performances. She won the Honor Student Scholarship from Middle School attached to Shenyang Conservatory of Music and was selected into the Ameri-china International Elite Class of 2010 by world-renowned concert pianist Chu-Fang Huang. Xinshuang received her Bachelor of Music degree from East Tennessee State University and graduated summa cumda laude in 2015. Xinshuang received her Master’s Degree from Texas Christian University, where she worked as a graduate assistant in accompanying. She is currently pursuing her Doctor of Music in Piano Performance at Florida State University.   Apart from her performing and accompanying career, Xinshuang is also a devoted instructor with ten years of teaching experience and works with piano students of a wide age range both in the United States and China. She is currently a graduate assistant teaching Secondary Applied Piano lessons to undergraduates at FSU. As an educator, she has participated in conferences and given presentations for Music Teachers National Association, Florida State Music Teachers Association, CMS (College Music Society) Regional Pacific Northwest Conference, CMS Regional Great Plains Conference, and CMS Sixty Third National Conference. . Xinshuang has participated in and performed solo pieces and chamber music at Brevard Music Festival, Heartland Chamber Music Festival, and Chautauqua Music Festival. She also won scholarships, grants, and prizes in various competitions including the Powell Piano Scholarship, James Streem Scholarship, TMTA Collegiate Piano Solo Competition, FSMTA enrichment grants, TMTA Collegiate Piano Ensemble, and “Young Masters” of the II Future Stars International Piano Competition, FSU X. Annual Competition , San Francisco International Innovative Music Competition, the North International Music Competition, V Paderewski International Piano Competition, American Protégé International Piano & Strings Competition, Progressive Musicians Piano, Violin & Guitar Competition, Golden Classical Music Awards International Competition and Muse International Music Competition.   Xinshuang’s demonstration of extraordinary excellence in musicianship, scholarship and character has led to her prestigious membership of Theta Alpha chapter of Pi Kappa Lambda, a national music honor society. She is also an active member of Music Teachers National Association.

Yerko Difonis, pianist

***GOLD AWARD RECIPIENT - 2021***
I was born in Valparaiso, Chile, to a musical family. Early in life, my family noticed that I had an affinity for music, and various family members began assisting me in learning to play various instruments. At the age of seven, due to difficulties gaining an education because of my blindness, my family and I traveled to the US, where I general education, as well as a musical education, for the next ten years. After returning to Chile, during the next ten years, I completed my general education diploma and studied for a BA in Education with a concentration in English Pedagogy, while continuing my piano studies. In 2020, I returned to the US to begin my graduate studies in Piano Performance, and am currently in my final year of my Master of Music program. I hope, if God wills, to continue toward a doctorate degree in the same field beginning in September of 2022.

Maria Narodytska, pianist

***GOLD AWARD RECIPIENT - 2021***
Maria Narodytska is a pianist of Ukrainian origin. Her international concert activity includes such venues as Laeiszhalle in Hamburg; Sala Maffeiana in Verona; Casa da Musica in Porto; Ruth Taylor Recital Hall in San Antonio; Hylton Performing Arts Center in Virginia as well as theaters and concert halls all over the world. In 2019 an album with Maria Narodytska playing Brahms was released under the label OnClassical for further worldwide distribution by Naxos of America. This work has already got a positive review at Rai Radio 3 – one of the most important radio stations in Italy, devoted to classical music. Her second album for Nationalux as a winner of “The most beloved artist” prize at Richter IPC was released on the 18th of September 2020. Her third album devoted to Schubert appeared under OnClassical, published by Naxos of America in March 2021.Whatever it is, the way you tell your story online can make all the difference. Narodytska graduated from Tchaikovsky National Music Academy of Ukraine as a pianist under the guidance of prof. Natalia Tolpygo and as a composer, guided by Iryna Aleksiychuk. Since 2015 she continued her piano studies under prof. Ralf Nattkemper in High School of Music and Theater Hamburg. Now she studies with prof. Stepan Simonian in Hamburg as well as in Graz with prof. Dr. Milana Chernyavska. Maria Narodytska is supported by Vere Music Fund since 2021. Participating in numerous master courses, Maria had a chance to take lessons from Daniel Pollack, Lily Dorfman, Andrzej Jasinski, Lev Natochenny, Grigory Gruzman, Mikhail Arkadev, Akiko Ebi, Olga Kern.

David Fiedler, violinist

GOLD AWARD RECIPIENT - 2021

David Fiedler has had a long career as a violinist on both coasts as well as in the Midwest. Formerly concertmaster of the South Dakota Symphony and first violinist of the Dakota String Quartet, he currently resides in New York's Hudson Valley, where he performs often with the Hudson Valley String Quartet and the Hudson Vally Philharmonic. Teaching is also an important part of David's musical life. A faculty member of SUNY Dutchess, he is also very active as a private teacher in schools and communities around the Hudson Valley. Both as a performer and as a teacher, David's approach to music is one of fostering a personal connection to the music being experienced either as a listener or as a player.