FESTIVAL COMPETITION
MEET THE SEMI-FINALISTS
Hear them perform on our YouTube Channel this weekend!
April 10th @ 12:00pm EST — PIANO
April 10th @ 6:00pm EST — VOICE (Classical & Musical Theatre)
April 11th @ 11:00am EST — VIOLIN, VIOLA & GUITAR
April 11th @ 2:00pm EST — CLARINET & SAXOPHONE
April 11th @ 5:00pm EST — ANNOUNCEMENTS — Find out who will be performing on the Finalist’s Recital scheduled for April 25th
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Links will be available soon
AGE DIVISION 5-9
Alina Lou, piano
Alina Luo, 5 years old, is now a kindergartener in Okemos, Michigan. She had her first violin lesson 20 days before her 3-year birthday, and is now studying violin with Dr. Susanne Garber. She began her piano studies when she was four and half years old with Dr. Gerardo Ascheri. The pandemic started when she turned 5, but it didn't stop her joining competitions online. She won first place in the Little Mozarts 2020 International Competition (violin), and the second place in the Crescendo International Music Competition 2020 (violin), both of them providing her with an opportunity to perform in Carnegie Hall. Other than music, she enjoys ice skating, skiing, reading, and travelling. She looks forward to travelling to various places in the world to perform in the future.
Han Li, piano
Han is 8 years old, and is a third grade student. She loves music, painting and horses. She lives in Bothell, a beautiful city, not far from Seattle.
Yufeng Xu, violin
Yufeng Xu, a 2nd Grader from Michigan, has been playing violin since age 6. He has shown great passion and exhibits great patience on playing violin. He enjoys sharing his music on stage and family time. He also shows his kindness all the time to his schoolmates and friends. In his spare time, he enjoys reading, basketball and skiing.
Molly Xie, violin
At age 4, Molly Xie started studying violin with Dr. Christina McGann.
Age 10-13 Division
Agnes Nguyen, piano
Agnes Nguyen is 13 years old and is in 8th grade at Meadow Park Middle School. She plays clarinet in her band and has been playing piano for 9 years now. She has participated in Oregon Music Teachers Association festivals, including the Junior Festival and Classical and Romantic Festivals. She was the recipient of the Dottie Lambertson Merit Award by the Piano Santa Foundation in 2019.
Isabel Yang, piano
My name is Isabel. I am 11 years old. I played piano for seven years. My favorite composer is Bach. My favorite activity is dancing. I also like to sing. I have a little brother named Felix who is 8 years old. He also plays piano. Sometimes I teach him piano and music theory. I have lots of friends that plays piano.
Louisa Valentina Schewe, violin
Born in Munich, Germany, lives in Westerrönfeld, Schleswig-Holstein. Started to play the violin at the age of 6 with Ralf Kröger. First Prizes in several local competitions. Master classes with Maria Egelhof (Lübeck, Germany) and Luz Leskowitz (Salzburg, Austria). Member of the Fanny Mendelssohn Junior Orchestra in Hamburg, Germany.
Sonya Wert, guitar
Sonya is twelve years old and a sixth grader. She has been playing the guitar for six years with Jeremy Collins and Jim McCutcheon. In 2019 she placed first at the Boston Guitarfest competition in youth junior division. She placed third in that same competition in 2018. She has opened for the Beijing Guitar Duo at the Cincinnati Guitar Society as a soloist and as a duo with her duet partner. She has enjoyed playing multiple times at the Cincinnati Nature Center. She has performed in masterclasses with Martha Masters, Thomas Viloteau, and Mak Grgic. In 2020, she was a competitor in the Guitar Foundation of America youth junior division competition.
Joy Liang, piano
Joy, who is from the Seattle, Washington area, plays both the piano and violin. She started learning how to play the piano when she was six years old. Joy started learning the violin in the summer of 2018. In her spare time, Joy likes to read, draw, and fold origami.
Sonya Wert & Beckett Ceron, guitar duo
Sonya and Beckett began playing classical guitar duos in 2018, expanding on their solo studies under teacher Jeremy Collins. They have had the honor of opening for the Bejing Duo’s 2019 Cincinnati performance, completed a master class with GFA winner, Thomas Viloteau and have played a number of engagements at The Cincinnati Nature Center. Both Sonya and Beckett are 6th graders and have their sites on completing an album of duo work in the near future.
Louisa Marie Cordes, violin
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. Louisa did a few Regional Competition and had two Master Classes, one with Lutz Leskowitz and one with Prof. Maria Egelhof. From October 2019 till June 2020 Louisa was at the Network of the YARO (Young Academy Rostock) at the HTM Rostock in the violin class of Prof. Christiane Hutcap.
Now Louisa has also lessons with Prof. Axel Strauss from Montreal, Canada.
Louisa Marie Cordes & Alina Han, violin & piano duo
Alina Han is born May 5th, 2009 in Shanghai. She started leaning Piano when she was 6 years old. After she learnt piano at Mr. Reiner Schelski at Music School Rendsburg, Germany, for two years, she changed 2017 to private piano school Marina Dethlefsen in Kiel. During the years she won many times first prize at regional competition Jugend musiziert and other musical competition for solo, duo and trio. In addition, she started leaning violin at the school in 2019 and changed to Mr. Ralf Kröger in 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. Louisa did a few Regional Competition and had two Master Classes, one with Lutz Leskowitz and one with Prof. Maria Egelhof. From October 2019 till June 2020 Louisa was at the Network of the YARO (Young Academy Rostock) at the HTM Rostock in the violin class of Prof. Christiane Hutcap. Now Louisa has also lessons with Prof. Axel Strauss from Montreal, Canada.
Together they started as a Duo in September 2019.
Age 14-18 Division
Emily Cheng, saxophone
Emily Cheng, a senior at Newark Memorial High School, has been playing the saxophone since age 12. She has played in groups such as California Youth Symphony and Mission Peak Wind Symphony as well as Nor-Cal Honor Band. She plans on continuing to play the saxophone in college and staying involved in her school’s NMHS Cougar Pride Band. Besides music, Emily leads the Acts of Random Kindness Club, plays tennis, and is very active among other school clubs. With any extra time left over, she can be found in the kitchen cooking or baking something delicious!
Elijah Reyes, saxophone
Elijah Reyes is a first year education major at San Jose State University under the guidance of Dr. Michael Hernandez.
Caleb Emmett, saxophone
Caleb has been playing the alto saxophone since the age of 7. He is currently a freshman in high school in Fremont, CA and plays in his high school orchestra as well as in the traditional jazz band. He is an honors student, plays baseball and enjoys playing his saxophone for friends and family.
Sophia Molina, violin
Sophia Molina is a young violinist from Miami, Florida. She started her musical journey at the age of 4 when she first saw a youth orchestra. With a growing passion for music, she managed to rapidly advance in her studies.
At age 6, she joined the Greater Miami Youth Symphony and for the following 10 years she moved through their 4 ensembles, winning the Concerto competitions for both Concert and Symphony orchestras. She had the opportunity to perform at Carnegie Hall as one of the winners of the American Protege International Concerto Competition and was selected as a finalist for “From The Top”. Additionally, she has garnered top prizes at several competitions, including Young Arts, The New World School of the Arts Concerto Competition, The Alhambra Orchestra Concerto Competition, MTNA Florida state concerto competition, and several others.
In the summer of 2019, she performed again at Carnegie Hall, the Royal Albert Hall and some other important venues in Europe as part of the National Youth Orchestra of the United States - NYO. The following summer, she attended the Heifetz International Music Institute and had the opportunity to study with many renowned musicians, including Ivan Chan, Mark Kaplan, Olga Kaler, Francesca de Pasquale, and Elmar Oliveira.
Sophia is currently a private student of the renowned violinist and educator, Charles Castleman, and has attended the Castleman Quartet program over the past 3 years. She is a Senior at the New World School of Arts, where she studies with Huifang Chen and is currently the concertmaster of the NWSA High School Orchestra. Additionally, she also studies privately with violinist Miclen LaiPang, who currently resides in Germany.
In addition to her solo and orchestra performances, Sophia is passionate about Chamber Music and was involved with Miami Youth for Chamber Music (MyCM). With her quartet, she plays at various community events. She is also a founding member of the Superpower of ME, a local non-profit that provides instruments and music scholarships for local students.
Melissa Hecker, soprano
CLASSICAL & MUSICAL THEATRE VOICE
Melissa Hecker is a Year 4 student in School of the Arts, Singapore. She started voice lessons at age 8, and was a member of the Singapore Lyric Opera Children's Choir for the last 8 years, participating in Singapore Lyric Opera's production of Pagliacci and Turandot as part of the children's ensemble.
As a member of New Opera Singapore, she played the role of Cobweb in their production of A Midsummer's Night's Dream in 2019.
Adult Amateur Division
José de Jesús Castro Castro, guitar
Born in Jalisco Mexico, he is a graduate of the Zapopan music school, he is currently preparing for his admission to a degree in performing music in the music department of the University of Colima. He began his guitar studies in 2011 at the age of 10 with Winy Kellner and three years later he had lessons with Rodolfo Smith until the summer of 2020, as of August he has had lessons with Roy Pérez. As a student at the Zapopan music school, he participated in several recitals either as a soloist or in chamber groups.
Suzanne Nash, clarinet
Suzanne is a native Detroiter and proud product of the Detroit Public School System. She took clarinet lessons with then DSO bass clarinetist, Oliver Green while attending Cass Tech high school and then took a 32-year sabbatical from the instrument while pursuing a career in Clinical Engineering.
Suzanne eventually took her clarinet out of moth balls and joined Birmingham Concert Band, a local community band. That first step opened the door to the first audition of her life, at the ripe age of 54, for a spot with a local community orchestra, the Orchard Lake Philharmonic (OLP), and continued with a run of firsts: duets for Farmington Hills Festival of the Arts and Grosse Pointe Chamber Music, Interlochen Adult Music Camps, fun with the DSO’s Wu Family Academy adult music groups, Skype lessons, and a first ever orchestra solo with OLP in 2019 – age undisclosed!
For the past year Suzanne has continued to interact with her musician friends by playing collaborations over Acapella and working with young clarinet students of Crescendo Detroit over Zoom.
A big thank you to Progressive Musicians hosting this competition, and especially for having a competition category for Adult Amateurs – you have provided us an outlet to continue to improve and challenge ourselves to reach outside our comfort zones.
Julian Salazar, saxophone
Julian Salazar is a classical saxophonist based in the San Francisco Bay Area. As a child, Salazar was afforded the unique opportunity to study in a rigorous training program with critically acclaimed soprano saxophonist, Michael Hernandez at the
Rosie’s House Music Academy, one of the nation’s largest tuition free afterschool music programs designed for disadvantaged youth. While a student he was selected to open for American composer Philip Glass as part of the 2015 Beyond Series at Grady
Gammage Auditorium, Salazar was also invited to perform for the Leadership Council of the National Endowment of the Arts, as well as Phoenix Symphony’s Trio Gala. Julian has appeared with the National Music Festival Orchestra, The Mana Saxophone
Institute Orchestra, The Cabrillo Music Festival, and the Phoenix Symphony Guild. Recent concert highlights include performances at the Center for New Music in San Francisco, Mesa Arts Center, Tempe Historical Museum, Seattle Public Library, Bainbridge Island Museum of Art, and Phoenix’s Symphony Hall. Salazar has been
broadcasted on Maryland’s WTCR, Seattle’s King FM, and Phoenix’s NBC channel 12 News. Julian’s additional saxophone studies include masterclass performances with Wildy Zumwalt, Thomas Amos Giles, Dannel Espinoza and Diane Hunger. Julian currently resides in San Jose where he is concertmaster of the SJSU Sax
Chamber Orchestra, and soprano saxophonist of the award winning Zēlos Quartet. Zēlos recently won first place at the California State Round of MTNA, Southwest Region of MTNA, and Grand Prize at the 2018 Francis Walton Chamber Music Competition. Zēlos has toured extensively in Washington, California, New York and Arizona.
Iris Prcic, soprano
Iris Prcic, soprano, is known for her rich eastern European color and signature arias, Mesicku na nebi, from Dvorak’s Opera, Rusalka and Daleko je moj Split from Ivo Tijardovic’s, Mala Floramye. She is of Serbian and Bosnian heritage. Currently, she is a cantor at St. Valentine’s church in Bloomfield, New Jersey and a section leader at The Armenian Presbyterian Church in Paramus, New Jersey. She has sung in New Jersey, New York, California, Macedonia, Serbia and in Italy. She was a guest soloist at the World Federation for Chess Composition in 2016 & 2018 which was held in Serbia and Macedonia.
Her opera credits include singing with the New York Lyric Opera Theater in the role of Donna Elvira. Meche Kroop from Voce di Meche said this about Ms. Prcic’s performance of Donna Elvira: “There is a steely core to her tone that made her just right for the role. The difficult "Mi tradi" with its wide skips was well handled." Ms. Prcic previously sang with the company for a gala concert in November of 2015 at Weil Hall. She was a Riverside Opera Company audition winner in 2017 and sang in their annual Popera 2017 concert with the Richmond County Orchestra under maestro, Alan Aurelia.
Ms. Prcic regularly performs with Le voci internazionali, a New Jersey based performance group under musical director, Patrizia Cioffi, who is also her voice teacher of over twenty-five years.
Marie-Claire Giraud, soprano
Marie-Claire is more than an opera singer, more than a jazz crooner, more than an actress.
She is the embodiment of a true renaissance creative- showing strength and finesses in several creative spheres. She successfully combined Hip-Hop beats with operatic vocals to create her hybrid sound- HipHopera. The contralto singer has also captivated jazz aficionados with her smooth renditions of timeless standards and her original work. A consummate live entertainer, she is now immersing herself fin the live theater scene where her acting and musical talents shine brightly.
Raised in the Bronx New York, this Caribbean gem made her musical debut at Carnegie Hall with the New York Grand Opera Company in the role of Maddalena from Verdi’s Rigoletto. Since then, she has had further operatic performances with New York Dramatic Voices, Opera Susquehanna, and National Opera Center as well as private and charitable engagements.
She has performed at the United Nations, Barclays Center (performing the Star Spangled Banner), Central Park Summer Stage and international events to include Jamaica Jazz and Blues Festival, Ocho Rios Jazz Festival (Jamaica), Cartagena Jazz Festival (Colombia) and Creole in the Park in her native Dominica.
Marie-claire has had notable performances at small intimate venues to include Louisiana’s famed Preservation Hall alongside the Preservation Hall All-Stars, Washington D.C;s Blues Alley and Farafina Lounge in Harlem. She is a regular performer at notable New York City musical landmarks Omar’s, Smalls Café, and Joes Pub, even curating special events such as 2019’s ‘from the deep river to mood indigo’ which was held at Joes Pub.
A fearless experimenter, Marie-Claire has explored her various musical influences and had notable collaborations with Reggae superstar Spragga Benz (“Rastaman Chant”) and Hip-Hop act Rob $tone on whose “Chill Bill” she was featured. Their work was a part of RCA/Sony’s Out of the Comfort Zone video series. In 2010, she released her reggae-influenced EP dreamland.
Marie-Claire has also inspired other creative and in 2011, the late iconic Jamaican singer/songwriter Bob Andy wrote especially for her the song “constella- tion.” In 2017, Pulitzer Prize-winning John Harbison composed a four-song cycle for marie-claire to which she added lyrics and melody.
Although she made her acting debut in the 1995 movie Lovin’ Jezebel and had a short stint on Chapelle’s Show in 2004, it was not till 2017, that marie-claire fully immersed herself in acting. She made her off-Broadway debut in the play Mothers (Kraine Theater) and has had roles in others to include Rio Uphill (York Theatre), The Assassination of J. Kaissar, The Fall of Marco T. and Kleopatra and The Rise of Octavis (Theater For The New City), Resurrection (American Theatre of Actors) and Gypsy (HB Studio).
Over the years, Marie-Claire has supported charitable causes and events in New York and in the Caribbean and has been recognized for her musical talent and community efforts by reputable organizations to include the NAACP, Caribbean American Heritage Month, the United Nations and the New York State Senate.
With the onset of the COVID-19 pandemic, like many in the creative space, marie-claire is tapping into various virtual platforms and further expanding her reach. In June 2020, she took part in Generation Next by Angel Joy Blue, which highlighted rising stars in Opera- an event shared on Facebook and YouTube. Due to its cancellation, marie-claire was unable to debut in the Tennessee Williams play Hello Bertha as. Ever the optimist, she is keeping busy with weekly performances at West Side Variety, and Dante’s in the West Village and looks forward to joining other frontline workers in Brave Hearts for Broadway- an online concert benefiting the Actors Fund which takes place in September 2020. You’ve been introduced to marie-claire plus- singer, actor and entertainer extraordinaire. Always expect to get a little more than you bargained for from this renaissance star just bursting with talent.
Collegiate Division
The Venus Quartet
Agata Miłoś, Alicja Poręba, Malwina Miękoś, & Kajetan Kosiec
The quartet was established in Lodz in 2019 and is created by the violinists: Agata Miłoś and Alicja Poręba, the violist - Malwina Miękoś and the cellist - Kajetan Kosiec.
All of them are students of Academy of Music in Lodz in class mgr Sławomira Wilga.
Venus String Quartet received many awards in countries such as Serbia, Russia, Turkey, Ukraine, Poland, Italy.
Ana Belén Castro Castro, violin
Violinist originally from Guadalajara Jalisco, performer-oriented music bachelor student at the University of Guadalajara, is part of a piano trio.
She began her studies in violin at the School of Music of Zapopan under the tutelage of Ysaí Cárdenas, from 2012-2015 she studied music technician at UDG and at the same time complemented her violin studies with professor Nicolás Corrales. In 2016 she began the career she is currently studying, from that same year she was a student of teacher Christopher Wilshere, in August 2020 she began studying with teacher Perla del Rocío Fernández.
Complementing her training she has participated in various festivals and courses, such as; Disciplinary orientation course given by the José White Quartet (2014), Lake Festival (2018 and 2019), Formandi Festival (2019), Baroque music performance course directed by Heriberto Delgado (2019), Sa´Oaxaca Festival (2020) , FESMO (2020). She has been part of several chamber music groups such as the Ripiendo ensemble and the string ensemble of the Zapopan School of Music, she has made violin and piano duets with the pianists Vanesa Briseño and Rosa María Navarro, she was part of the zapopan youth symphony orchestra as well as a violin teacher at the Zapopan Music School.
As a soloist, he had the opportunity to participate with the Zapopan Chamber Orchestra (Vivaldi, RV 580) and the Tuxpan Chamber Orchestra (Vivaldi RV 580 and RV 522).
Her focuses are professional study as an instrumentalist, promoting the study of music and playing chamber music.
Ysanne Webb, clarinet
As a Lubbock native, Ysanne Webb has been building their solo career as a musician in 2009. Ysanne began her musical education at Ed Irons Middle School, continuing to Coronado High School and is currently in her fifth year as a Performance Major at Texas Tech University. During her time at TTU, Ysanne has taken part in all top ensembles, performing works like The Rite of Spring, Pictures at an Exhibition, and more. Ysanne also has experience with the TTU opera ensemble playing in Mozart's Magic Flute, and with the Lubbock Symphony Orchestra on Tchaikovsky's The Nutcracker. After completing her performance degree at Texas Tech, Ysanne plans on pursuing further education in the field of Clarinet Performance.
David Cortez, saxophone
David Cortez is a native of Corona, California and currently studies Saxophone Performance at San Jose State University under Dr. Michael Hernandez.
This past season, David was invited to join the Mana Chamber Players as well as Chamber Music Silicon Valley’s Emerging Artist Fellowship Program. Recent engagements include featured solos with Santa Cruz Symphony, Chamber Music Silicon Valley, Echo Orchestra, Resound Ensemble, San Jose Chamber Orchestra Gala and Contra Costa Orchestra.
Currently David plays soprano saxophone in the Zēlos Quartet, recent winners of both the California State and the Southwest Region MTNA Chamber Winds Competition. As Grand Prize Winners of the Frances Walton Competition, Zēlos toured the greater Puget Sound area, which included 15 concerts as well as playing live on Classical KING FM. Upcoming performances include tours in New York and Arizona.
Rosa Navvaro, piano
I started learning piano at 12, under the tutelage of Raquel Gonzalez. between 2013 and 2016, I study Técnico en Música un Universidad de Guadalajara. At 20, I continued studying with Ernesto Tonatiuh Gonzalez and finish a B.A. in Music Performance in Universidad de Guadalajara.
I have been in courses as Formandi Music Festival, Curso Intensivo de Piano Musikeon 2020, Curso de Interpretación de Música Barroca by Heriberto Delgado and Curso para Pianistas Acompañantes y Música de Cámara by Edith Ruiz.
Professional Division
Lyra Carmer, guitar
Lyra Carmer is a classical guitarist living in Lincoln City, Oregon. As a long time advocate for lgbt and women's voices, she has performed and recorded for womens' and lgbt events, as well as radio shows, guitar concert cycles, podcasts, and she was even featured in an issue of The Oregon Coast Times. Lyra's unique playing style was born from disabillity that caused her to be missing several fingers. She has been referred to as "the Django [Reinhardt] of classical guitar" by her online supporters and teachers. In addition to playing concerts she has played for many incredible guitarists such as Tariq Harb, Jorge Cabellero, Peter Zisa, Cameron o'Conner, and Thomas Wheeler. Her playing is expressive, and singing, and her interperations bring a new view to many pieces of the classical guitar's beloved repertiore. Throughout her career she has arranged numerous pieces by Mahler, J.S. Bach, Beethoven, Mozart, Chopin, and many more. She also composes and releases new guitar music which is full of rich harmonies, and musical colors.
Judith Klins, viola
Born In Leipzig 1971, moved to Berlin, grew up and studied there at Universität der Künste with Hans Joachim Greiner and Hochschule für Musik "Hanns Eisler" with Erich Krüger, employed as Viola Tutti in Schleswig-Holsteiner Landestheater und Symphonieorchester 1998-2002,, Augsburger Philharmoniker 2002-2006, moved to South Africa in 2006, played for Johannesburg Philharmonic Orchestra and Gauteng Philharmonic Orchestra, numerous small Ensembles, a lot of recordings and session work, chamber music, took part in the Wakkerstroom Music Festival twice with solo reciitals, played solo in 2016 (Sinfonia Concertante in Johannesburg and Nelspruit), and 2018 ( Telemann Viola Concerto in Pretoria), relocated to Germany in 2020.
Hsiao-Ju Chen, clarinet
A native of Taiwan, Hsiao-Ju Chen began her music training at the age of 13. She holds the Bachelor of Music in Clarinet Performance at Soochow University (SCU) in Taiwan. During her time at SCU, she featured the soloist in Weber Concertino for Clarinet with SCU Wind Ensemble. Ms. Chen was also an active performer in other top ensembles at SCU. In the year of 2011 and 2014, Ms. Chen attended the prestigious ClariArte Festival held by Vienna Clarinet Connection and was selected as one of the few soloists to perform publicly two times. Ms. Chen pursued her Master of Music in Clarinet Performance at University of North Texas (UNT), where she studied with Dr. Kimberly Luevano. She was involved in several recording sessions with the UNT Symphony Wind Ensemble. In 2018, she made it to the semi-finials in the Young Texas Artists Music Competitions. Ms. Chen is currently pursuing her doctoral degree in Clarinet at Texas Tech University (TTU), where she studies both clarinet performance and pedagogy with Dr. David Shea. While holding a full teaching assistantship at TTU, she has also been involved in the performance of many prestigious classical works, for instance, the Prokofiev Symphony No. 5, with Lubbock Symphony Orchestra. After the completion of the doctoral degree, Ms. Chen plans to start a career as a clarinet educator and performer in the U.S. and Asia, where she desires to use her knowledge and experiences to inspire exchange programs in clarinet.Hsiao-Ju Chen is current a Clarinet doctoral teaching assistant student in Texas Tech University. She hoed a Master of Music degree in University of North Texas, where she was a student of Kimberly Luevano.
Maiko Saski, clarinet
Fulfilling a childhood dream, Dr. Maiko Sasaki, a clarinetist, enjoys her professional career as a solo/chamber/orchestra musician. Dr. Sasaki plays in prestigious orchestras such as River Oaks Chamber Orchestra, Opera in the Heights, Gilbert & Sullivan Society of Houston, Chamber Orchestra of San Antonio. She has also been featured in many chamber concerts such as the Kennedy Center Conservatory Project, the ROCO Connection Series, Musiqa, and Take Five -- a Houston Symphony’s outreach program to just name a few. Growing up in Japan, Dr. Sasaki is reserved, kind, and friendly in person, yet dynamic and expressive on stage. Sydney Boyd, a critic in Houston, describes Dr. Sasaki’s performance “The clarinet solo in Act Two was exquisite and full of the overwhelming emotion vivid throughout the libretto and score, adding, almost inconceivably, to Violetta’s heartbreaking plea “Love me as much as I love you!”. For her passionate and inspiring performances, she has been awarded the Presser Music Award which is given to an artist demonstrating excellence and outstanding promise for a distinguished career in the field of music. She made a Carnegie Hall debut in 2020.
Since 2011, Dr. Sasaki has co-founded an ensemble “MATIMA” with pianist Dr. Makiko Hirata. Its mission is to promote music as a universal language to help us transcend our differences through a communal sensory experience. Their programs and events are always socially relevant, focused on shared experiences, rather than the traditional ritualistic presentation, and designed to delight their audiences. Through her collaboration with Dr. Hirata, Dr. Sasaki was inspired to release an album “The Greener Grass” which features her original transcriptions for clarinet of many beloved masterpieces, such as Debussy & Franck Violin Sonatas, without compromising the charm of the original compositions. For her unique contribution to the body of clarinet literature and their collaborative artistry, MATIMA was invited to perform as guest artists at the International Clarinet Association’s ClarinetFest 2015 in Madrid, Spain. In MATIMA’s latest album “100 Years: Early Beethoven and Late Brahms,” two musical doctors from Rice University show their profound understanding of music and give fresh viewpoints on those great composers’ masterpieces over the centuries.
Beyond Dr. Sasaki’s talents as a musician, Dr. Sasaki also excels in the full scope of musical producing as well as graphic design, audio engineering, computer technique, etc. Her latest project is a Karaoke Clarinet youtube channel where she performs with accompaniment apps and tracks as well as her own arrangements for clarinet. https://www.youtube.com/channel/UCM9M7rvhfsG9L0ViKPxXWdA
Jamie Loftus, piano
I'm a British pianist who graduated with a Master’s cum laude at the Estonian Academy of Music and Theatre, studying under prof. Peep Lassmann, a student of the legendary Russian pianist Emil Gilels. I am humbled to have received 2nd Prize at the Grand Prize Virtuoso International Music Competition 2020, 2nd Prize at the Callegaro International Piano Competition 2020, 2nd Prize at the Progressive Musicians Online Classics Competition, 3rd Prize at the 5th ODIN International Music Online Competition 2020, and 3rd prize at the Theodor Stein Piano Competition 2019. I've given recitals as a soloist, chamber musician and accompanist in the UK, Finland, Estonia, Latvia, Lithuania and Spain, with a recording featured on Latvian state TV channel LTV1.
Junwen Liang, piano
Chinese-born pianist Junwen Liang began his piano studies at 9 and made his solo debut at 13. He earned Bachelor of Music in Piano Performance at Ithaca College, where he was granted full scholarship, and Master of Music at Indiana University Jacobs School of Music along with his appointment of Associate Instructor in Piano. Junwen has performed in major cities from China, Canada and the United States. His achievements include the most recent two-time concert appearances at Carnegie Hall and Kimmel Center in Philadelphia, as well as public broadcast as soloist to perform Prokofiev Third Piano Concerto with Ithaca College Orchestra on WSKG radio in New York State. He was also invited to participate in music festivals such as: Lunigiana International Music Festival, Baltimore International Piano Festival, Philadelphia Young Pianists’ Academy, Orford Musique, Art of the Piano at CCM and Aspen Music Festival; and won major prizes in multiple competitions such as: Nouvelles Etoiles International Music Competition (France), Juliusz Zarębski International Piano Competition (Poland), New York International Piano Competition, Chopin International Piano Competition in Hartford and Crescendo International Music Competition. Junwen is currently pursuing Doctoral of Musical Arts degree at Penn State, where he serves as Graduate Teaching Assistant in Piano and studies with Christopher Guzman. His other mentors include Charis Dimaras, Edward Auer and Roberto Plano; as well as additional summer studies with Gabriel Chodos and Gary Graffman. Junwen’s future concert engagements feature concerto performances with Penn State Philharmonic Orchestra and “Bright Bow” String Ensemble Orchestra from Russia.
Christina Brandt, soprano
Lyric soprano Christina Brandt is an emerging professional with a deep love for transporting her audience with emotion and finesse.
Her roles include Second Lady in Die Zauberflöte with Brigham Young University and Manhattan Opera Studio, Madame Lidione in Dialogues des Carmélites with La Musica Lirica, and Rosalinda in Die Fledermaus with Brigham Young University - Idaho.
Recently, Christina received an Honorable Mention from The Progressive Musicians Online Classics Competition - Professional Division.
Christina graduated with her Master of Music from Brigham Young University in 2020 studying with Robert Brandt (no relation). She received her Bachelor of Musical Arts from Brigham Young University - Idaho in 2012 and studied with Jon Linford and Kristine Ciesinski.
Mhathung Odyuo, baritone
I am Mhathung Odyuo from India (Nagaland), Presently residing and studying Church Music at Singapore bible college since 2017. Before coming to Singapore, I was studying secular studies. I completed my graduation with a Bachelor of Commerce. I started music quite late as my parents do not want me to go to music studies.
Before coming to Singapore, I went to south India in 2010 for music studies had my basic foundation in singing from Chennai, India.
I love to sing and always wanted to go to a Conservatory and study vocal music, but I did not have the opportunity to have proper guidance and financial support. So I ended up at Singapore Bible College, and right now, I am persuading my final semester Master in Church Music (Ministry leadership), and Voice is my elective subject.