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Students Capture Awards in 2009 Duquesne Young Artist National Competition
In March 2009, several Preparatory School pianists took honors at the Duquesne Young Artist Competition held at Duquesne University's Mary Pappert School of Music in Pittsburgh, Pa. Suvir Mirchandani won second prize in the 6 to 9 category, Solo Piano Division. Rishi Mirchandani captured first prize in the 10 to 12 category, Solo Piano Division. The brothers, both students of Luz Manriquez, were awarded certificates and cash prizes.
Niles Brandon, student of Mineko Avery, won second prize inthe 16 to 18 Solo Piano Division. Kathryn Feczko, student of Mary Beth Schotting, captured first prize in the 16 to 18 Solo Strings Division. The Winners’ Recital took place on March 7 at PNC Bank Recital Hall. Suvir Mirchandani performed Chopin’s Waltz in A minor, Rishi Mirchandani performed Haydn’s Sonata No. 3, first movement, and Niles Brandon performed Debussy’s Prelude.
Violinist Kathryn Feczko performed Bach’s Adagio in G minor.
Pittsburgh Piano Teachers Association Competition Results
Roy Wang, student of Jeff Harris, won second prize in the Elementary Solo Competition of the Pittsburgh Piano Teachers Association. Joie Feng, student of Tina Faigen, won third prize in the same competition.
Four Music Preparatory School pianists won solo opportunities with area orchestras.
Melissa Zhou, a freshman at North Allegheny High School,performed MacDowell’s Piano Concerto No. 2 with the Pittsburgh Symphony Orchestra in Heinz Hall on November 11, 12, and 14, 2008.
Michelle Sunjoo Lee, a ninth grader at North Allegheny High School, captured first place in the McKeesport Symphony Orchestra Young Artists’ Competition. On March 14, 2009, Lee was a soloist on Mozart’s K. 414 in A Major piano concerto with the McKeesport Symphony as the Young Artists Competition winner. She also was awarded a $200 savings bond.
Stacey Chen,a recent graduate of North Allegheny High School,won a solo engagement with the Pittsburgh Civic Orchestra. On March 28, 2009, Chen played Shostakovich’s Piano Concerto No. 2, Op.102in Upper St. Clair’s High School Theater. Chen is pursuing a bachelor’s degree at Yale University in New Haven, Connecticut.
Praveen Tummalapalli was the featured soloist at the Three Rivers Young Peoples’ Orchestra (TRYPO) concert on May 9, 2009 in Oakland’s Soldiers and Sailors Memorial Hall. Praveen performed Kabalasky’s Piano Concerto (Youth). All of the pianists are students of Professor Hanna Li.
Pianist performs in Steinway Young Artist Program
Pianist Kathryn Lin, a student of Jeff Harris in the Preparatory School, was selected by audition along with other students to participate in the Steinway Young Artist Program sponsored by Trombino Piano Gallerie. As a result of her selection, Lin performed a small recital in the lobby of Heinz Hall on Friday, Feb. 27 prior to the Pittsburgh Symphony concert featuring Brahms’ Concerto in D minor.
Lin also won second prize in the Streator/Smith Memorial Award Competition sponsored by the Greater Pittsburgh chapter of the Pennsylvania Music Teachers Association. The prize came with a cash award and the opportunity to perform in recital.
Preparatory School Pianists Sweep World Piano Competition
Thirteen talented students from the Music Preparatory School captured top honors at the 53rd World Piano Competition in Cincinnati, Ohio held in July 2009. Students competed with children from across the globe in 12 levels to receive gold, silver and bronze medals. Of the 13 winners, 11 are graduates of the School's Beginning Piano for Children class taught by Carnegie Mellon piano majors in conjunction with the School of Music's piano pedagogy program. The young pianists competed in either a concerto or solo setting, performing the work of such renowned composers as Chopin, Beethoven and Shostakovich. An international jury of three judges selected the winners based on performance.
Winners of the 2009 World Piano Competition include:
* Tara Lee, age 14 – 9th level, Bronze Medal * Michelle Lee, age 15 – 9th level, Silver Medal * Joy Hou, age 15 – 9th level, Bronze Medal * Katherine Zhou, age 14 – 8th level, Silver Medal * William Lu, age 10 – 5th level, Gold Medal * Christina Cho, age 12 – 5th level, Silver Medal * Sebastian Ojeda, age 11 – 5th level, Bronze Medal * Sabine Gross, age 10 – 4th level, Bronze Medal * Savannah Chae, age 11 – 4th level, Gold Medal * Byron Li, age 10 – 3rd level, Silver Medal * Hanam Yoon, age 9 – 2nd level, Silver Medal * Erin Kim, age 9 – 2nd level, Bronze Medal * Yosen Wang, age 9 – 1st level, Bronze Medal
All winners received a cash prize based on their medal and will be featured in a recital in New York's Carnegie Hall. Hanna Li, professor of piano and director of the Preparatory School's piano program, has taken students to the competition for more than three decades and is chairman of the competition's eastern region. Fellow teachers Tanya Gelman, Sun-Young Kim and Luz Manriquez also sent students to perform. "The students work tremendously hard to achieve these results. All of our young pianists were highly motivated and played very well," said Manriquez, also an Associate Teaching Professor in Coaching and Accompanying.
Archived News
The Carnegie Mellon Preparatory Violin Choir
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