Lucas Amory
A music-lover from an early age, the 8-year-old Lucas Amory was published in the New York Times when he sent chief critic Anthony Tommasini his personal lists of the ten greatest composers and his ten favorite ones. Now a senior at Stuyvesant High School, Lucas is also enrolled at Juilliard's Pre-College program, where he is a student of Julian Martin. A 2020 National YoungArts Foundation Finalist in Classical Music, Lucas is also the winner of both the 2019 Lyra Music Young Artists Competition and the 2019 Claudette Sorel Piano Competition, and has also received prizes from the 92nd St. Y Concerto Competition, the Stony Brook International Competition, and the Bravura Philharmonic Concerto Competition. He has performed at the 92nd St. Y, Weill Recital Hall, and multiple times at Alice Tully Hall. He has collaborated with distinguished artists such as Bruce Adolphe and the Escher Quartet. In his off time, he co-directs the Bach to BACH Project in Lower New York, conducts, and enjoys ping-pong and chess.
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Caleb Borick
Caleb Borick, seventeen, studies with Dr. Joseph Rackers. Caleb has won numerous awards and scholarships including the Grand Prize in the 2014 Philadelphia International Music Festival’s Concerto Competition, third place in the 2017 MTNA Nationals Junior Division, first place in the 2017 Ronald Sachs International Music Competition, second place in the 2017 International Institute for Young Musicians International Piano Competition, first place in the 2017 SCGSAH Junior Artist Piano Competition, first place in the 2018 Steinway & Sons Junior Piano Competition, first place 2019 MTNA Senior Division for SC, second place, young jury and best solo 2019 Arthur Frasier International Piano Competition, fifth place 2019 International e-Piano Junior Competition, and National YoungArts Finalist winning both a level one prize plus a U.S. Presidential Scholar in the Arts nomination.
Caleb has been the featured soloist with multiple orchestras including, the Charleston Symphony Youth Orchestra, the Greater New Orleans Youth Orchestra for their 20th Anniversary East Coast Tour to Carnegie Hall, and The Charleston Symphony Orchestra. He has appeared on WPR’s The Midday with Norman Gilliland, KPR’s Classical Music in the Morning with Michael Keelan, and on NPR’s From The Top Episode # 320.
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Josephine Chou
Josephine Chou is a junior at Saratoga High School and currently studies with Professor Hans Boepple. She has garnished top prizes at numerous competitions including Arthur Fraser International Piano Competition, Seattle International Piano Competition, San Jose International Piano Competition, Marilyn Mindell Piano Competition, Pacific Music Society, CAPMT Concerto Competition and Honors Audition, San Francisco Chopin Competition, the MTAC Concerto Competition and Solo Competition. She made her orchestral debut at the age of nine, playing the first movement of Haydn’s Piano Concerto in D Major and the Mozart concerto no. 9 the following year, both with the Winchester Orchestra. In 2016, she performed the Chopin Concerto No. 1 with the El Camino Youth Symphony. Additionally, she received an invitation to the World Piano Talents Concert at the 2016 International Chopin Piano Festival in Poland. As part of the 2018 Interlochen Piano institute, Josephine was selected to perform in Studio A, which was later broadcasted on the Interlochen Public Radio. In addition to performing solo and with symphonies, she enjoys chamber music. She has been to Music@menlo for three summers. She is the current president of her school’s Tri-M and pianist in her school's orchestra.
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Ben Hoang
Ben Hoang, 16, had his first debut with the Austin Symphony orchestra at age 9. He has since played with the Austin Civic orchestra, Fortbend symphony and Houston symphony. Recently Ben has appeared on NPR “From The Top” show 737 and was a Discretionary Award winner at the 2019 Arthur Frazer International Piano Competition. Among his other awards are 2nd place and Chopin prize at the 2019 International Odyssiad Piano Competition, 1st place at the 2018 Walgreens National Concerto Competition, 2nd place at the 2018 Juanita Miller Concerto Competition, 2nd place at the 2018 Ohio international piano duet/duo competition, 2nd place at the 2017 HartFort Chopin International piano competition, 2017 MTNA Junior Piano Performance National Finalist, 1st place at the 2016 San Jose International Piano competition, Gold medal at the 7th and 10th International Chopin Youth Competition in Houston, 1st place at 2017 TMTA Performace contest and 2016 Baylor/Waco Young Artist piano competition. Ben was also a frequent first-place winner of the Texas State University's Young Artist Piano competition and awarded full tuition scholarship to the 7th,8th and 9th Texas State International Piano Festival. Ben is currently a student of Jed Galant and Olya Katsman.
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Rebekah Hong
Rebekah Hong, 15, is a sophomore at Amherst Regional High School. She began her study of piano at age five and has become a top prizewinner since age six. Rebekah became a student of Terry Moran in the Cleveland Institute of Music Preparatory Program in the fall of 2016. She won the Northeast Ohio MTA Buckeye Competitions in 2016, 2017, and 2018. In 2018, she won both first prize at Steinway and Sons’ Junior Piano Competition and the Honorable Mention at Lee University’s International Piano Competition. Upon moving to Amherst, MA, Rebekah has won the 2019 Windham Orchestra Concerto Competition and was featured as a soloist with the Windham Orchestra. In 2020, she performed at Carnegie Hall, selected as the first prize winner of the Crescendo International Piano Competition. Rebekah has been invited to masterclasses with Dr. Hyoung-Joon Chang, Andrew Armstrong, Pei-Chun Liao, and Cahill Smith. She has received acceptance to Lee University International Piano Festival, Green Lake Music Festival, and Bowdoin International Music Festival. In addition, Rebekah serves as a piano accompanist for her school’s choirs and her church Sunday service. She studies under Jeewon Park.
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Marco Jimenez
Marco A. Jimenez is in 11th grade and is currently homeschooled. He won the National Federation of Music Clubs Stillman Kelley Award for Piano. As a two-time winner of the Edward and Ida Wilkof Young Artists Concerto Competition, and the winner of the Justine LeBaron Young Artists Competition, Marco played with the Sarasota Orchestra and the Florida Orchestra respectively. Over the past summers, Marco attended Interlochen Center for the Arts, Boston University Tanglewood Institute (BUTI), and the Southeastern Piano Festival.
In addition to piano, Marco plays the violin and the organ, and also composes classical music. He is currently the concertmaster of the Sarasota Youth Philharmonic. Marco was named a 2020 National Young Arts winner in three disciplines: piano, composition, and organ. His compositions have won numerous awards including Honorable Mention for the ASCAP Foundation Morton Gould Young Composer Award and the Pierson Award for the National Federation of Music Clubs. Two of his compositions have been published by TrevCo. Music Publishing.
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Malvyn Lai
Malvyn Lai is a rising 10th grader from San Diego. Malvyn started piano at age 5 and currently pursues music studies under the tutelage of Prof. Ning An. At age 10, he made his orchestral debut with the Kostroma Symphony Orchestra in Russia. He has since performed with the Danube Symphony in Budapest, Hungary, Toruń Symphony Orchestra in Poland, Culver City Symphony in California, Grossmont College Symphony in San Diego, and Concert Festival Orchestra in Long Island, NY. He also received the honor of performing with the Temecula Valley Symphony three times from 2015-2017 as the winner of the Young Artist Competition. Malvyn has won many international awards and scholarships. His recent competition accomplishments include the Milton H. Saier. Memorial Award as the first place winner of the 2020 La Jolla Symphony Young Artist Competition, the 2020 California Spotlight Merit Award, first place in the 2019 OC International Steinway & Sons Competition, first place in the 2019 Parness Young Artist Competition, second place in the 2019 Lee Piano Festival Competition, first place in the Southern California Regional CAPMT Concerto competition, first place in the Statewide Steinway & Sons Young Artist Piano Competition, and first place in the Helen B. Goodlin Scholarship Competition.
Besides music, he enjoys playing sports, reading, science, and math. He has been a member of the San Diego competition math team for the American Regions Mathematics League and AIME competition since 2018.
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Sydney Levey
Sydney Levey, age 17, studies with Dr. Alex McDonald (D.M.A., Julliard) and Marcy McDonald. She has won numerous competition prizes including second prize in the Texas Music Teachers Association’s state competition, first prize in the University of Texas (Arlington) competition, first prize in the Dallas Symphonic Festival, first prize in the Steinway Piano competition, as well as other top prizes in various Dallas area competitions. She was a finalist in the SMU Institute for Young Pianists Concerto competition, and as a result performed with professional musicians, including members of the Dallas Symphony and Fort Worth Symphony orchestras. As a recent winner of the 2020 Texas State International Concerto Competition, Sydney will be performing with the Central Texas Philharmonic. She is currently a finalist in the concerto division of the Texas Music Teachers Association competition. Sydney was a semi-finalist in the Chopin Youth Competition, the San Jose International Piano Competition and the International Keyboard Odyssiad and Festival. She has been invited to play concerts with the Cantare’ Performance Choir in Texas and has accompanied choirs and performed solo works at various churches and retirement communities. Sydney is also an accomplished debater and has advanced to the national tournament multiple years.
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Charles Li
Charles Li, age 16, currently attends Lakeside High School in Evans, Georgia. At the age of 10, after winning its concerto competition in 2013, he made his orchestral debut with the Augusta Symphony. Recently, he was selected to participate in the Gina Bachauer International Young Artist Piano Competition, and has won top prizes at many renowned competitions, such as gold medal at the Manhattan International Piano Competition, first prize and audience award at the Lee International Piano Competition, first prize of the Osaka Atlanta International Piano Competition, finalist in the Ronald Sachs International Music Competition, winner of the senior division of the Georgia Music Teachers’ National Association (MTNA), and second prize in the Emory Young Artist National Piano Competition. He was awarded first-place prizes in the Georgia Music Teacher’s Association (GMTA) and Georgia Music Educator's Association (GMEA) statewide auditions since 2013, was a recipient of the Atlanta Music Club scholarship award, and has won first prize at the Atlanta Romantic and Impressionistic Competition. Over the past few summers, Charles has attended the Brevard Music Center, Southeastern Piano Festival, and Lee International Piano Festival.
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Katie Liu
Katie, aged 17, is an 11th grader at Montour High School in Pittsburgh, Pennsylvania. A student of Natasha Snitkovsky since she was 5, Katie has won numerous top prizes at various competitions, including First Prize at the Ithaca College Piano Competition, Chopin Special Prize at the Claudette Sorel Piano Competition, First Prize at the Allegheny College Unusual Combination Piano Competition, First Prize at the US New Star Piano Competition, and First Prizes at the Duquesne Young Artist National Competition. She was the Winner of Pittsburgh Concert Society Young Artist Audition, Young Artist Audition at Steinway Society of Western PA, Pittsburgh International Piano Competition, and the Concerto Competition at the Pittsburgh Youth Symphony Orchestra. Katie is also a three-time US Chopin Foundation Scholarship recipient and was selected to participate in the Tenth National Chopin Competition in Miami, Florida in February 2020. Besides piano, Katie also plays the violin with Pittsburgh Youth Symphony Orchestra.
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Jackson Naglick
Jackson Naglick is a 16-year-old pianist and a 2020 YoungArts Award Winner. Jackson was a concerto soloist with the Toledo Symphony Orchestra after winning its Young Artist Competition. Jackson is a chamber musician and an oboist and orchestral pianist in the Oakland Youth Orchestra. Jackson was a prizewinner of the Debut International Piano Competition, which led to a performance at Carnegie Hall. He is a three-time national prizewinner of the Stillman Kelley Competition and received first place awards from the Steinway Society of Michigan and State of Michigan MTNA. Jackson has won competitions leading to solo performances for the Michigan Federation of Music Clubs, Birmingham Musicale, and Metropolitan Detroit Musician’s League. Jackson was selected by the Shigeru Kawai Piano Company to perform a solo recital for the Piano Technicians Guild Convention in Pennsylvania. In 2019, Jackson performed in the Faith in Humanity Benefit Concert, which raised over $5000 to build shower and laundry facilities for those in need in Detroit. In February 2020, Jackson performed a full-length solo recital and as a collaborative pianist performing his own composition for oboe and piano. Jackson studies with Catherine Rollin and also works with Aviram Reichert.
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Trung Nguyen
Trung Nguyen, a homeschooled junior from Leesburg, Virginia, has been playing the piano for ten years and is a student of Dr. Marjorie Lee. He previously studied with Dr. Scott Beard and Faye Bonner. Trung has participated with excellence in many competitions. In 2019, he won first prizes at the International Knabe Piano Competition, International Young Artists Piano Competition, and Maryland State Music Teachers’ Association (MSMTA) E.R. Davis Piano Competition. In the 2019-2020 MTNA competitions, he was the winner of the VA State Senior Division and was the alternate in the Southern Division. He has also received prizes at the 2018 and 2019 Hayes School of Music Piano Competition, was a official competitor in the 2020 Gina Bachauer International Piano Competition, and was one of two finalists in the 2019 Rosalyn Tureck International Bach Competition. In addition, he has given performances at the Maryland State Music Teachers' Assosiation's 2019 Conference, Hungarian Embassy in Washington, DC and the Washington and Lancaster International Piano Festivals. As a winner of SiegelHoffmann Piano Concerto Competition, Trung performed Haydn’s Piano Concerto in D Major with the Shepherd Orchestra.
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Angelina Ning
Angelina Ning, 15, is a sophomore at American Heritage School and had been studying with Dr Marina Lomazov and Dr Joseph Rackers. Angelina currently studies with Professor Tian Ying and Professor Kevin Kenner of University of Miami. Her past awards include Grand Prizes at the 2016 Carmel Klavier International Piano Competition in the intermediate solo and concerto divisions, first prize and best performance of a solo piece at the 2016 East Carolina University Young Artists Competition, first prizes at the North Carolina and South Carolina MTNA, and first prize at the 2017 Peter Perret Youth Talent Search Concerto Competition. More recently, she won alternate in the Southern division of MTNA, third prize at the 2018 David Dubois Piano Competition, and second place at the 2018 Thousand Islands International Piano Competition. Angelina has performed with the Alicante Symphony Orchestra and the Winston-Salem Symphony Orchestra. Angelina is first place winner of 2019 Miami Steinway Son Piano competition division III. Angelina is first place winner of 2019 FIU high school concerto competition and the Alhambra Orchestra 16th Annual Ray Millette Young Artist Concerto Competition. Angelina also appeared on the From the Top Show 373 in San Marcos, Texas, June 2019.
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Maxine Park
Maxine Park (15, Hanover, NH) is a student of Alexander Korsantia and Mila Filatova and in 10th grade at Phillips Exeter Academy. Maxine is a frequent semi-finalist or finalist at international competitions, most recently the Waring International Piano Competition, where she was awarded honorable mention. She has received prizes at numerous competitions, including first prizes at the Steinway Junior Piano Competition, Chopin International Piano Competition, Paderewski International Competition, and Bradshaw & Buono International Piano Competition. In the 2019 MTNA competitions, Maxine placed first at the NH State and Eastern Division Competitions and second at the National Competition.
Maxine has performed as a soloist with the New York Concerto Sinfonietta at Carnegie Weill Recital Hall, MostArts Festival Orchestra at Alfred University, and Nashua Chamber Orchestra. She recently won the Jeanne Selander Memorial Concerto Competition (Lowell Philharmonic Orchestra) and the Phillips Exeter Academy Concerto Competition. She has performed twice at the International Chopin Festival in Busko-Zdroj, Poland, featured in the “World Piano Talents” Series and last summer was one of fourteen pianists invited to participate in the 2019 Cliburn International Junior Piano Festival. She was featured as soloist on NPR’s From the Top and performed in two of their video productions.
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Ryan Shang
Ryan Sheng was invited to 2019 Cliburn Junior International Piano Competition Festival & 2019 PianoTexas Young Artist program with full scholarship. In 2017, he was invited to perform a solo recital at Brussels Music Festival (http://www.brusselspianofestival.com) in Belgium. He was one of the 24 official contestants of 2016 Gina Bachauer International Competition. Some prizes he has won include 3rd prize of Virginia Waring International Piano Competition Intermediate category; 2nd prize at 2019 Emory piano competition; 1st prize at the 10th Rosario Marciano International Competition in 2018; 1st prize of 2018 Pacific Music Competition; 2nd prize at 2018 International Whitenight Piano Festival Competition, and many 1st prizes of US Open Music Competition. He has been invited by audition to perform In the Junior Bach Festival. In the summer of 2017 & 2019, he won 1st prize in North Coast International Piano Festival Competition, earning him performances in Carnegie Hall. He performed Mozart piano concerto #21 K.467 with Fort Worth Symphony Orchestra under the baton of Maestro Miguel Harth-Bedoya. Besides playing piano, Ryan enjoys reading, playing basketball and playing oboe. He is currently the 2nd oboist in the Evergreen Valley High School Wind Ensemble.
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Andrew Shi
Los Angeles native Andrew Shi has won numerous awards in state, national, and international piano competitions. Andrew was the first prize winner of the San Jose International Piano Competition and also the recipient of the “Most Promising Young Talent” award. Other recent accolades include the 2020 National YoungArts winner, the 2020 Spotlight winner, first prizes at the Los Angeles International Piano Competition and both the Music Teachers Association of California State Piano (MTAC) Solo and Concerto Competitions. As the first prize winner of both the Gail Newby Concerto Competition and Robert Turner Piano Concerto Competition, Andrew performed with the Los Angeles Doctors Symphony Orchestra and the Antelope Valley Symphony Orchestra. Andrew is also an active chamber musician. He received top prizes in the MTAC State VOCE Competition. He has performed in master classes with Oxana Yablonskaya, Vadim Monastyrsky, Sergey Schepkin, Lucinda Carver, and Eugene Alcalay.
A student of Rufus Choi, Andrew is a sophomore at Diamond Bar High School in Southern California. He started playing piano at the age of five under the tutelage of Lilit Babayan and, at six, performed at Carnegie Hall. His passion for music has driven him in all aspects of his academic studies.
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Emma Taggarrt
Seventeen-year-old pianist and arranger Emma Taggart commands the stage with a personality that is at once engaging and unique. Pioneering an avant-garde style of performing via a combination of music and dialogue, she has stunned audiences across the world, both as a solo artist and as the secondo member of the piano duo Taggart Squared. She has given hundreds of solo and duo concerts, placed in national and international competitions, and been featured multiple times on prestigious programs such as NPR’s From The Top and MPR’s Minnesota Varsity.
Emma has performed with numerous orchestras including the Minnesota Orchestra, Chamber Orchestra of St. Petersburg, and the Milan Chamber Orchestra. She has attended festivals and performed solo recitals in the United States, Azerbaijan, Italy, Spain, and Russia, most recently receiving the Grand Prize of the St. Petersburg, Russia, Grand Piano in Palace Competition. Outside of the classical world, she has appeared in concert with rock legends such as the Grammy award winning artists Sheila E (Prince’s former drummer and fiancee) and The Goo Goo Dolls. Emma studies with her teacher of more than 10 years, Dr. Reid Smith.
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Karina Tseng
Karina Tseng, eighteen, is currently studying with Olya Katsman, previously with Sujeeva Hapugalle. She is a top prizewinner of the Kaufman International, National YoungArts, Pacific Musical Society, Zeiter, Ross McKee, Marilyn Mindell, Enkor International, and Junior Steinway competitions, among others. Karina has performed alongside orchestras such as the Palo Alto Philharmonic, New Millenium Chamber Orchestra, and the Golden State Youth Symphony, and has performed in venues including Weill-Carnegie Hall, Merkin Hall, Leighton Hall, and the Mondavi Center. She is honored to have worked with artists such as Simon Trpčeski, Rohan de Silva, Roberto Plano, Gila Goldstein, Douglas Humpherys, Haesun Paik, Gary Graffman, Lydia Artymiw, Alon Goldstein, Dang Thai Son, and Ching-Yun Hu through various masterclasses. Over past summers, she has attended the Philadelphia Young Pianists Academy (2019), Gina Bachauer Festival (2019), and Boston University Tanglewood Institute Young Artists Piano Program (2018). An avid chamber musician, Karina is currently the pianist of the Fervida Trio, honored as gold medalists of the 2019 Junior Fischoff National Chamber Music Competition, 2019 Pasadena Conservatory of Music Chamber Music Competition (in addition to the Beethoven Prize), and 2018 Galante Prize Competition.
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Shiv Yajnik
Shiv Yajnik is passionate about music and studies with Mrs. Marcy McDonald and Dr. Alex McDonald. He received first-place awards and grand prizes from the Dallas Symphonic Festival, the Texas Music Teachers Association, and, the Collin County Young Artists Competition. He performed with the Baylor Symphony and the Plano Symphony. Shiv won a discretionary award and the Best Performance of a Solo Work Since 1990 award at the Arthur Fraser International Piano Competition in 2019. Shiv has performed in masterclasses for Alvin Chow, Reid Gainsford, Nelita True, John Weems, Olga Radosavljevich, Yekwon Sunwoo, Yoheved Kaplinsky, and Joaquín Achúcarro. Additionally, Shiv composes and studies with Dr. David Karp. His compositions have placed at state and national level. His composition--Ondine, for piano trio--was premiered in the Cleveland Institute of Music in 2017. Shiv was featured as a rising star in the Basically Beethoven Festival in Dallas, and his program also featured Ondine in 2018. In his school, Shiv is the founder of a club called MusiCare; he and fellow musicians perform around the Dallas area for senior residences and other facilities. Shiv enjoys collaborating with his fellow musicians to spread the joy of music in his community.
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Natalie Zhang
Fifteen-year-old Natalie Zhang started her piano studies at age of 4. Since her solo debut at Carnegie Hall at age of 6, she has performed at venues like Boston Symphony Hall, Seattle Symphony Hall, Merkin Hall, Pepsico Hall, Fort Worth Modern Art Museum, and Hawaii Emanali Theater. Recently she was chosen as one of the nine pianists to perform at Gina Bachauer International Piano festival at Rose Wagner Performing Center. She has won many top awards in regional and international competitions, including First Prizes of Seattle International Piano Competition, Hartford Chopin International Competition, Steinway Competition and American Protege International Competition. She was the winner of MTNA Senior Piano Competition of Massachusetts. She was featured frequently at Carnegie Hall as a winner of New York International Artists Competition, American Fine Arts Festival, AADGT Passion of Music Festival and Bradshaw Buono Competition. Natalie made her orchestra debut with Virtuosi Brunensis in Italy at age of 12. She has attended Cleveland International Piano Competition Prep, PianoTexas and MusicFest Perugia Festivals, performed in the masterclasses of Yoheved Kaplinsky, Jon Nakamatsu, Jerome Lowenthal, Yaron Kohlberg, Haesun Paik, Ilana Vered. Tamas Ungar and Pascal Nemirovski. Natalie is currently under the tutelage of Professor Michael Lewin.
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