Athena Deng, 14, from Port Moody, British Columbia, began piano study at the age of four. She made her orchestral debut at age 11, playing the Prokofiev Concerto No. 3 with the Vancouver Metropolitan Orchestra after winning the Burnaby Clef Concerto Competition. Since then she has performed with the Richmond Orchestra, the VMO at the Chan Centre for the Performing Arts, and the Virginia Waring Festival Orchestra in Palm Desert, California. In May of 2016, Athena performed the Beethoven Concerto No. 4 with the Vancouver Metropolitan Orchestra in their final concert of the season. She has been awarded numerous top prizes in many competitions and festivals, including first place in the 2016 BC Performing Arts, the First Concerto Place and the Second Solo Place in the Virginia Waring International Piano Competition in USA in 2015, the Gala Grand Prize in the 2014 Richmond Music Festival, and the first place in the 2013 Hong Kong International Piano Open Competition. She studies with Sasha Starecevich.
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Caleb Connor Borick, 14, from Charleston, SC, began piano study at age five. Since 2013, he has been a Charleston Symphony Orchestra League Summer Studies scholarship recipient. He won top honors in 2015 and 2016, receiving the Ruth and Barry Goldsmith Award, and has won numerous awards from the Charleston Music Club. Caleb was a presenter in Charleston's first TEDx in 2013. In summer 2014, he won the grand prize in the Philadelphia International Music Festival's Concerto Competition. In 2015 Caleb attended Green Lake Chamber Camp in WI where he collaborated to form Trio Lago Verde. The trio has been featured both on WPR's “The Midday” with Norman Gilland and on NPR's “From the Top.” In 2016 he attended Music Fest Perugia in Italy where he performed Rachmaninoff''s Second Piano Concerto with the Alicante Symphony Orchestra, and in 2017 he was an MTNA Junior Piano Competition National Finalist. He currently studies with Joseph Rackers.
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Catherina Lu, 15, is from Northville, MI. Since 2015, she has won the Michigan Music Teachers Association State Final, Stillman-Kelley Award (National Federation of Music Clubs state and regional levels), the Lansing Symphony Competition, and MMTA Concerto Competition Division III, and was a finalist in the David Dubois Competition and alternate in the MTNA State auditions. She recently performed with the Toledo Symphony Orchestra as a Young Artist Competition winner. Prior to 2015 Catherina had twice won the Metropolitan Detroit Musicians League Young Artist Competition and was a MMTA state finalist for four consecutive years. She has performed frequently on the Ann Arbor Bach Association Honors Recital and was a first place winner of the MMTA Concerto Competition. She was one of the youngest students selected to attend the Foulger International Music Festival in Ogden, UT where she participated in a chamber music recital. She studies with Catherine Rollin.
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Catherine Black, 15, is from Lexington, SC. Catherine has been a winner in multiple years of SCMTA, SC Piano Festival Association, Columbia Music Teachers Association, and Afternoon and Eau Claire Music Clubs competitions and was the 2014 Sylvia E. Looney Scholarship Competition winner. She performed Mozart’s Piano Trio in C, K548 and Brahms’ Piano Trio in B, Opus 8 in concert with the Sterling Chamber Players and was guest solo pianist in concert with the Lexington County Choral Society. Selected first Alternate in the 2013 and 2015 South Carolina MTNA Junior Performance Competitions and first place winner at the 2016 SC Governor’s School for the Arts and Humanities Junior Artist Piano Competition, Catherine has also participated in master classes with Sergei Babayan, Yoheved Kaplinsky and Faye Adams. She serves as accompanist for the adult choral activities at her church. Since age nine, Catherine has studied piano with Ann Wilson.
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Catherine Huang, 15, is from San Jose, CA. She appeared on Kansas Public Radio as winner of the 2016 International Institute for Young Musicians Piano Competition. She also won the Junior Category and received a special award at the 2015 San Jose International Piano Competition and won the 2016 Marilyn Mindell Competition, two first places at the MTAC State Concerto Competition in 2013 (Division 1) and 2016 (Division 2), second place at the 2017 Blount-Slawson National Concerto Competition, first place at the 2016 Pacific Musical Society Competition, and third prize at the 2015 Los Angeles Young Musicians International Competition. She participated in the John Perry Summer Academy in 2015 and the International Institute for Young Musicians in 2016. In 2017, she made her orchestral debut with the El Camino Youth Symphony. Catherine performed at a Steinway Society benefit concert in 2014 and a Starting Arts concert in 2016 and regularly performs at senior centers. She studies with Hans Boepple.
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Daniel Che, 17, is from Plano, TX. He has won local competitions hosted by the Dallas MTA, receiving first prize at the 2012, 2014, 20126, and 2107 Dallas Symphonic Festival. He has won first and second prizes at the Texas MTNA Performance Competition, second prizes at the 2014 Waco Piano and 2017 Juanita Miller Concerto competitions, and grand prizes at the 2015 McKinney and 2017 Forth Worth Young Artist Competitions. He won third prize at the 2013-14 MTNA Competition and was a selected semi-finalist in the 2016 Cooper, 2017 Ann and Charles Eisemann Young Artists, and 2017 Hilton Head International Piano Competitions. He has participated in the Southeastern, Lee University, and University of Houston Piano Festivals, including master classes with Julian Martin, Angela Cheng, Abbey Simon, Nancy Weems, and Ning An. Daniel also performs in retirement homes and churches in the DFW area through his co-founded organization, North Dallas Young Artists. He studies with Yifan Liu.
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Eriko Darcy, 15, is from Chicago, IL. Her awards include: winner of the Chicago Area Steinway Young Artists Competition; a Gold Medal at the 2010 Seattle International Piano Competition, Youth Division, and, in 2015, winner of the Music Teachers' Favorite Award and winner of the DePaul University Piano Competition.  Eriko has performed twice at Carnegie Hall's Weill-Recital Hall as a First Prize Winner of the Bradshaw & Buono International Piano Competition and the 2010 American Fine Arts Festival.  In May 2016, she performed a one-hour solo program on WFMT Chicago's “Introductions.”  In June 2016, she performed with the Round Rock Symphony Orchestra as the winner of the Texas State Young Artist Concerto Competition.  Eriko's non-profit fund-raising efforts include recitals in Japan, Chicago, and Huletts Landing, New York.  The proceeds from her charitable performances support the victims of domestic violence. A former student of Brenda Huang, she now studies under George Vatchnadze.
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Eric Lin, 16, is from Falls Church, VA. In 2016, he performed Prokofiev’s Third Concerto with the National Symphony (Kennedy Center, Washington). He is the winner of the 2014-2015 Virginia MTNA, 2015-2016 D.C. MTNA and Alternate for the 2016 MTNA Eastern Division. He also won the David Dubois Piano Competition, McDonald Arts Scholarship, Elizabeth Davis Piano Competition, International Young Artist Pianist Competition, Lee University Piano Competition, Chopin Young Artists Piano Competition, Ylda Novik Piano Concerto Competition, Emilio del Rosario Piano Concerto Competition (Chicago), DePaul Concerto Festival and Robert Spencer Concerto Competition at Junior and Senior levels. Eric has performed with five orchestras in Chicago, Washington (DC), and New York, including his debut, at age 11, with the Oistrach Symphony Orchestra. He performs weekly at local community centers and studies with Marjorie Lee.
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James Zhu is 15 years old from Baton Rouge, Louisiana. James made his orchestral debut with the Louisiana Philharmonic Orchestra (LPO) in February 2016 as the winner of the Young Artists’ Concerto Competition in New Orleans. James’ recent accomplishments include the 1st place winner in the Debose National Piano Competition and the winner of the Louisiana State Junior Piano Competition for the past two years; he won the 2nd place in the 2015 - 2016 MTNA South Central Division Junior Piano Competition. James was the 1st place winner in the Florida State Piano Concerto Competition Junior Division in 2014. In the same year, James won the Gold Medal in the and a scholarship to participate in the Vianden Music Festival in Luxembourg. He attended the Indiana University Piano Academy (2015) and the Cooper Piano Festival (2016). Additionally, James was selected to perform in the Young Pianist Concerts by the Chopin Foundation in 2013 and 2014. He received the Ruth B. LockMiller Memorial and the Clarissa Nichol scholarship award in Florida. Currently, he studies piano with Prof. Gregory Sioles. James loves bodybuilding, swimming, reading and video games. In school, he is a student with excellent academic performance.
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Jarrett Takaki, 18, is from Wilmette, IL. He has performed with the Philharmonic Orchestra of the University of Alicante in Perugia (Italy), the Oistrakh Symphony (Chicago), the Harper College Symphony and the MostArts Orchestra. He received second place (concerto division) and third place i(solo division) of The American Prize National Competition, second place in the 2012 Junior Division of the Cleveland International Piano Competition and was a winner in the 2017 YoungArts Competition. In 2016, he won the Grand Prize in the Senior Solo and Concerto Divisions of the Indiana Carmel Klavier International Piano Competition. He received first place at the DePaul University Concerto Festival, the American Fine Arts Festival International Competition, The Walgreens National Concerto Competition, and the Emilio Del Rosario Concerto Competition. A co-founder of “88Keys for Cure,” he will be performing in a benefit concert for the Lurie Children’s Hospital, and studies with Sueanne Metz.
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John Cao, 16, is from Arlington, IL. John’s awards include first place in the Walgreens Open Senior Piano Competition, International Valery Kuleshov Piano Competition, TMTA 10th Grade Piano Solo Competition, Austin Piano Festival, a Grand Prize in the McKinney Young Artists Competition, and Honorable Mention in the David Dubois Competition. Additionally, John was a participant in the Houston Young Artist’s Concert, playing for nursing homes and schools. Apart from his piano study, John also sang in the 2015 and 2016 Texas All-State Choruses and the 2017 Illinois Honors Chorus and received second place at the TMTA 9-10th grade Voice Competition. He also led children’s worship for the Houston Chinese Church and played for their children’s choir and adult choir. John hopes that as a musician he can make a positive impact on his community. A previous student of John Weems, he currently studies with Alan Chow.
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John Zhao, 14, is from Midvale, UT. He made his orchestra debut at age ten, and has performed in many public recitals and competitions. His awards and honors include selection as finalist for the Ettlingen International Piano Competition 2016 (Germany); Official Competitor of the Gina Bachauer International Piano Competition Junior 2016; second prize in the 2016 International Keyboard Odyssiad Competition, USA; first prize in the 2016 UTMA Concert Competition; first place winner in the University of Utah’s Summer Arts Competition in both concerto and solo divisions (2015); first prize in Helen Taylor Johannsen International Piano Competition (2014); and third place in the Los Angeles International Piano Competition (2014). John has performed twice at New York’s Carnegie Hall, and also has performed in the Gina Bachauer Foundation Master Classes and Gina Bachauer Foundation School Events. He studies with Ning and Jie Liu.
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Kasey Shao, 13, is from Cincinnati, OH. She made her debut with the Philadelphia Orchestra at the age of 12, performing the Mozart Concerto, K. 488 under Yannick Nezet-Seguin. Her awards include two grand prizes at the National League of Performing Arts, first prize at the Crescendo International Music Competition, first place at 2015 West Chester University Pre-college Piano Competition, and first place at 2015 Princeton Festival Piano Competition Intermediate Artist Division. She also won the grand prize at 2014 Steinway Society of South Jersey Young Pianist Competition. In 2015, Kasey was named winner of the children’s division at the Albert M. Greenfield Concerto Competition, and was also the winner of New Jersey, Eastern Division, and the national finalist at the 2016 MTNA National Competition. She was a finalist in the Midwest International Piano Competition, 2016. She has performed three times at the Weill Recital Hall of Carnegie Hall, and is currently studying with Ran Dank.
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Keona Rose, 15, is from Charlotte, NC. She began her classical training at age 11 and has since won first place in the Music Academy of North Carolina’s Constance Kotis Competition, East Carolina University’s Pre-college Piano Competition, Chun University’s music competition, and UNCSA’s Classical Sonata Competition, as well as both solo and concerto divisions of the Charlotte Piano Teacher’s Forum auditions. As winner of the Malek Jandali International Piano Competition, she made her debut in Carnegie Hall’s Weill Recital Hall. Keona will continue her studies in the Pre-College division of the Juilliard School this fall, and plans to return to the Aspen Music Festival and School this summer to study under Arie Vardi and her present teacher, Julian Martin.
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Kimberly Han, 15, from Lake Forest, IL, is a 2016-2018 Lang Lang Young Scholar and 2016-2017 full scholarship recipient of the Chopin Foundation, and was National Finalist/East Central Division and Illinois winner of the 2016 MTNA Junior Competition, the 2015 Overall and 2014/2013 winner of Walgreen National Concerto Competition, and winner of the 2015 Chicago Symphony Orchestra Youth Concerto Competition, the 2015 CSO “Carnival of the Animals” audition, the 2014 DePaul Concerto Competition, and the 2016/2013 Chopin Youth Competition. She performed with the Chicago Symphony in 2015, and again in 2016 as competition winner. She has also performed with the Oistrach Symphony, Lake Forest Symphony, MYAC Symphony, Kankakee Valley Symphony, Lake Forest Civic Orchestra, Napolinova Youth Orchestra (Italy), and Highland Park Strings. Kimberly was featured twice on WFMT’s "Introductions." She studies with Alexander Korsantia and Brenda Huang.
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Nita Qiu, 15, is from Woodbury, MN. An active performer, Nita is the recipient of numerous awards and recognitions. Some of her most recent awards include third place at the Rising Stars Concerto Competition in LaCrosse, WI in January, 2017, semi-finalist in the International Institute for Young Musicians (IIYM) International Piano Competition in July, 2016 and being selected to the Disklavier round of the E-piano Junior International Competition in February, 2017. She performed the first movement of Saint Saens' second concerto with the Mississippi Valley Orchestra at the age of 13, the second movement of Mozart's Concerto No. 21 with the Young Artist World Piano Festival Orchestra at the age of 12, and the first movement of the same concerto with the Kenwood Symphony Orchestra at the age of 11. She studies with Joseph Zins.
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Raymond Feng, 15, from Pittsford, NY, is a sophomore at Sutherland High School. Raymond has been a top prizewinner of international and national competitions since age 9, claiming first prizes in the Thousand Islands Chopin International, Ithaca College Piano Competition, MTNA Eastern Division Junior Piano Performance, and Claudette Sorel Piano Competition, among others. As a piano soloist, he has been featured with orchestras from the United States to Europe, including the Ashdod Symphony in Italy, Mercury Orchestra in Boston, MYA Symphony in Chicago, Genesee Symphony Orchestra, Ithaca College Symphony, Cayuga Chamber Orchestra, Greater Buffalo Youth Orchestra, and Hochstein Youth Symphony Orchestra (HYSO). An ambassador for promoting classical music and music education, Raymond appeared on NPR’s “From the Top” with the Rochester Philharmonic under the baton of Ward Stare and was selected as a Young Scholar of the Lang Lang International Music Foundation in 2016. Major concert venues Raymond has performed at include Eastman Kodak Hall, Carnegie Hall’s Weill Recital Hall, Merkin Concert Hall in NYC, Sanders Theatre at Harvard, and Millennium Park’s Pritzker Pavilion in Chicago. Besides piano, Raymond is also a violinist and the former concertmaster of HYSO. He has studied with Elier Suárez since age 5.
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Samuel Xu, 16, is from Chandler, AZ. He began piano study at the age of six with his mother, Hong Zhu. He was the first prize winner of the 2015 IIYM International Piano Competition, and his other piano honors include winning the Arizona State Music Teachers National Association Junior Piano Competition, the Arizona Young Artist Piano Competition, the Steinway Avanti Star Piano Competition, and the Arizona Musicfest Youth Piano Competition. Samuel had his orchestral debut with the Verde Valley Sinfonietta in May 2015, performing Gershwin's Rhapsody in Blue, and in January 2016, he performed Gershwin's Concerto in F with the MusicaNova Orchestra. He is a Chopin National Foundation of America scholarship recipient for 2016-2017 and since the age of 11, he has studied with his father, Fei Xu.
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Tyler Kim, 14, from Temecula, CA, made his concert debut at ten with the Viennese International Orchestra in Austria. Since then, he has performed with the Greater San Diego Symphony, Inland Valley Symphony, San Diego Symphony, Alicante Philharmonic Orchestra, and Temecula Valley Symphony. He has won first place at the US Open Music Competition, first place in the Helen B. Goodlin Competition, regional finalist at the Southern California Bach Festival, first place at the MTAC State Convention, and second place at the Los Angeles International Liszt Competition. He recently won first place at the Blount-Slawson Young Artists Competition, and will perform the Chopin Concerto No. 2 with the Montgomery Symphony Orchestra in May. His solo appearances include two performances at Carnegie Hall, an hour-long American Cancer Society Benefit Concert, and a recital sponsored by the “Advocates of Classical Music” at La Jolla Riford Library. He currently studies with Dr. Myong-Joo Lee.
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Yannie Tan, 15, is from Atlanta, GA. She won first prize in the 2010 Merrell Calhoun Prodigy Award at age ten, and was Grand Prize winner at the American Protege Competition and the National Young Artist Showcase Competition in 2011 and 2012, performing in Carnegie Hall twice. Yannie won first place in 2013, 2014 and 2015 in the MTNA state competition, and was first place winner of the 2016 MTNA National Junior Piano Performance Competition as well as winner of the Best Chopin Performance Award. She won first place in the 2016 GMTA Concerto Competition, the 2016 International Piano Festival in Italy, the 2016 National Young Virtuosi Recital Competition, the 2017 Emory Young Artist Piano Competition, and the AMC 2017 Scholarship Competition. She has performed with the Johns Creek and LaGrange Symphony Orchestra, ACSO, and the Wesleyan String Quintet, and initiated many benefit concerts for St. Jude Children's Research Hospital. She currently studies with Alexander Kobrin.
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