Steinway Society Scholarship Winners 2002

Steinway Society Scholarship Winners 2002

Each year, about 25-30 finalists are selected from among the many scholarship applicants by a panel of accomplished teachers who listen, anonymously to their audiotapes. At the recent auditions these finalists, ages 7-18, played two contrasting pieces from memory before three prominent adjudicators, Larissa Dedova, Chiu-Ling Lin, Alberto Reyes who selected the winners. Members, teachers and parents were in the enthusiastic audience.

Over the last fourteen years, more than 70 students have received Steinway Society scholarships. Many of the past winners have gone on to win other state and national prizes and study music in college. Each year $3,000 to $4,000 is granted.

The Scholarship Winners

Serenity Fung, age 9, tied for third place in Group I. A resident of Somerset, she has studied piano for four years with Gloria Chu. The judges praised her musical and serious playing. This year she also received Honorable Mention in the piano solo category at the New Jersey Music Educators Association Young Artists Competition.

Kevin Jang, age 7, tied for first place in Group I. He is a resident of Edison and studies with Yelena Ivanov. Kevin also plays the violin and has been a prize winner in both piano and violin competitions. The judges praised his musical, solid and artistic performance.

Casey Jao, age 12, tied for third place in Group II. He started piano studies at the age of four and is currently a student of Julia Lam. The judges cited his solid technic and powerful sound. He has won numerous prizes in various competitions and has received his five-year trophy for the NJMTA recital audition.

Natsumi Kataoka, age 10, received first place in Group II. She started her piano studies at the age of five while still living in Japan. Now a resident of Haworth, NJ, she studies with Yuan Sheng and Solomon Mikowsky. The judges praised her breathtaking performance, outstanding talent and excellent technique.

Justine Korkor, age 16, tied for Second Place in Group IV. The judges praised the innate sense of drama in her performance and her intense rhythmic drive. A resident of Cherry Hill, Justine is a student of Veda Zuponcic. She plans to pursue classical music studies in college.

Christopher Law, age 8, was awarded second place in Group I. Currently a student of Ryugin Mikuriya, Christopher has been studying piano since the age of five. The judges praised his wonderful tone and excellent melodic projection.

Kimberly Li, age 11, tied for third place in Group II. A resident of Plainsboro, she studies with Marion Zarzeczna. She has participated in and won many competitions and enjoys playing the piano. The judges praised her good rhythm, good technic and great poise.

Michelle Livengood, age 11, was awarded second place in Group II. She is a student of Victoria Mushkatkol in the Pre-College division of the Juilliard School. She began piano study at age five, and has received numerous awards during the past several years. The judges praised her outstanding great talent and her superb technical control and accuracy.

George Lykogiannis, age 15, was awarded Second Place in Group 3. The judges praised his musicality, emotional freedom, and strong artistic temperament. A resident of Warren, George is a student of Yelena Ivanov. He has performed in solo competitions both at home and abroad, with outstanding results. He also studies the French Horn and has performed as principal horn with many bands and orchestras.

Daniel Suo, age 13, was awarded First Place in Group 3. The judges praised his 'impressive' performance, calling it satistying in every aspect, both technically and musically. Daniel has been studying piano for seven years and is a student of Ingrid Clarfield, who says that he plays like a real artist with great flare and sensativity. Daniel has received honors also in other competitions in both New Jersey and New York.

Michael Suo, age 9, tied for third place in Group I. A student of Ingrid Clarfield, Michael has won in the past three NJMTA competitions also. He is a resident of Princeton. The judges thanked him for a beautiful performance of the Chopin Nocturne in C minor.

Brian Tran, age 13, was awarded Third Place in Group 3. The judges cited his good playing of a very difficult program. A student of Veda Zuponcic, Brian also has received honors in the NJMTA Young Artists Competition. A serious student, he has a gift for mathematics and he enjoys learning new repertoire.

Katelyn Tran, age 7, tied for first place in Group I. She began studying piano at the age of four with her teacher Veda Zuponcic. A resident of Jackson, she has already won many prizes including a 1st place in the NJMTA Young Artists competition in 2000 and 2002. The judges cited her great talent and excellent potential.

Theresa Yang, age 16, received First Place in Group IV. The judges called hers a professional performance, musically sophisticated and well prepared. A resident of West Windsor, she is a student of Ingrid Clarfield. She has participated also in other recent New Jersey auditions, receiving high honors. She is an active performer in recitals and in chamber music ensembles.

Jeffrey Weng, age 16, tied for Second Place in Group IV. The judges cited his attention to details and the musicality of his performance. Jeffrey now studies with Sandra Carlock who says that he has a natural facility at the piano and has done wonderful work. He has a particular love of music of the Baroque and Classical periods.

The 2002 Steinway Society Judges

Larissa Dedova is an associate professor of music at the University of Maryland. For over 25 years she has performed extensively as a soloist and in a duo with husband Mikhail Volchok in concert halls throughout the world. Each season, Ms. Dedova is seen in recital at many of the major Russian halls and in orchestral engagements with many of the prominent European orchestras and equally renowned conductors. The lyricism, romanticism and virtuosity of Ms. Dedova performances have brought her love and affection of audience and critical acclaim. She began her studies at the age of five at the Gnessin Special Music School and continued her education at the Moscow State Gnessin College. She holds a Masters and Doctor of Musical Arts Degree in piano performance from the Moscow State Tchaikovsky Conservatory where she studied with Lev Oborin and Evgeny Malinin. A dedicated teacher, who is highly regarded for her master-classes, presented throughout the US, Europe and Asia, L.Dedova has prepared many winners of most notable international piano competitions. Her recording credits include releases for the ³Melodia² label in her native country as well as for ConClaRec and Morning Storm labels.

Chiu-Ling Lin professor of piano, received her bachelor's degree from New England Conservatory of Music and her master's and doctorate degrees from Indiana University. As a soloist and recitalist, Dr. Lin has been enthusiastically received around the world. She has appeared in performances in New York, Boston, Chicago, England, and throughout the Far East, where she has featured music of Chinese as well as Western composers. She has been a soloist with the Atlanta Symphony, the Chicago Civic Orchestra, the Singapore Symphony and the Des Moines Symphony. As a winner of the New York East and West Young Artist Auditions, she made a Carnegie Recital Hall debut. As a master artist/teacher, Dr. Lin currently serves as Professor of Piano at Drake University and is a member of the Fine Arts Trio. She teaches courses in piano pedagogy and has a full studio of piano majors. She is the Principal Keyboard Player of the Des Moines Symphony Orchestra. Her performing engagements are often accompanied by master classes and lecture recitals of multi-cultural and nationalistic music. She has adjudicated in the Joanna Hodges International Competitions and many MTNA state auditions including Nebraska, Missouri, Kansas, Arkansas, Minnesota and Iowa. She is in high demand for workshops and master classes in this country as well as overseas.

Alberto Reyes made his debut at the age of eight in his native Montevideo, Uraguay, with a program of works by Bach, Haydn, Beethoven, Schubert, Chopin, Debussy and Villa Lobos. Ever since, his performances have taken him from the major cities of South America to the United States and Canada where he toured under the aegis of the Edgar M. Leventritt Foundation - all the way to Russia, Ukraine, Belarus and the Baltic Republics. At the age of thirteen he was the winner of concerto competitions organized by Juenesses Musicales and the National Radio Symphony Orchestra of Uraguay. In 1974 he made his New York debut at the Lincoln Center playing Mozart's A major Concerto (K 488) with Polish conductor Jacques Singer. Mr. Reyes is a prize-winner/laureate of the Tchaikovsky Competition in Moscow, the Leventritt Competition in New York, the Van Cliburn Competition in Texas, the Rio de Janeiro Competition in Brazil and the Ciudad de Montevideo Competition in Uruguay. Mr. Reyes playing has earned the accolades of the press all around the world.