High School students (left to right):
Faith van Ryckeghem, Katrina Biancofiore, Melissa Yu (front row) Nicholas Lobo, and Seung Yup Lee (back row). The judges are: Sin-Hsing Tsai, Jason DuRoy, and Irina Polyakova.
Seventeen students recently competed at the 18th Annual Piano Arts Competition at the Roland Hayes Concert Hall at UTC’s Fine Arts Center in Chattanooga. Each year this competition provides an opportunity for talented young pianists to showcase their abilities. First prize winners in each category are invited back to perform a full recital at UTC, on Sunday, May 18th, 2014, at Cadek Recital Hall, 725 Oak Street, at 3:00 p.m. The performance will be open to the public and admission is free.
Participating students perform a minimum of two works in contrasting styles, but are permitted to play additional pieces if they choose, as this competition is in festival format. The winners this year hail from Chattanooga, Franklin, Hixson, Knoxville, Ooltewah, Pikeville and Signal Mountain in Tennessee, and Dalton and Ringgold in Georgia.
The winners in the High School category were:
1st Place - Faith van Ryckeghem from Franklin (Jama Reagan)
2nd Place – Melissa Wu from Knoxville (David Northington)
3rd Place – Seung Yup Lee from Dalton, GA (Laurel Im)
Receiving honorable mention were Janet Sump’s student Katrina Biancofiore, from Signal Mountain, and Sin-Hsing Tsai’s student Nicholas Lobo, from Hixson. The judges in the High School category were UTC alumni Irina Polyakova and Jason DuRoy.
Ms. Ryckeghem performed ‘Rondo: Poco allegretto e grazioso’ from Ludwig van Beethoven’s “Sonata in E-flat Major, Op. 7,” and Alberto Ginastera’s Danzas Argentinas.
The winners in the Middle School category were:
1st Place – Sophia Guan from Chattanooga (Sin-Hsing Tsai)
2nd Place – Jack A. Wu from Ooltewah (Haihua Jiang)
Honorable mentions go to Irina Polyakova’s student Edward Cho, from Ringgold, GA, and Sin-Hsing Tsai’s student Timothy Hawn, from Pikeville. The judges in the Middle School category this year were Deanne Irvine and Janet Sump.
Ms. Guan performed Franz Liszt’s ‘Transcendental Etude No.8 “Wilde Jagd”’, Claude Debussy’s “Bruyères” from Préludes, Book 2 and, “O polichnelo” from Prole do bebê, Vol. 1, by Heitor Villa-Lobos.
Sin-Hsing Tsai was the non-voting competition chair. Sophia, Timothy, Seung Yup and Nicholas have all been winners in previous years.
If you require additional information regarding this or any other UTC Music Dept. performance, please call the Music office at 423-425-4601 or visit the Music Department website at http://www.utc.edu/music/projects/performances.php
Middle School students (left to right):
Sophia Guan, Edward Cho, Jack Wu, and Timothy Hawn. The judges are Janet Sump, Deanne Irvine, and Sin-Hsing Tsai,