Young Scholars Alumni Community

Yufei Cathy Chen, 14 years old, started to study piano with her mother at the age of 4.

She studied with Ms. Zhang Guixia and later studied with Professor Qin Chuan. In 2018 she was admitted to the Juilliard School in the United States, where she studied with Professor Matti Raekallio. She is now studying with Dr. Yoheved Kaplinsky and Dr. Yiheng Yang.

She has performed multiply times at Lincoln Center, Paul Haul, Morse Haul, Qingdao Grand Theatre, and National Centre for the Performing Arts. She has already performed many successful concerts in Qingdao, Beijing, and New York. Moreover, she participated in four different chamber groups within three years and performed at Paul Haul and Morse Haul several times. During the pandemic, she was invited to play three movements of Petrushka at Alice Haul Lobby, also as an outstanding student, she performed “Meditation” with her brother at her middle school graduation ceremony

She has won the gold medal in the Dandelion National Final, first place in Golden Sunflower Piano Competition, the first place in North China Steinway & Sons Piano Competition, the second place in Shandong Caesarsburg Piano Competition, the third place in Shanghai Spring International Piano Competition, and the second prize in Steinberg International Piano Competition.

She is also interested in figure skating, swimming, badminton, and many other sports. She is also proficient in Go and has received a fifteen-grade Go certificate. She is active involvement in school including robotics, medical, and badminton club.

Cheng Lujunrui, began to learn piano at the age of three and The first person who inspired him in music is his mom. He has studied the piano for ten years and participated in many competitions.

In 2017, he participated in Chopin International Youth Piano Open and won the gold medal in the national final competition. Then he was invited to work as the “promotion ambassador of Chopin International Youth Piano Open ” to promote piano learning to the public, popularizing piano playing as a wonderful interest and attracting more Chinese children to learn music and play the piano.

In 2018, he had won the Second Place in the Chengdu division final competition (children group) in the “Yundi LI–Chopin National Piano Tour” and was invited to play Mozart’s works with the internationally-famous pianist Yundi Li.

In 2019, he took part in the Second Mozart International Piano Competition and became the only winner of the Special Prize in Chengdu. In 2019, he took part in the 2019 Pearl River Kayserburg International Youth Piano Competition and won the First Prize in the junior group in Sichuan and won the Third Prize in the international final competition.

In 2020, he won the championship in the competition named “Playing the Piano with Lang Lang: the Music From Heaven Sounds Extraordinary”, and won the opportunity of attending the master’s class tutored by the internationally-famous pianist Mr. Lang Lang. Moreover, Lujunrui Cheng performed a four-hands piece playing alongside Lang Lang at his concert, which helped him accumulate very rare performing experiences on the stage.

In 2021, he participated in The 12th Chopin Youth International Piano Competition and won the special prize of the China finals of youth group B (the prize is a Yangtze River Grand Piano). In the same year he also participated in the global audition of the 11th Tchaikovsky International Youth Music Competition. And fortunately, he had successfully become one of the 60 young pianists in the world who have advanced to the final. (The competition will be held simultaneously in Chengdu and Moscow from April 30 to May 12, 2022)

Andrew Gu has been tremendously passionate about classical music from a very young age and started studying piano at the age of 4.

Hailing from Basking Ridge, New Jersey, he is currently a student at the Juilliard School Pre-College and has been studying under the tutelage of Hung-Kuan Chen and Tema Blackstone since 2019. Andrew truly loves to share music with others and through intensive studies, he has not only excelled in competitions, but also been an active volunteer in his community. As president of the Basking Ridge Branch of the Alliance of Youth Leaders in the United States (AYLUS), Andrew and his fellow members organize monthly music performances at local senior centers and raise funds for national humanitarian crises.

Professionally, Andrew has won first place in a number of competitions including the Hartford Connecticut Chopin Piano Competition and the International Young Artist Piano Competition in DC. He has also given performances at many renowned venues such as Carnegie Hall, Lincoln Center, the Kennedy Center, and Juilliard’s Paul Hall. Andrew is also a scholarship recipient of the Chopin Foundation, National YoungArts Foundation and NPR’s From The Top as well as a fellow of the Artemisia Foundation.

Mr. Gu, a junior in high school, has a very curious mind and is actively involved in a variety of extracurriculars ranging from debating at Model United Nations conferences to reading classical literature in Latin Club. In his free time, Andrew is an avid skier, tackling challenging slopes all across the nation.

Born in 2007, Kwan Kei first started learning the piano at the age of four, and has fallen in love with it ever since. He is currently studying under the tutelage of a local pianist in Hong Kong, Mr. Chi Woo Chung.

Meanwhile, in order to widen his views and broaden his horizons, he has participated in masterclasses with such renowned pianists as – Maria João Pires, Jerome Lowenthal, Oxana Yablonskaya, Leslie Howard, Blanc Wan, Andrey Pisarev, Pablo Galdo, Pascal Rogé as well as Sergio Tiempo.

Kwan Kei is now a student of La Salle College in Hong Kong. Other than playing as a soloist in concerts and competitions, he used to perform as the accompanist of Treble Choir, the organist of Mass Choir and the Alto-Sang player of the Chinese Orchestra at school. In addition, Kwan Kei is also a player of the school’s Handball Team, providing him with a heart aflame with faith and zeal.

During the past few years, Kwan Kei has won top prizes at numerous international piano competitions. Among which, “Young Artist Award” , the grand prize of the Asia Music Competition for Young Artist Busan 2018 Final Round held in Busan, South Korea; Champion of the 24th Japan Hamamatsu PIARA Piano Competition( Hong Kong Region). He has also gained the Second Prize of Piano Concerto Age 13 or under (also known as the Betty Drown Memorial Prize) at the 73rd Hong Kong School Music Festival. Last but not least, Kwan Kei has received a Special Prize for the best performance of a Baroque piece from the 14th International Volodymyr Krainev Competition for Young Pianists and has advanced to the Semi-final Round of the 2nd Vladimir Krainev Moscow International Piano Competition successfully.

On top of these, he has garnered the Outstanding Student Award in the Kowloon City District Outstanding Student Selection, the Brother Henry Pang Memorial Award as well as the Rev. Bro. Henry Award in 2019, credit to his outstanding performances in the field of academics, music and sports.

Apart from playing the piano, Kwan Kei has an immense range of interests. Take literature as an example, not only is he passionate in watching plays, but also enthusiastic in reading poems and novels.

Another field he is deeply intense at is philosophy, he always loses in thought and comes up with some brand new ideas. The great Greek thinker, Plato, had a great influence on his way of thinking, which eventually affected his music. Quoting from Plato, “the first and greatest victory is to conquer yourself; to be conquered by yourself is of all things most shameful and vile”, Kwan Kei has always kept his words in heart so as to warn himself when facing great inertia.

Alexander Jansen was born in the spring of 2005 in the beautiful city of Utrecht and has been enchanted by music since he was 3 years old. He was barely 3 years old when he first started “conducting a concert” he saw on TV. According to his own words, music is the most beautiful thing in the world!

From the age of 7 Alexander received piano lessons from his mother, piano teacher E. Jansen. From the age of 8 Alexander continued his musical development at the Choir School in Utrecht, where he learned solfège and started singing in the choir.

From the age of 10 Alexander performed more and more for an audience. Concerts in France, Belgium, Germany and the Netherlands with as a top moment a performance in the main hall of the Concertgebouw with a group of the choir and in the same year won the 1st prize at the Young Bohemia Festival in Prague.

Since the end of 2015 Alexander is a student of M. Benoist and from September 2017 Alexander is part of the Academie Muzikaal Talent study for young talent at Conservatorium Utrecht.

The year 2018 was very successful musically. Alexander then won the final spot in the Concertgebouw Concours 2018 in Amsterdam, for which he was the only pianist chosen.

In October 2018, Alexander was specially invited to play for the Lunch Concert in the Concertgebouw. This performance was also very successful and Alexander enjoyed playing there.

In September 2018, Alexander got to perform with orchestra in Den Bosch in “Le Carnaval des Animaux”. In November 2018, Alexander participated in the NBE Composition Competition. At this competition he won 2 important prizes, namely the Audience Prize and the Junior Royal Conservatory Composition Prize.

In February 2019 Alexander participated in the YPF Competition where he won the 3rd prize and also the Henri Moerel Prize, which earned him a Masterclass with Professor Dominique Merlet in France.
In the summer of 2019 Alexander was specially invited to participate in the International Piano Festival in Switzerland. He was allowed to perform there with his program of Rachmaninoff and Bach.
Also in June 2019, Alexander won a final spot in the 2019 Concertgebouw Competition for the 2nd year in a row.

In September 2019, Alexander again invited to perform at the Concertgebouw at the Lunch Concert.

In October 2019, Alexander got to play with an orchestra for the 3rd time. This time with the musicians of the Radio Philharmonic Orchestra from Hilversum.

The year 2020, despite the corona situation, was a very successful year for Alexander. He won 3 important prizes and was able to give beautiful concerts.

1st prize won at the 2020 Music Competition.

2 prizes won at the BENELUX: Princess Christina competition 2020:

• 1st prize National of Princes Christina Concoursand
• 2nd prize at the grand International Finals of the Princess Christina Concours.

In October 2020 Alexander was invited for the 5th time to do a solo performance at the Concertgebouw in Amsterdam, this time in the Spiegelzaal for the NPO 4 radio program Spiegelzaal.

In November 2020 Alexander gave a very successful recital, together with 3 other winners of the Prinses Christina competition, on 1 of the most beautiful grand pianos in the Netherlands in De Concertzaal of Schiedam.

Since 2021 Alexander is also a student at the Academy Young Musical Talent of the talented Dutch concert pianist Thomas Beijer.

In June 2021 Alexander won the Spotlight Concours which earned him a concert together with Concertgebouw Kamerorkest. In September he played the beautiful Piano Concerto No. 14 “Andantino” by W.A. Mozart together with this orchestra at “Music on the Amstel Field”.

On October 3, 2021, Alexander enjoyed playing at the 3rd concert of the YPF Young Virtuosi concert.

On October 31, 2021, Alexander enjoyed performing on live TV in the well-known classical TV program “Podium Witteman” on NPO 2.

Since a short time Alexander takes master classes in the talent-class of the great Ukrainian / American piano professor S. Edelmann at the Royal Conservatory of Antwerp (Belgium).

Saehyun Kim, a 14-year-old pianist from Seoul, South Korea, moved to Weston, MA in August 2021. He started his piano studies at the age of 4, and six years later, he had his first solo recital at Seoul’s Kumho Art Hall as a participant of the Kumho Prodigy Concert Series.

He has performed at major concert venues in his country over the past seven years, such as the Seoul Arts Center Recital Hall, Mozart Art Hall, Youngsan Art Hall, TLI Art Center, Samick Art Hall, and Cosmos Art Hall. Recently, he performed twice at Jordan Hall of the New England Conservatory, as part of the prestigious “First Monday at Jordan Hall” and “NEC Composers: Piano Music by NEC Alumni and Faculty” concert series. He had his orchestra debut with the Lyum Chamber Orchestra in February 2019.

In 2019, Saehyun won the second prize at the 1st International Tchaikovsky Online Piano Competition for Young Musicians. The youngest participant in the final round, he performed with the Korean Symphony Orchestra under the baton of Maestro Chi-Yong Chung. Additionally, he won first prizes at the 2021 New York International Classical Music Competition and the 2018 Ewha & Kyunghyang Music Competition, the most prestigious young artist music competition in Korea. Saehyun has participated in internationally recognized festivals and camps such as Morningside Music Bridge (2021), Ishikawa Music Academy (2018), and Eumyeon International Music Festival (2017).

Beyond these achievements, Saehyun has won further accolades at international and national levels. He took top honors at the Music Chunchu Competition and the Music Education News Competition. He gained attention as the youngest medalist of his divisions at the Korea Steinway Competition, Dong-A Junior Music Competition, Korea Chopin Competition, Korea Liszt Competition, Kalaidos Piano Competition, and the Kyungju International Music Competition. Moreover, he won the Encouragement Award at the Ishikawa Music Academy in Japan.

In 2018, Saehyun was interviewed for JTBC Classic Today, a music program that features leading musicians of South Korea. Furthermore, KBS (Korea’s national channel) invited him to its Classic FM Radio Station. Over the live broadcast, Saehyun had an interview and played three pieces by Tchaikovsky, Chopin, and Schumann. In the past five years, Saehyun received masterclasses from Kevin Kenner, Piotr Paleczny, Enrico Pace, John O’Conor, Krzysztof Jablonski, Lev Natochenny, Aviram Reichert, Choong-Mo Kang, Jinsang Lee, and Fumiko Eguchi. Back in Korea, Saehyun attended Yewon School and studied with Soojung Shin, Professor Emeritus at Seoul National University. Currently, he is a sophomore at Walnut Hill School for the Arts and studies with HaeSun Paik, Professor at New England Conservatory. This coming June, he is competing in the 8th Sendai International Music Competition as the youngest participant.

Displaying an immense interest for music at an early age, Lam Pui Yin started learning the piano at age 5 and subsequently picked up the violin and viola, passing LTCL examinations for all three instruments at 10.

Currently under the tutelage of Prof Gabriel Kwok at the Hong Kong Academy of Performing Arts, Pui Yin has also studied the piano with Ms Poon Tak. He has obtained exceptional results in the Hong Kong Schools Music Festival, receiving the first prize in the Piano Solo Gold Medal Award in 2021 and the third prize in the Junior Exhibitioner Award in 2017. He was invited to perform at the ABRSM Diploma Awards Ceremony for two consecutive years in 2018 and 2019 for acquiring high distinctions in the DipABRSM and LRSM examinations in piano. Pui Yin has received multiple music scholarships over the years, including the Grantham Music Awards from the Grantham Scholarship Fund Committee, and the Young Talents’ Scholarship from his school, St. Paul’s Co-educational College.
At school, Pui Yin actively participates in music-making activities. He has previously been the principal of the viola section in the School Symphony Orchestra, as well as a member of the Programme for the Musically Gifted. At the 2019 Summer Concert, he was selected to play the piano solo in the Asian premiere of a work for choir, orchestra and piano. His feels that his experience in ensemble playing has helped him become a more complete musician.

Pui Yin’s enthusiasm in music is not limited to performance; he is passionate about all kinds of musical pursuits. Pui Yin enjoys music analysis, and is especially intrigued by the inner workings of twelve-tone serialism. He has written a paper analysing the different types of developing variation in Alban Berg’s Piano Sonata. He also reads extensively about music history. In his spare time, Pui Yin likes to explore avant-garde music on the internet, improvise in the style of different composers on the piano and compose themes for string quartet.

Twelve year old pianist Olivia Larco studies piano at the Colburn School with Fabio Bidini, and is currently a seventh grader at Westridge School for Girls in Pasadena, California.

In March, 2020, at the age of ten, she performed on NPR’s From the Top, a live concert showcasing young musicians under 18, recorded at the Wallis Annenberg Center for the Performing Arts in Beverly Hills, CA, then broadcast nationwide. Following her performance, she was immediately engaged by the Beverly Hills Chamber of Commerce as a guest artist for their annual gala, Innovate Beverly Hills, featuring some of the nations’s brightest thought-leaders and innovators in fields of science, medicine, business, and arts, to perform at The Wallis the following week. Olivia was accepted that same year to Juilliard Pre College.

In May of 2019, Olivia made her national television debut on the ABC’s hit sitcom “Modern Family” on their grand finale episode “ A Year of Birthdays” as a piano prodigy, and was cast as Nannerl Mozart in a very short film, to have been featured at the Cannes Festival in 2020, which was canceled due to the Covid pandemic.

Olivia has studied for two summers at the Aspen Music Festival and School, in 2018 and 2019, at age eight and nine, respectively, with Veda Kaplinsky. During her studies there, she was selected to to perform in the Spotlight Recital at Harris Hall, as well as two other venues. She will be returning to Aspen this summer as a student of Veda Kaplinsky and Fabio Bidini.

Among Olivia’s interests are writing, reading, and history. She has written three novels – “The Girl with a Bionic Leg”, “Sweet Salt”, and a historical novel yet to be titled, as well as many short stories and poems.

During her free time, Olivia loves to read, take photos of nature, bake, watch anime, spend time with her friends, and play with her dog, Lulu.

Ryan Lu, 12 years old, is a 7th grade student at Dwight-Englewood School in NJ. He started playing piano at age 5 and has been a student of Stella Xu since he was 7. Ryan has received many top prizes in numerous competitions.

His most recent accomplishments include National Finalist of the 2022 MTNA Junior Piano Performance Competition after winning the First in the Eastern Division; First place winner in New Jersey Teachers Association Young Musicians Competition for five consecutive years (2017, 2018, 2019, 2020, 2021); First place of 2020 Tristate (NY, NJ, CT) Steinway Piano Competition and 2019 Steinway Junior Competition; Gold-prize winner in the 2020 VIVO International Music Competition and Judge’s favorite award of 2022 VIVO International Music Competition; three times First place winner of New Jersey Music Educators Piano Solo Competition (2018, 2019, 2021).

Ryan has also won the Second prize in the  2021 Chicago International Music Competition (professional category) and Enkor International Music Competition.
Ryan’s powerful fingers and imposing techniques along with the natural musical imaginations allows him to play the most demanding works with ease and flair. His performances not only impress judges in many competitions and electrify audiences in many recitals.

His major performances at Carnegie Weill Recital Hall, Merkin Concert Hall and New Jersey Performing Arts Center are all well received. Besides his strong passion for playing piano, Ryan is also a member of New Jersey Symphony Youth Orchestra as a cellist.

Moreover, he loves sports and enjoys playing hockey with NJ Falcons which is a NJYHL Ice Hockey Club. At school, Ryan is regularly involved in many academic activities such as robotics, science bowl and math club.

Eleven-year-old Peter Parra is a six-grader from Mountain View, California. He is a piano major student at the San Francisco Conservatory of Music (SFCM) Pre-College and he studies with Professor Erna Gulabyan.

Peter started his piano journey at the age of four and loved the world of music and performance ever since. He is a cheerful, energetic, and inquisitive boy who really enjoys expressing his passion for life in his piano performance. Peter was humbled to win many top prizes at state, national, and international piano competitions and festivals since 2017, including LA International Liszt Competition, ENKOR International Music Competition, Rome International Music Competition, Houston International Music Competition, Glory International Piano Competition, American Protégé Piano and String Competition, Marilyn Mindell Piano Competition, Great Composers Competitions, US Open Music Competition (USOMC), USIMC, CAPMT Honors Competition, MTAC Piano Solo Competition, and Junior Bach Festival. Peter has been recognized for his artistry, music sensitivity, and unique energy in his piano performance.

At the SFCM Pre-College, Peter studies composition and attends the chamber music program. He enjoys writing original pieces and working with other young musicians. Peter is the pianist of the youngest piano-violin-cello trio group at the SF Conservatory.

Growing up in a very musical and multi-cultural family, Peter loves Mariachi music which connects him with his Hispanic root and Mexican heritage. He also has a keen interest in traditional Chinese instruments influenced by his mother’s Chinese family and culture.

Besides piano and music, Peter loves Dance Sport and Math Olympiads. He is a competitive Preteen Latin Ballroom dancer and athlete with US National Championship finalist title. Peter and his dance partner won many national and international ballroom dance competitions. Peter is an active member of his middle school’s Math Olympiad team. In 2021, he was the California State Champion and National Top 10 in MathLeague Contest and received honors in AMC8. In his free time, Peter enjoys swimming, coding and gaming, and traveling with his family.

Sebastian Picht comes from a musical family. One of his earliest musical memories was listening to his grandfather, Edward Kalendar, play jazz standards and his original compositions on the piano. Sebastian began his piano training with his grandmother, Asya Kalendar, and started private lessons at the age of five. He was most recently a piano student of Ms. Amy Yang in Philadelphia. Sebastian currently attends the Peabody Institute of the Johns Hopkins University in Baltimore as a student of Professor Alexander Shtarkman.

Sebastian has received numerous prizes and awards is a Lang Lang Young Scholar for 2022-2024. Sebastian performed for the opening concert of the 2023 Swiss Alps Classics in June as a representative of the Lang Lang Foundation. Sebastian made his orchestral debut with the Lansdowne Symphony in May 2022 as winner of the 2021 Irving Ludwig Concerto Competition. He was a finalist in the 2022 Oberlin Piano Festival Competition, and also received an Honorable Mention in the 2021 Philadelphia International Piano Competition. Sebastian has also received top prizes in other local competitions through the Philadelphia Music Teachers’ Association, for which he has performed at Weill Recital Hall. He has participated in various festivals across the Northeast, including the Curtis Institute Young Artists Summer Program and the Bowdoin International Music Festival.

Sebastian has played in master classes for Yoheved Kaplinsky, Kathryn Brown, Gary Graffman, and others. Sebastian recently graduated from the chamber music program at the Center for Gifted Young Musicians at Temple Music Prep, making four tours to Iceland while a member of the program. Sebastian gave the U.S. premiere of the first movement of his grandfather’s piano concerto with the Youth Chamber Orchestra at Temple Music Prep in December 2022, composing a cadenza for the occasion. Sebastian has played many solo recitals throughout the Delaware Valley, including several at various senior residences under the auspices of Allegro Music Consultants.

In addition to his passion for the piano, Sebastian is an avid basketball fan, a skillful cook, and adept in Russian and Spanish. He also has a keen interest in politics and issues related to social justice, and is a passionate writer. He was awarded a “Silver Key” from the Scholastic Art and Writing Awards in the Short Story category. Sebastian has participated in voter registration and food distribution efforts in Philadelphia, and was a member of the University of Pennsylvania’s “Model Organization of American States” program for 2022-2023. Sebastian recently graduated from Central High School in Philadelphia with a diploma in the International Baccalaureate Program.

Wang JingXing , born in ShangHai China in 2009, started his piano learning after his father WANG Qing, who is a professor of piano in Shanghai Conservatory Music (SCM).

He furthered his musical education in the ShangHai Music School (attached to SCM) after XIE Jia and YU Yin Jia. In 2021 ,he was recruited as the pianist in SMC Trio and been awarded People’s Scholarship and Niu Ende Scholarship during his study in the schools. Won himself prizes in tremendous piano competitions, the mains such as both Golden Prize and Special Prize in Concerto AB Category of The 21st International Chopin Piano Competition in ASIA(2020, Japan), both First Prize in Junior Category and Grand Prize in Professional Category of 2021 Aegio International Piano Competition(2021, Canada), and both first prize of Category C and “Nevena Popovic” Special Prize in the 8th International Piano Competition “Città di San Donà di Piave” (2021, Italy).

His Performance started to show in significant events and on main stages in Shanghai, such as leading pianist of 100 piano performance event, and performance on International Seminar of Artists on the stage of Shanghai Music Concert Hall (Dec 2019), and the pianist of the World premiere of award-winning composition Animal’s Friends at the 2nd Piano Pedagogy Academic Week. His Concert of Solo and Chamber Piano Music was recruited to the “Musician Hatching” Program of SCM, and he was selected to the e Lang Lang International Music Foundation Young Scholar Program of 2022-2024.

Ruochong “Steven” Cui started studying piano at the age of four under teachers in his region and started showing potential in music.

After his family immigrated to the U.S. in 2015, he started studying piano with Ms. San-Qing Lu-Bennaman, a former soloist with the Shanghai Symphony and a graduate of the Peabody Conservatory.

While working with Ms. Lu-Bennaman, Steven won numerous regional competitions as well as the first prize in his age group at The 24th International Fryderyk Chopin Piano Competition for Children and Youth in Szafarnia, Poland and The 3rd Catholic University of America Piano Competition in Washington, D.C. He also became a From The Top alumni during this time. After being admitted into the Pre-College Division of The Juilliard School in the fall of 2017, he started studying with Dr. Yoheved Kaplinsky and Dr. Yi-Heng Yang. Steven currently attends both Juilliard and the Dwight-Englewood School in New Jersey. At school, he is actively discovering other interests outside of the performing arts. He is the premiere member of the Middle School Ethics Bowl team at his school which holds debates on ethical worldly issues and participates in the annual ethics bowl competition. He is also contributing to the arts at school as he is a member of the show choir which performs a diverse repertoire of musical works each year. During his free time, you can find him scrolling through Instagram, watching Netflix, or conducting prestigious orchestras on YouTube while brushing his teeth.

Yidi Ding was born in Shanghai, China in August, 2011. At the age of 5, he began his formal piano study.

After one year, he showed promising talent, and went on to win 15 first prizes in America, China and Europe. At six years old, he was invited to perform at NYC’s Carnegie Hall, and The Golden Hall in Vienna, Austria.

Now, Yidi Ding resides in the U.S. At seven years old in 2019 he was accepted to The Juilliard School Pre-College program, and became their youngest enrolled student. Later in the year, he performed at a Thanksgiving Piano Recital in Shanghai, and at the Trump National Golf Club.

In 2018, Yidi won First Prize of Preschooler Class and First Prize of Chinese Music Grading Test Class at the 8th Hong Kong International Piano Invitation Final Competition. He also was awarded First Prize of Children Class and the Exceptional Young Talent Special Prize at the Golden Classical Music Award International Competition, after which, he was invited to perform at The Golden Hall in Vienna Austria.

In March 2018, he released his first CD at the age of six, titled “A Collection of Piano Works”. In April, he was selected at the first prize winner of the Young Musicians, and received the Exceptional Young Talent Special Prize at the Grand Prize Virtuoso International Music Competition. He was then invited to perform at Carnegie Hall.

He gave his first public recital at six years old at the Shanghai Oriental Art Center, and was awarded first prize at the Franz Liszt International Youth Piano Final Competition.

In 2017, he made his debut at the Shanghai Oriental Art Center. Later that year, he was awarded first prize at the Zhu Jiang International Youth Piano Final Competition, and first prize of the Children’s Class at the Yangtze River Delta Music Final Competition.

12 year-old Yuk-Chiu Lai first started learning the piano at the age of four and have loved it ever since.

He has been studying the piano under the tutelage of Kinwai Shum in the Junior Music Program in the Hong Kong Academy of Performing Arts, where he also double major in the violin as a student of Nicholas Leung, Concert master of Hong Kong Strings Orchestra. Yuk–Chiu has achieved distinctions in violin (ATCL) and piano (ABRSM grade 8).

A student of St Joseph’s College and St Joseph’s Primary School (SJPS) in Hong Kong, he has been active in performances as both pianist and violinist.

In Nov 2018, he had the opportunity to grace the stage with Tsang-Hei Chiu, renowned music producer and composer, to perform piano four hands during the SJPS 50th Anniversary Gala Dinner.

He was nominated as SJPS music ambassador to the Austria Chinese Profound Arts Festival in July 2019, and has performed as the piano and violin soloist, piano accompanist to the school choir, as well as concert master for the school orchestra in Großer Saal in Salzburg in Austria.

An active participant in the Hong Kong School Music Festival, he has garnered prizes in each of the past seven years, most recently a first place in grade 8 piano solo. He has also achieved first prize in piano in the Junior Category of International Music Competition Salzburg “Grand Prize Virtuoso” in July 2019.

Yuk-Chiu has a wide range of interests. He was a cub scout with the First Hong Kong Scout Group and has received the Golden Bauhinia Award by the Hong Kong Scout Association. Playing soccer and table tennis are his favourite pastimes.

After returning from Japan where he was featured on Japanese national TV, Joshua performed for the historical inauguration of Chicago’s first black female mayor at Wintrust Area this past Spring.

Last summer he performed at Carnegie Hall with The National Youth Orchestra and in Miami with The New World Symphony.

Spring of 2018, he did a 12-day tour in Germany where he performed to a sold-out audience in Berlin. He has appeared on ABC TV’s Windy City Live TV three times and on WTTW’s Chicago Tonight. In 2013, Joshua was invited to perform for the Vice Premier of China at the Pritzker Pavilion in Millennium Park.

Joshua has performed at Lincoln Center, Carnegie Hall and Steinway Hall in N.Y. He has opened for the Jackson’s, Ramsey Lewis and TV’s Nick Canon. He has played in England, France, Greece, Turkey, Austria, Germany, Italy and Spain.

Joshua is 16 and in 11th grade at Whitney Young Magnet High School in Chicago.

Awards and Honors

• Walgreens National Concerto Competition (2018, 1st Place Senior Division) – First time a Freshman won the Senior Division
• Emilio del Rosario Young Artist International Piano Concerto Competition (2017, Junior Division winner)
• DePaul Concerto Competition (2016, overall winner)
• Walgreens National Concerto Competition (2015, overall winner)
• SAVLER Competition (1st Place, Junior II Division)
• CAMTA Sonata Festival (2015, Level C)
• Granquist Music Competition (2011, overall winner)He also won honors at the National Junior Music Festival two years in a row.

In early April 2014, Joshua won first place in a Merit Music Conservatory competition.

Raditya Muljadi is 10 years old and he started learning piano from his mother when he was 4. He is currently studying piano with Jasmine Steadman in Aurora, Colorado.

Raditya has placed 1st in many piano competitions in Colorado: The Rising Star Festival by Colorado State Music Teacher Association in 2016, Schmitt Music Piano Competition in 2015 and 2018, Yamaha Competition in 2018 and 2019, and the Steinway Competition in 2019. He placed 2nd in 2017 Schmitt and 2018 Steinway Competitions.

In 2018 he was invited to perform Mozart Piano Concerto no 23, I in A Major with the National Repertory Orchestra in Breckenridge, Colorado. In 2019 he had an opportunity to play a recital in Jaya Suprana School of Performing Arts in Jakarta, Indonesia.

He sings and accompanies the children choir in church and enjoyed his experience being part of the Colorado Children Chorale. He also enjoys playing the Baritone in the Beginning Band class in his school.

Raditya is a student at Ascent Classical Academy in Lonetree, Colorado. He loves learning Latin, Mathematics, Literature, and History. He also participated in Parker Teen Court, where he learns about basic judicial system and its real application to local youth community.

In his spare time, Raditya enjoys Tae Kwon Do where he is working on achieving his second degree black belt, swimming, skiing, camping, chess, and reading detective/mystery books.

10-year-old pianist Xinran Shi, born in Cambridge, UK, lives in San Jose, California. She is a 5th grader at Challenger School. She started her first piano class at age 4 ½ with Ms. Yijia Ho, then later with Ms. Lena Grozman, and she currently studies with American pianist & Steinway Artist Professor Hans Boepple.

She has received top prizes at numerous piano competitions, and has been praised for her artistry and musical sensitivity.

Xinran won first place at the 2019 China Grand Canal International Piano Art Festival and Lang Lang Piano Competition in Hang Zhou, China, and was honored to attend the master class with Lang Lang. She won Silver medal at the 2019 Seattle International Piano Competition and was awarded Teachers’ Favorite Prize in the winner concert held in Benaroya Hall, Seattle. In 2019, Xinran also won first place at the Pacific Musical Society & Foundation Competition and the Steinway Junior Piano Competition, first alternate at the MTAC solo competition, and she was invited to perform at the Junior Bach Music Festival Concert and its Honor Concert at the Rossmoor Retirement Community in Walnut Creek. For further music study, in 2019 summer, Xinran attended John Perry Academy International Piano Festival, where she took master classes and private lessons with John Perry, Mina Perry, Jean-David Coen, Sasha Starcevich, Chun-Chieh Yen, and shared her music with other young musicians in the one week festival. Previously, she also took master classes with Madam Ruth Slenczynska and Christopher O’Riley. Xinran appreciated the chances to learn with so many great teachers, musicians and pianists, and she gained invaluable insight into the music by their comments and compliments.

Xinran not only performs in concert hall, she also likes to perform in senior centers and her school. She likes to share her music with all ages and spread her happiness and joy by music. Her dream is to become an artist and pianist who has the ability to use the power of music to inspire others positively.

Besides playing piano, Xinran loves dancing. She had learned Chinese/Jazz dance for more than 6 years, and has been in a dance competition team for the past three years winning twice National Grand Champions and many national champions. Since Fall 2019, Xinran started her professional ballet training and got chances to perform in the San Jose Nutcracker with world famous ballet artists. Among her other interests are reading and swimming.

Sophia Suwiryo is a 10 year old scholarship student in the preparatory department at the University of Cincinnati College-Conservatory of Music and studies with Dr. Takako Hayase Frautschi. Sophia began her studies at 4 years old.

Since then she has received numerous awards and performance opportunities including a couple national TV broadcastings on ABC News and Steve Harvey TV Show. In both shows, she was featured as a 9-year-old child prodigy. Sophia has received many awards as a soloist. She received a first place in numbers of competitions such as Chopin International Piano Competition (Hartford, CT), Golden Classical Music Awards International Competition, American Protégé International Competition of Romantic Music, and ENKOR International Music Competition. She is also a two-time winner at Carmel Klavier International Piano Competition. She is also known as the gold medalist of 2017 AADGT International Young Musicians Festival, a grand prize winner of 2017 Rising Talent Music Festival and a winner of the exceptionally young talent special prize of 2017 Golden Classical Music Awards International Competition. She also holds a gold medal for scoring the highest in State of Ohio and National Gold Medal for the 2016 Royal Conservatory Certificate Program.Her special talent as a soloist has also been recognized by orchestras.

Sophia has performed with Cincinnati Pops Orchestra, conducted by Maestro John Morris Russell who described Sophia as “amazing” and “brilliant”. Her concerto competition awards include first place in 2017 Jack & Lucille Wonnell Young Artist Concerto Competition of the Blue Ash Montgomery Symphony Orchestra and 2019 American Fine Arts Festival International Concerto Competition. All these prizes have led Sophia to perform at the CarnegieHall in New York for five times.Sophia’s musical career has also been extended to the international level. This past summer, Sophia made an international debut at the XXV International Chopin Festival at Busko Zdroj, Poland. During the festival, she attended in master classes given by Dr. Krystian Tkaczewski who is known as a “Polish Virtuoso.”In summer 2019, Sophia was invited to attend Cincinnati Young Artist Chamber Music Festival and it has opened the door to be an active chamber musician. She currently has a piano trio group.

Sophia musical gift as a pianist has been awarded in many competitions but also been appreciated by charities. She has performed to raise funds for Dragonfly Foundation, Diocesan Catholic Children Home Center, Gino DiMario Foundation, and California Biochar Association. Her hobbies include baking, drawing, and competing in chess tournaments.

Keyi Wang has been a piano student at the Pre-College Division at The Juilliard School since 2017. There, she studies with Hung-Kuan Chen and Tema Blackstone.

Born in 2007, in Hainan, China, it was only a year after she started learning piano at the age of four and a half that her musical talents were discovered. Keyi was fascinated with piano and played her first solo recital at age eight in Hainan. In 2015, Keyi won two prestigious competitions in China: the Pearl-River Kayserburg Competition and Steinway International. In 2017, Miss Wang moved to New York City, and in 2018 she garnered first prizes in the Princeton Steinway Youth Piano Competition and Juilliard Concerto Competition, the 2019 Steinway Junior Competition, and the Juilliard-Bachauer Scholarship Competition.

In 2018, Keyi was fortunate enough to partake in the Shanghai Conservatory’s International Piano Festival receiving the opportunity of a solo recital in their concert hall. In the summer she attended the Aspen Music Festival performing in Harris hall and participated in several masterclasses given by Arie Vardi and Yoheved Kaplinsky.

Keyi has received recital opportunities at Juilliard for the past two years and was nominated into the Artemisia Foundation, receiving a prize for outstanding artistry, and was further chosen by the Lang Lang Foundation in 2020 as a new scholar.

Keyi is in 8th grade in New York and was honored to participate in her school’s Global Concert in the Stern Auditorium at Carnegie Hall 2018, and made her Carnegie debut in Zankel Hall in 2020. She has performed in the series Sessions in the Vault in Chelsea Market, the Stella Series, and will return to the Aspen Music Festival again in 2022.

Ms. Wang has such diverse interests, studying French, running for school oce, chamber music, and swimming – she adores Manhattan and feels a whole world has been opened up to her for which she’s very grateful.

Wu, Hiu Wah Ruby was born in 2006 August, and started playing piano when she was 4 years old. In 2012, at the age of 6, she was admitted into the GMC Academy Young Pianist Program and has since studied with principal Ms. Rizzo Chung.

Ruby is the scholarship recipient of Robert Black Trust Fund. She won several prizes in piano competitions locally and internationally, including Silver Prize of the Elementary Category in The Chopin International Piano Competition in Asia held in Tokyo Japan 2017; First Prize of the Steinway & Sons International Youth Piano Competition (Hong Kong & Macau Region) 2017, and represented Hong Kong to participate the China Final in Beijing, where she won the First Prize as well as The Grand Prize and was invited to perform in Closing Ceremony. In 2017 September, Ruby has been selected to participate in the 2nd Zhuhai Mozart International Music Competition, and she was successfully advanced to the semi-final round. Ruby has also awarded the Encouragement Prize of the 4th Hanoi International Piano Competition in 2018 Summer.

In addition, she has won numerous First prizes at Hong Kong Schools Music Festival, including Junior Exhibitioner Award 2019 where she was invited to perform in the Winners Concert, held in Shatin Town Hall Auditorium.

Besides, Ruby also plays a duet with her sister, Jodie, forming Wu’s Duo. In 2017 summer, they won the Second prize of a duet competition in Hong Kong and represented Hong Kong in The 21st PIARA Final Concours, where they got the Second Prize as well as Steinway & Sons Achievement Award.

In April 2018, she was invited by IMC Music Company Japan to give her Concerto Debut concert in Tokyo Kyurian Hall with Filharmonia Śląska im Henryka Mikołaja Góreckiego Polish, conducted by Mirosław Blaszczyk, and performed Mozart Concerto K414 no.12 in A major. Ruby was also invited to perform and broadcast in RTHK 4 in Hong Kong to share her passion of music with audiences. She loves playing the piano and flute, and uses it to share all her musical ideas to audiences.

In early 2008, I began to play the piano under the supervision of Associate Prof. Xiaojun Li, the Director of the Piano Department of the Affiliated Middle School of Shenyang Conservatory of Music.

In the meantime, I also received professional guidance from Prof. Danwen Wei, the Director of the Piano Department of the Central Conservatory of Music. During my stay at Hunnan No. 1 Primary School, I was recommended by the school headmaster Ning Feng to one of his students, the Piano Master Lang Lang, an international piano superstar. Supported by the school headmaster Ning Feng, I made up my mind to pursue professional study. In Lang Lang’s Music World, Lang Lang’s father- a piano educator, personally directed my piano training. The Master Lang Lang commented on my piano performance, “This child has genius! If he develops well, he will become a world-class pianist”. At the same time, the conductor and composer Prof. Shu Lin taught me solfeggio and composition.

Education Background
The Juilliard School – September 2018 till Present

Supervised by Dr. Yoheved Kaplinsky, the Director of the Department of the Piano.

Honors and Awards

• First Place in the Liaoning Division of the National Golden Bell – September 2014
• Star of Tomorrow in the Italian Perugia Music Festival – 2016-2017
• Best Popularity Award of the Piano in the Lang Lang Shenzhen Futian International Piano Competition- May 2017
• First Place in the Amateur Group of the 2017 Shenzhen Piano Open Concerto – 2017

Extra curricular Activities:

• Invited by the University of Oxford to go to the UK to successfully hold a solo recital, which was highly praised by music masters – 2013
• Invited to participate in the performance of Shenyang TV Station – December 2013
• Played a solo of the fourth movement of the Yellow River in the Children’s New Year Concert – 2014
• Personal piano recital was held in Shenzhen – May 2014
• Invited by Shenyang Zhendong Symphony Orchestra to cooperate with the conductor Chenghao Jin: Mendelssohn’s
• First Piano Concerto – June 1, 2015
• Invited by Lang Lang to participate in the recording of CCTV First Lesson of New Semester, played with Lang Lang using four hands – August 18th, 2017
• Personal Thanksgiving piano concert was successfully held at the Shengjing Grand Theatre in Shenyang. Cooperated with the Shenyang Symphony Orchestra and was directed by Prof. Danwen Wei – December 2, 2018

“Musical prodigies can be insufferably tiresome, but pianist Harmony Zhu proved herself something much more than that – a deeply musical soul and nimble technician who happens to be 13 years old.”

– Chicago Tribune

A Young Steinway Artist since age 10, Harmony Zhu has been featured three times on NBC’s The Ellen DeGeneres Show, CBC News, NPR’s From the Top, and CBS, among many others, for her exceptional gifts in piano, composition, and chess.

Harmony has appeared with The Philadelphia Orchestra, Chicago Symphony Orchestra, Israel Philharmonic, Detroit Symphony Orchestra, Orquestra Filarmónica de Medellín, Orlando Symphony Orchestra, Peoria Symphony Orchestra, Big Spring Orchestra, Aspen Philharmonic, Aspen Conducting Academy Orchestra, and New York Youth Symphony, among others, with some of the most venerated conductors including Leonard Slatkin, Marin Alsop, Yannick Nézet-Séguin, Arie Vardi, John Giordano, George Stelluto, Roberto González-Monjas, Michael Repper, and Pablo Rus Broseta.

Performing regularly at prestigious festivals and venues worldwide, Harmony recently had the great privilege of making her debut at Carnegie Hall’s Stern Auditorium. After her debut appearance as a soloist at the Ravinia Music Festival in the summer of 2018, she was invited back to Ravinia again in 2019 to perform with the Chicago Symphony Orchestra under the baton of Marin Alsop. 2018 also marked her solo debut at the Aspen Music Festival’s Benedict Music Tent after winning the AMFS Concerto Competition. In the same year, Harmony toured with the Israel Philharmonic and appeared with the Detroit Symphony for three concerts. The year prior, she had the honor of opening The Philadelphia Orchestra’s 118th season at their Opening Night Gala Concert under the baton of Yannick Nézet-Séguin. In May 2019, Harmony had the great privilege to be invited to perform at Lincoln Center’s 60th Anniversary Diamond Jubilee Gala, sharing the stage with Joshua Bell, Harry Connick Jr., Brian Stokes Mitchell, Erin Morley, Jessie Mueller, Luke Frazier, Neil Patrick Harris, Chelsea Clinton, and Misty Copeland. She was also the only Pre-College piano student selected to perform at Juilliard Spring Gala and Juilliard Pre-College Centennial Gala.

In 2016, 10-year-old Harmony was invited by the Peoria Symphony Orchestra to be the Resident Artist of the Week, where she was featured extensively on TV, radio programs, and newspapers, performed a televised recital for Sound Bites Concert “A Prodigy’s Journey”, and guested at WTVP’s “Consider This” – “What makes a Virtuoso” with Dr. Yoheved Kaplinsky. Since she was first featured on the Emmy-award winning show From the Top, broadcast on NPR, at age 9, Harmony has been a frequent collaborator with the show, starring in two of their most popular music videos, one of which chosen as WQXR’s “19 of Our Favorite Internet Moments of 2018”. She was also named one of the “30 Hot Canadian Classical Musicians Under 30” by CBC Music at age 8, the youngest ever. An avid chamber musician, Harmony has performed in a variety of ensembles including duets with renowned artists such as Emanuel Ax and Stéphane Denève, among others. Harmony has been a fellow of the Artemisia Akademie at Yale University since age 12 and has won numerous competitions from an early age. She started studying at Juilliard with Dr. Yoheved Kaplinsky at 8, becoming the youngest winner of the Juilliard Concerto Competition in the same year. Harmony also loves playing violin, composing, and improvising, and studies composition with Dr. Ira Taxin at Juilliard.

As a chess prodigy, Harmony started playing in open tournaments with adults when she was 6 and has won numerous trophies and medals in international and national chess tournaments. She was awarded the title of Woman Candidate Master at the tender age of 7 and holds the title of World Champion of her age group after winning the World Youth Chess Championships.

In addition to her endeavors in music and chess, Harmony is a voracious learner and excels in all academic areas, holding particular interests in history, mathematics, and languages, especially Latin. In her free time, Harmony enjoys reading, writing, drawing, photography, dancing, singing, ping pong, and swimming. She is also a Spelling Bee Champion and has received national awards in Spanish and photography. Harmony’s phenomenal talent led her to create a sensation when she was featured in The Simms/Mann Think Tank 2017, an annual convening of leading neuroscientists from around the world on cutting-edge science related to the brain development of children.

Aliya Alsafa, is a pianist from Chicago, Illinois. She currently attends the Juilliard Pre-College as a student of Prof. Matti Raekallio. Recently, Aliya was named a Steinway Young Artist.

Last summer, through the Lang Lang International Music Foundation, she performed for the Andermatt Swiss Alps Classics Festival. She has also participated in the Gilmore Rising Star Series and the Leeds International Music Festival in the United Kingdom. In 2018, Aliya played in the Holland Music Sessions in Den Hoorn, Netherlands. Aliya attends Special Music High School in Manhattan. Her other interests include dance, composition, computer science, and badminton.

“I am very thankful to have been selected as a Lang Lang Young Scholar! Music is a powerful gift that promotes the exchange of new ideas and perspectives. As a pianist, I hope to put more warmth in the hearts of others through music. The Lang Lang Young Scholars Program allows me to further my dream by introducing this inspiring form of communication throughout the world. I’m so excited to be part of an international music community. Under the mentorship of Lang Lang, as well as friendships with my fellow young scholars, I look forward to making a positive difference through classical music.”

Through recent years, Aliya has been the recipient of special honors and awards. She won First Prize in numerous piano competitions including the Emilio Del Rosario Concerto Competition, Sejong Music Competition, Chopin Youth Piano Competition, and Walgreens National Concerto Early Music Division. Some of her current recognitions include, “Best Chopin Etude” at the 2017 Seattle International Piano Competition; she won First Prize in state and regional contests and Second Prize nationally in MTNA for composition; and, as MostArts youngest competitor, Aliya played with the festival orchestra at Miller Theater and received the Audience Favorite award.

Aliya has been praised for her artistry and musical sensitivity. She has performed in several prestigious concert venues throughout the country: Carnegie Hall’s Weill Recital Hall, Ravinia Bennett Gordon Hall, Harris Theater, Merkin, and Benaroya Hall. Aliya also played for Orchestra Hall at Chicago’s Symphony Center for the “Keys to the City” festival hosted by Emanuel Ax.

In 2013, Aliya was one of twelve pianists worldwide, selected for the inaugural Allianz Junior Music Camp through the Lang Lang International Music Foundation. She played in a masterclass as well as outreach concerts for schools in Munich, Germany.

At a young age, Aliya discovered her passion for music and began lessons at age four. She currently studies piano performance at the Juilliard Pre-College as a student of Prof. Matti Raekallio. Her other teachers and mentors, current or former, include Ms. Sueanne Metz, pianist and president of 88Keys to Cure (a NFP); Mary Sauer, Principal Pianist of Chicago Symphony Orchestra and Director of New Music School; as well as Claire Aebersold and Ralph Neiweem, Piano-Duo in residence at Music Institute of Chicago.

Aliya enjoys community service and has previously performed at fundraising events, retirement homes, and school outreach. She is a Davidson Young Scholar since 2010. Aliya was a 2nd place winner in the Northwestern University Midwest Academic Talent Search on the ACT (a competition with 12,000 students grades 3-9.) She currently attends Whitney Young. Among her other interests are dance, drawing, and composition.

Youtube Channel: https://www.youtube.com/channel/UCQ_uKFdhXCBDLWdwdJlc8WA

Carey Byron, age 13, has been studying the piano since the age of 4.

Since then, she has won top prizes at a number of local, state, and international competitions. In 2015, at the age of ten, she was the first prize winner of the Los Angeles Young Musicians International Competition, and received the second prize in the American Protégé International Competition, which led to her debut in Carnegie Hall. In 2016, she became the alternate winner of the Georgia MTNA competition. In both 2015 and 2016, she was awarded as the “Conference Recitalist” (first prize) in the Georgia Music Teachers Association’s three round auditions. In addition, she won first prize at the Romantic and Impressionistic Piano Competition held by the Atlanta Music Teachers Association. In 2016, she received the first prize in the Franz Liszt International Competition, where she also received a special prize for the “Best Performance of an Opera Paraphrase.” In 2017, she was a prize winner in the San Jose International Piano Competition and Glendale Piano Competition. In the same year, she won first place in the CAPMT Concerto Competition’s South Regional division, as well as the State Finals. She was the alternate winner in the California MTNA competition in 2017.

“When I first found out that I became a Young Scholar, my heart skipped a beat. It felt as if a thousand of Christmas lights were lighting up all over me! By being a Young Scholar, I would get more opportunities to share my feelings, stories, and ideas to a variety of audience through performances offered by the Lang Lang Foundation. The Foundation will offer me more training so I will become a better musician. It will be a thrill to interact with other musicians who share the same passion for music, and perform together! It will be such an honor to perform and participate in classes with Lang Lang, who has always been my inspiration. I am really looking forward to a new musical journey as a Young Scholar!”

At the age of ten, Carey was one of the prodigies selected by the Atlanta Steinway Society and, at the age of eleven, was the youngest performer featured in the Atlanta’s Young Artist series at the Emory Chamber Music Society. She has performed solo as well as chamber music recitals in the Zipper, Thayer, and Warner concert halls, to name a few. Carey had her orchestral debut in Italy with the Brunesis Virtuosi Orchestra under Maestro Uri Segal at the age of 12. She has participated in summer festivals in the Colburn School and Oberlin College, and has also performed in master classes for Dae-Jin Kim, John O’Conor, Steven Spooner, Yoshikazu Nagai, Angela Cheng, Boris Slutsky, and Antonio Pompa-Baldi. In 2017, she performed alongside withthe world-renowned concert pianist, Jean-Yves Thibaudet, in the Wallis Annenberg Center for the Performing Arts.

Carey is currently a student of Ory Shihor at the Colburn Music Academy. She aspires to become an inspiration to the new generation in classical music.

Carey Byron’s YouTube channel:

https://www.youtube.com/channel/UCE_coRCaCOVY6SgcHNJFOJA

Carey Byron’s public FaceBook:

https://www.facebook.com/CareyByronPianist/

Jeffrey Chin is 16 years old and attends the Juilliard School as a Pre-College student of Hung-Kuan Chen and Tema Blackstone. Prior to Juilliard, he studied piano with Larry Graham and Jasmine Steadman in Denver, Colorado.

“Music is an invitation to unravel a universal mystery. Countless scores of drama and dance have enchanted and united composers, performers and audiences alike. Sixteen years ago, I responded to an invitation from classical music as a newborn infant who calmed down while listening to Baby Mozart playing on a toy mobile. Today I am responding to an invitation from the Lang Lang International Music Foundation to serve as a Young Scholar in its global music education program. What an honor and privilege this invitation represents for me! I look forward to being nurtured and inspired by the incredible Lang Lang himself (!!!) and to forming new friendships with the other talented Young Scholars in my class. It is no mystery to me that the Lang Lang International Music Foundation will stimulate my own growth as a budding performing artist. Thank you for this amazing opportunity to spark a universal passion for classical music.”

Jeffrey Chin is 16 years old and attends the Juilliard School as a Pre-College student of Hung-Kuan Chen and Tema Blackstone. Prior to Juilliard, he studied piano with Larry Graham and Jasmine Steadman in Denver, Colorado. At age 11, he won the Denver Steinway Piano Concerto Competition (Middle School Division) and was invited to perform Mozart Piano Concerto No. 20 in D minor with the Colorado Symphony Orchestra. His other piano concerto performances include the National Repertory Orchestra, Breckenridge Symphony Orchestra, Colorado Chamber Orchestra and Lamont Summer Academy Orchestra. In 2014, he was named Top Performer in Junior Category by the Young Musicians Foundation of Colorado. He was First Place Winner of the 2015 Colorado State MTNA Junior Piano Competition and First Place Winner of the 2016 West Central Division MTNA. In 2016, he was a Junior Category Finalist and Third Prize Winner in the Midwest International Piano Competition. For the past three summers, he has attended the Aspen Music Festival and School where he was selected for masterclasses with Arie Vardi, Stephen Hough and Inon Barnatan. Most recently, he was named a Fellow of the Artemisia Akademie at Yale University and had a masterclass with Boris Berman. He was selected by the Lang Lang International Music Foundation to be a Young Scholar in the class of 2018-2020. He has maintained a 4.0 GPA throughout middle school and high school. In his spare time, Jeffrey enjoys math, computer coding, and learning French and Mandarin Chinese.

https://www.facebook.com/jcpianist2015/?ref=bookmarks

Katarina is currently studying at Diocesan Girls’ School in Hong Kong. She started her first piano lesson at the age of three. She is currently learning the piano with Mr. Kam Wing Chong, and was previously a student of Mr. Wang Nan and Ms. Yu Pui Sze. She has been a Violin Major student of Mr. Chan Kwok Wai in the Junior Music Program of Hong Kong Academy of Performing Arts (HKAPA) since the age of 6.

“Music is my best friend and is a unique way of communication. I love to share my deep love of music through my performance. Music is wonderful and I enjoy performing music on stage. I am thrilled and delighted to become the Young Scholar 2018-2020 of Lang Lang International Music Foundation, which renders me the invaluable opportunities to share music with other young musicians from around the world and to learn from the music maestros through the summer music summits and other unique activities of the Program.

Being a Young Scholar is going to be a milestone of my music life, and I am thankful for such a precious and special opportunity. I will take this as a great honour and cherish the learning opportunity to enhance my stagecraft and polish my sensitivity to the musicality of different music works.”

Katarina passed ATCL Recital Diploma in Piano of Associate of Trinity College London with Distinction in 2016, and obtained the Diploma of the Associated Board of the Royal Schools of Music (DipABRSM) in Violin in 2017. She was invited to perform in the Prize-winners’ Concert for the 70th Hong Kong Schools Music Festival in 2018 featuring the Preludes of Claude Debussy, following her Championship in the class of “Composer of the Year”. The performance was broadcasted by Channel 4 of Radio Television Hong Kong (RTHK). She has won many prizes in the open music competitions in Hong Kong since the age of five, including the solo and duet classes for the piano and for the violin in the Hong Kong Schools Music Festivals.

Katarina devotes most of her time in music learning and practice since primary school years. She particularly enjoys playing and sharing music with musicians in the choir, orchestra and chamber music groups. She is currently the pianist for the Junior Choir of Diocesan Girl’s School, and a violinist in the Symphony Orchestra of HKAPA and Diocesan Girls’ School. Katarina has also performed music as a soloist in Hong Kong and the U.S., and as an orchestral player in the Greater China region.

Jasper Heymann is a pianist from New York City, who began his piano studies at the age of five. Jasper has been a laureate in more than fifteen domestic and international piano competitions, with more than twenty performances at Carnegie Hall’s Weill Recital Hall.

“Thank you so much Lang Lang International Music Foundation for welcoming me to the Young Scholar’s Program, Class of 2018-20. It’s an honor and a privilege to be selected to participate in this wonderful foundation, to have the opportunity to study with Lang Lang and to be able to collaborate with other Young Scholars. Music has the power to unite people, while allowing one to express feelings and emotions in a way that few other forms of communication can. This opportunity will allow me to share my passion for classical music performance with a wider audience and to continue to grow as a musician. I can’t wait!”

New York Concert Review lauded Jasper’s “astounding lyricism,” “pianism that would be the envy of anyone two, three, even four times his age,” and “deep emotional bond with the music” in its review of his benefit concert for MusiCorps, a music rehabilitation program for wounded soldiers. (http://nyconcertreview.com/reviews/pianist-jasper-heymann-in-review/).

Recently chosen as a finalist for National Public Radio’s “From the Top” program, Jasper was also selected to study with Dina Yoffe at the Musical Summer Málaga 2017 International Festival. Among his other accomplishments are top prizes in AADGT’s International Young Gifted Musician’s Competition, American Protégé International Piano Competition, Enkor International Music Competition, American Fine Arts Festival, Bradshaw & Buono International Competition, and Golden Key Music Festival; participation in the Schlern Music Festival, scholarships to the Vianden International Music Festival in Luxembourg and the Alexander & Buono festival in New York; masterclasses with Dina Yoffe, Mikhail Voskresensky and Eduardo Delgado; and, performances with chamber ensembles in Europe and the United States.

Jasper studies piano with Elena Rossman. His other interests are aeronautical and sound engineering, percussion, fencing, skiing and photography. Jasper attends Horace Mann School in New York.

Lung Man Hin Wilson was born in 2005, and started learning piano at the age of 6 at GMC School of Music. In 2013, at the age of 8, he was admitted into the GMC Young Pianist Program and he currently studies with GMC principal Ms Rizzo Chung and senior teacher Mr. Gary Wong.

“I am so excited to be selected as one of the Young Scholars of Lang Lang International Music Foundation. It will create an unforgettable and fantastic experience for me. I will treasure the chance to study with Lang Lang and other famous pianists, as well as the chance to link with other young scholars, who share the same character to music lover with me. Music is just like magic. It can go deep inside everyone’s soul and make a change there. I can’t wait to perform as a young scholar and start spreading my joy and hope to people all over the world.”

Wilson received many prizes in local and international competitions, including multiple wins in the Hong Kong Schools Music Festival from 2013-2017. He was awarded First Prize at the Junior Exhibitioner Award in 2017 and was invited to perform in the Prize-winners’ concert held in Hong Kong Shatin Town Hall Auditorium, which was broadcasted on RTHK4.

He was also the First Prize winner of the Hong Kong Children and Youth Piano Contest Age 9 and Under Category, and Age 15 and Under Category in 2015 and 2017 respectively.

In July 2015, Wilson won the First Prize of the Fourth Japan-Hong Kong international Music Competition Professional Category Piano Section Junior B Class. He was also awarded the special jury prize “Tokyo College of Music Prize”, a which consists of a scholarship of Tokyo to perform in the 2015 Goodwill Concert at the Tokyo College of Music.

In the same year, he was also a prizewinner in the 79th Steinway & Sons International Youth Piano Competition (Hong Kong & Macau Region) and represented Hong Kong in the China Final which was held in Ningbo, where he won the First Prize in the Amateur Class aged 10-12.

In July 2017, Wilson attended the 21th Piara Piano Competition which was held in Hamamatsu-Japan, where he received the First Prize in Senior A Category, as well as PIARA Grand Prix Shizuoka Prefectural Governor’s Award.

Besides playing the piano, Wilson has other interests, including playing the erhu, reading Chinese literature and graphic illustration. He also loves to travel, and dreams of a performance career that would take him to different places in the world where he can immerse in different cultures and communicate through music.

Avik Sarkar is a seventeen-year-old pianist, cellist, and composer who is currently a junior at Buckingham Browne & Nichols (BB&N) in Cambridge, Massachusetts.

He studies piano with Mana Tokuno and Prof. Alexander Korsantiaat the New England Conservatory (NEC), and he previously studied with Niva Fried. Avik has won top prizes at several international, regional, and state piano competitions, including Forte Music, New York Artists, Louisiana,Bradshaw and Buono, Future Stars, and Hartford Chopin International Piano competitions. He was a first-prize winner of both the Mildred Freiberg and Ruth Davidson New England Piano Teachers Association, four-time winner of the Steinway Society of Massachusetts, and five-time winner of the Massachusetts Music Teachers Associationpiano competitions. Avikwas also the state winner ofthe Music Teachers National Association competition. He has performed in recitals at Cadogan Hall in London, UK, Symphony Hall in Boston, Carnegie Hall inNew York City, and was heard on WGBH Radio, NPR, Boston.

“I am thrilled to be chosen as a 2018–2020 Lang Lang Young Scholar! I am looking forward to the numerous opportunities that being a Young Scholar provides to learn and lead within the musical community. I believe it will be extremely beneficial to my growth as a pianist, musician, and artist and will allow me to develop skills as a performer and collaborator, which are essential to being a good musician. Music is important to me because it allows me to communicate in a way that extends beyond words and speech; it is a language that transcends divisions between people and can express our feelings with mutual understanding. Music is also important to me because it is a means of serving the community and helping the people around me. Lang Lang has been a huge idol of mine, and having the opportunity to work with him as a Young Scholar is truly a great honor and privilege!”

Aside from piano, Avik is an award-winning composer and plays cello in the NEC String Chamber Orchestra. His composition Mirror for Chamber Orchestra won the Carlos Surinach Prize BMI Student Composer award, given to the youngest laureate under age 27. Avik’s string quartet Polaritywas awarded first prize at the Robert Avalon International competition, runner-up at the Tribeca New Music Young Composers competition, and was premiered at the National Young Composers Symposium. His piece A Separate Unitywas also premiered by the Juventas New Music Ensemble at the Emerge program in Boston. Hisorchestral workPurviwas played by the Janáček Philharmonic in Ostrava,Czech Republic, and won an honorable mention at the 2016 BMI Student Composer competition. He has had several other works performed by NEC preparatory students at Keller and Brown halls.

Avik is dedicated to bringing music to the community. He has worked with From the Top’s Center for the Development of Arts Leaders and is raising money for refugees in the Boston area by organizing a classical music benefit concert. Aside from music, he enjoys competition math, writing poetry, and watercolor painting. His poem Illegalwas published in the Best Teen Writing anthology of 2016.

aviksarkar.net

Pianist Victor Shlyakhtenko, has been a student of Teresa de Jong Pombo at the Colburn Community School of Performing Arts since the age of five.

In 2017, Victor performed at Walt Disney Concert Hall in Los Angeles as a Grand Prize Winner of The Music Center’s Spotlight competition, and at Carnegie Hall in New York under the auspices of the InterHarmony International Music Festival. He received first prize as well as a Special Prize for the best performance of a piece from Années de Pèlerinage in the 2016 Los Angeles International Liszt Competition and was an invited performer at the annual Liszt Society Festival at Northwestern University. Victor’s other recent honors include first prizes at the 2017 Young Stars of the Future Concerto Competition, 2017 Parness Concerto Competition, 2017 ENKOR International Music Competition, 2016 California MTNA Piano Competition, 2016 California MTNA Composition Competition, 2017 Robert Turner Piano Concerto Competition, and the Orange County CAPMT Young Musicians Concerto Competition. In 2015–2016, Victor was chosen as the First Place Los Angeles Museum of the Holocaust’s Musical Ambassador, giving performances at their Annual Gala dinner and their 2015 Lisa Jura Young Pianist Showcase Recital. Victor has appeared as soloist with the Orange County Symphony, Los Angeles Doctors Symphony, Boulder Chamber Orchestra, Huntington Beach Symphony Orchestra, Orchestra Collective of Orange County, as well as the Colburn Youth Orchestra and Colburn Concert Choir, performing concerti by Mendelssohn, Chopin, Grieg, and Beethoven’s Choral Fantasy.

“I am so thrilled and honored to have been selected as a Young Scholar of the Lang Lang International Music Foundation! Music is a powerful and precious gift that can unite people. I feel very fortunate that music has always been an essential part of my life. My dream is for as many people as possible to experience the beauty and joy of classical music. There is a special magic to attending a live musical performance or learning to play a musical instrument. I look forward to collaborating with my fellow Lang Lang Foundation Young Scholars, taking active part in the activities of the Program and getting involved in the mission of the Foundation. I would like to use this opportunity to learn from Lang Lang, to deepen my understanding of music and to share its magnificence with others. I want to express my deep gratitude to two people: Lang Lang, for creating this wonderful opportunity; and to my piano teacher, Teresa de Jong Pombo, who has been my mentor, guide and inspiration for the last 10 years”

Victor is passionate about giving back to the community and regularly participates in several outreach concert series, including Musical Encounters, a community engagement program of the Colburn School, which sends students from its Community School of Performing Arts to perform and speak to students at Title I elementary schools. He has also participated in the Ambassador Program, a project of the Classics Alive! Foundation, which brings live music to senior citizen centers, and Musical Traces, an outreach program of Junior Chamber Music.

Victor is a founding member of California Young Musicians, a network of avid young performers who enjoy sharing their art through concerts and lecture series.

Victor has been an active participant in the InterHarmony International Music Festival in Arcidosso, Italy (2016) and Acqui Terme, Italy (2017), where he studied piano and violin, played in the Festival orchestra, and performed in several chamber ensembles.

Victor is an avid chamber musician, an award-winning composer, and an enthusiastic accompanist for instrumentalists and singers. In addition to piano, he studies music theory and composition with Doug Dutton and orchestral conducting with Maxim Eshkenazy.

Victor has played in master classes taught by James Bonn, Bruno Canino, John McCarthy, Andrew Park, Andrew Parr, John Perry, Jean-Bernard Pommier, Peter Takács, and Jean-Yves Thibaudet.

Victor has been awarded a scholarship from the Chopin Foundation of the United States for the last two consecutive years. He is currently a recipient of the Richard D. Colburn Scholarship at the Colburn School’s Community School of Performing Arts.

Youtube: https://goo.gl/72JJ83

Shuheng Zhang, a proud Lang Lang International Foundation Young Scholar, has been passionate about music ever since he started piano lessons at almost 9 years old.

He has won top prizes in many competitions such as Thousand Islands International Chopin Competition, David Dubois Piano Competition, MTNA Michigan Competition, MMTA SAT Solo and Concerto Competitions, Albion College International Piano Festival, to name a few. A frequent participant inprestigious piano festivals, Shuheng was selected to attend Lang Lang International Foundation 2016 Allianz Junior Music Camp held in Poland, 2017 Gina Bachauer International Piano Festival at Salt Lake City, and 2017 Piano Summer at SUNY New Paltz with full scholarship. He was also the youngest finalists of the 2016 MostArts Festival Piano Competition where he performed as a soloist with the MostArts Festival Orchestra. Shuheng has performed in masterclasses given by renowned pianists such as Dag Achatz, Alan Chow, Paulina Dokovska, Sean Duggan, Douglas Humphreys, Lang Lang, Panayis Lyras, John O’Conor, Robert Shannon, Sasha Starcevich and Nelita True, among others , and been praised for his sensitivity, interpretation and musicianship. Shuheng is very grateful for all the individuals and organizations who have been involved in his development in music, especially, his current teacher Logan Skelton, former teacher Mary Siciliano, Tian Tian,with whom Shuheng takes lessons regularly, and The Tuesday Musicale of Detroit.

“I am incredibly excited and honor to join the Lang Lang International Music Foundation family as a young scholar. I attended 2016 Allianz Junior Music Camp, which was such an impactful and enjoyable experience for me. Through the camp, I got to know more about the foundation, its people and its mission. So I am really looking forward to join the Lang Lang Young Scholars Program. I am looking most forward to learning more about music through the mentorship of Lang Lang and other great musicians, meeting other young scholars, and sharing my craft of performing to the public, especially, the next generation. I am always excited to learn about music, whether it be how music is performed, or how it is made, or just simply why music sounds the way it does; it’s all very fascinating and meaningful to me. I also am looking forward to meeting other Young Scholars because I always love being with people who share the same passion of music as I do, which always inspires me to become a better musician. Finally, I deeply enjoy performing music for others. Even though the cliché of “music is the universal language” has been overused almost to the point of meaninglessness, I believe there are still many truths that lie behind the statement. Music is something that everyone can relate with and enjoy, no matter how negative their view on all other subjects of the world are, as I have yet to meet a single person who claims that they do not enjoy music of any sort. Because of this, I want to spread music as a way for all people to relate with each other, to reconcile their differences, and to bring some form of common understanding between all people, and I believe that the Lang Lang Young Scholars Program, with its Keys of Inspiration™ and Play It Forward.™, will be a huge step forth in completing that vision.”

Shuheng loves sharing his passion for music with the community; he has been frequently giving outreach performances at schools and senior living houses. A well-rounded student, Shuheng excels in all school academic subjects and is serving in the board of his school’s student government.

Aside from piano, Shuheng enjoys playing hockey, jogging, and reading.

youtube: https://www.youtube.com/user/ShuhengZhang

Amir Siraj is an American pianist from Boston, Massachusetts.

Hailed by TheaterJones as a “gentle” yet “passionate” interpreter, he has played at venues including Carnegie Hall and Boston’s Symphony Hall. A top prizewinner at local, national, and international competitions, Amir has performed with orchestras including the New England Philharmonic, the Quincy Symphony Orchestra, and the Metrowest Symphony Orchestra, and prestigious organizations including the Harvard Musical Association and the American Liszt Society.

“I am delighted and humbled to have been selected as a Young Scholar of the Lang Lang International Music Foundation. Music has a beautiful way of bringing people closer, acting as a truly universal language that ties us all together. Wielding this enourmous amount of power, music education and community outreach have the potential to change millions of lives. The Lang Lang International Music Foundation plays a crucial role in realizing this potential by spearheading initiatives to make access to classical music and music education more accessible and ubiquitous. I look forward to joining my fellow Young Scholars in working to improve both as musicians and as arts leaders, under the mentorship of Lang Lang.”

Since his Carnegie Hall debut in 2010 with the American Fine Arts Festival, he has been a three-time prizewinner at the Steinway Society of Massachusetts Piano Competition, a laureate of the Chopin International Competition in Hartford, a first prize winner at the New England Piano Teachers Association Ruth Davidson Competition, two-time first prize winner at the Music Teachers National Association’s Massachusetts division, and five-time first prize winner at the Massachusetts Music Teachers Association Bay State Contest. In 2015, Amir was selected as one of twenty-four young pianists in the world to participate in the Cliburn International Junior Competition and Festival. In 2016, he was selected as a National YoungArts Foundation Winner.

As an avid proponent of the music of his time, Amir has performed many world premieres including chamber works by Stephen Feigenbaum and solo works by Larry Bell, in addition to frequent performances of published contemporary works by Lera Auerbach, Marti Epstein, and William Bolcom. He studies privately with Helena Vesterman and attends the New England Conservatory Preparatory School, and has taken master classes with the likes of Peter Serkin, Douglas Humpherys, Hung-Kuan Chen, and Meng-Chieh Liu.

Amir also has a passion for bringing music outside of the concert hall, and into communities, where classical music can have a real, tangible impact on people’s lives. As an Arts Leader with From The Top’s Center for the Development of Arts Leaders in Boston, he has worked over the past three years to spread the joy of music in hospitals, senior living communities, and children’s museums. Amir worked with the Steinway Society of Massachusetts in 2014 to give a performance at the Chapel of the Massachusetts General Hospital, where his music was broadcast live to over 1,500 patient rooms. In January of 2016, Amir organized a concert in partnership with From the Top and Music For Food to raise funds for local hunger relief efforts, which garnered enough donations to provide over 5,000 meals for community members in need. He has also performed chamber music extensively in community settings. In his free time, he enjoys rowing on CRI’s Men’s Varsity crew team and running the Brookline High School Innovation Club, which he founded.

website: http://amirsiraj.com/

Ziyao “Chelsea” Guo is a piano student of Prof. Hung-kuan Chen and Tema Blackstone at the Juilliard Pre-college Division, and studies voice with Mrs. Cynthia Sanner.

Chelsea has won several piano competitions such as 24th Annual International Young Artist Piano Competition in Washington D.C., Piano Teachers’ Congress of New York, CMTA, American Fine Arts Festival, Audrey Thayer, and American Protégé.

“I’m so honored to be selected as a young scholar for the Lang Lang International Music Foundation! I hope that this will be an enriching experience for me so that I’ll be able to expand my passion and knowledge for music, and then go even further from there to spread that to others. I’m looking forward to growing as a performer as well as a music ambassador! I hope to be a musician that can help others discover the true beauty and value of classical music, which is far greater than one’s own self. I believe that music is the one language that everyone speaks fluently, and it expresses a lot more than words will ever be able to. I’m really excited to meet Lang Lang and my fellow scholars, and hopefully, we’ll all grow together as a family and work together to inspire each other, and most importantly, other people.”

Chelsea’s solo repertoire is broad, and encompasses works from Scarlatti to Barber and Ives. She has performed concerti by Mozart, Beethoven, and Chopin with Tianjin Symphony Orchestra (China), Connecticut Virtuosi Orchestra (US), Napolinova Chamber Orchestra (Italy), and Torun Symphony (Poland). She has given six solo recitals, and performed in venues such as Carnegie Hall, Harris Hall, Pepsi-co Hall, Ishikawa Music Hall, Historique du Bon Pasteur, Paul Hall, and the US State Department. Chelsea has performed on WQXR radio’s “Young Artists Showcase” and appeared in NPR’s “From the Top.”

Chelsea was one of the youngest semifinalists in the 2012 Gina Bachauer International Junior Piano Competition, and a prize winner at the 13th Ettlingen International Competition for Young Pianists in Germany. She was a recipient of the 2014 Eppan Junior Prize in Italy and the prestigious 2015 Nordmann Scholarship at the Juilliard Pre-college Division.

Chelsea has attended major music festivals such as Aspen, Schlern, Ishikawa, Junior Eppan, Talent Music Master Courses, Todi, and Paderewski in US, Japan, and Europe. She is a young artist of the Artemisia Akademie at Yale University.

website: http://www.chelseaguopiano.com/
youtube: https://m.youtube.com/user/MiffyJHG

Eden Chen is a Jack Kent Cooke Young Artist and Scholar.

He started studying piano when he was six. Since age seven, Eden has competed and placed in many piano competitions, and has won numerous top prizes including the First Prize in the Southwestern Youth Music Festival Piano Competitions for numerous years. Among them was an orchestral debut performing Mozart’s Coronation Concerto, No.26 in D major with the Southwestern Music Festival Orchestra, after he won First Prize in the Young Pianist category when he was eleven.

“As a Young Scholar, I am incredibly excited to have the opportunity to experience the signature charisma of Lang Lang and his foundation. The enthusiasm and energy they put into bringing music to the world is just inspiring, and I am sure I will learn much from their philosophy of “Playing it Forward.” Being a part of the Young Scholars program will present me with a unique opportunity to meet diverse audiences, while receiving first-hand guidance from Lang Lang in what it means to be an artist, and what it takes to build a successful career. I am confident that working with Lang Lang, the Foundation, and my fellow Young Scholars will allow me to further explore the role of the musician and music in our modern society. I look forward to the positive impact we will have on each other!”

Eden recently won the First Prize at the AVSOMC Gail Newby Concerto Competition. He was a Gold Medal winner of the 2012 AADGT International Young Musicians competition, a Grand Prize winner of the 2011 AFAF Golden Era of Romantic Music International Competition, where he was also the recipient of the special prize for the Best Performance of a Work by Liszt. He also received Second Prize at the MostArts Festival 2014 Piano Competition and Second Prize at the 13thInternational Russian Music Piano Competition.

Eden was selected to perform on NPR’s From the Top radio show in 2013. Besides these awards, Eden has given four performances at Weill Recital Hall at Carnegie Hall in the past few years, and he was also invited to perform a solo concert at the American Jewish University.

Eden is currently studying with Rufus Choi. He has attended the Colburn Academy Piano Festival and the John Perry Academy of Music Summer Festival. He has participated in master classes given by musicians such as Lang Lang, Daniel Pollack, Seymour Bernstein, Hung-Kuan Chen, Jerome Lowenthal, Jean-Yves Thibaudet and John Perry.

Eden is actively thinking about the role and value of music in society and in the individual, and how it serves to connect individuals to their communities. He believes in music as a uniquely human expression of the human condition, and is interested in innovative ways of expressing these universal sentiments. In becoming a Lang Lang Foundation Young Scholar, he hopes to continue to explore new creative possibilities that will impact his audiences.

facebook: https://www.facebook.com/edenchenmusic/timeline

Elizabeth Zietz is privileged to have been chosen as a 2016 Lang Lang International Music Foundation Young Scholar. Her goal is to share the enjoyment and beauty of classical music with others.

“I am so excited! I feel extremely privileged to join the Lang Lang International Music Foundation family, and to meet and learn from the master Lang Lang, and my peers. I look forward to sharing myself and my music to benefit others. Music brings beauty to the world. Its true power lies in its ability to inspire and influence anyone. It is a special form of human expression that can transform and connect people of all ages and backgrounds together under the common appreciation for music. By cherishing music, we understand ourselves, others, and the world around us better. I can’t wait to start my Young Scholar journey!”

Born in California, fifteen year old Elizabeth is a sophomore at Northwood High School in Irvine, and she began studying the piano at the age of six. She is thankful to her teachers who have helped her develop her musical talents, including Claudia Xi, Valentina Gottlieb, Chun-Yi Wang, and Ethan Dong. Additionally, she has participated in masterclasses with William Grant Naboré, Stanislav Ioudenitch, Sergey Schepkin, Baruch Meir, Bernadene Blaha, and Roza Yoder.

At the age of seven, Elizabeth made her debut performance at the Richard Nixon Presidential Library. She made her concerto debut at age thirteen with the Orange County Symphony.

Elizabeth won the Grand Prize at the Glendale Piano Competition and was the first prize winner of the Lansum International Music Festival. She has also won first prizes at the CAPMT Young Musician’s Concerto Competition, CAPMT Sonata Festival, and first alternate at the MTAC Southern Region State Concerto/Solo Competition. In 2014, she was a prizewinner at the Los Angeles International Liszt Competition. She was also a six time consecutive first prize winner in open categories at the Southwestern Youth Music Festival.

In third grade, Elizabeth performed in a benefit concert for the County of Orange United Way of America, and has been involved in fundraising ever since. She has performed in many community service venues and has appeared as guest soloist for public service events and gala and kickoff campaigns. She also regularly appears in recitals for senior citizens. Recently, Elizabeth was an invited artist to perform at the National Association of Music Merchants Convention.

Outside of music, Elizabeth enjoys swimming, reading, spending time with her family, and traveling. Elizabeth is a Johns Hopkins CTY SET (Study of Exceptional Talent) Member. She was invited to John Hopkins University for the Grand Ceremony, a special event honoring students for their outstanding academic achievement.

Jenny is now studying at St Paul’s Convent School in Hong Kong. She started learning piano at the age of 5.

She was admitted to the Junior Music Program of Hong Kong Academy for Performing Arts (HKAPA) majoring in piano at the age of 10 and has been studying under Dr Cheng Wai. Jenny was the pianist of school choir of her primary school from 2012-2015.

“I am so lucky that I can study music. I can play the piano, share my music with others, go to different concerts, and perform on the stage. I really feel thankful for these. All these chances have helped me to develop myself, and made me more confident, active and sociable. To me, music is with vitality, it can communicate with people in soul, and create every magic moment on the stage. Music is magnificent and spectacular, and it is reflection of one’s life. Music is part of my life, it is essential and indispensable. It brings joy, and touches our soul.”

I was very fortunate and honoured to become a Young Scholar 2016 – 2018 of LLIMF. This is a great opportunity for me to develop my talents and enhance my piano skills. Through this program I can know a lot of friends from different countries who also love music, and we can exchange our ideas and experiences with one another. I will also have chances to study with Lang Lang and other great musicians and perform in various concerts. I can broaden my horizons and enrich my musical knowledge. I am definitely grateful to be one of the members of the Lang Lang Foundation Young Scholars family!”

Jenny was awarded a lot of prizes in various competitions. In 2012, she won the first prize award of Czerny 849 class, the third prize award of Children Class B and third prize of Children’s Pieces B in the 17th Hong Kong-Asia Piano Open Competition. In 2014, she won the first prize of Grade 8 Piano Solo in the 66th Hong Kong Schools Music Festival and the first prize of 14th Hong Kong (Asia Pacific) Piano Competition. In 2015, she was the champion in the Composer of The Year category in 67th Hong Kong Schools Music Festival, the first prize of Trinity College London ATCL Recital Group of The sixth Asian Young Music Competition.

In 2014, she was selected to perform at the “Yes I Can Recital 2014” radio and TV program of Radio Television Hong Kong (RTHK). In 2015, she was invited to perform in the 67th Hong Kong Schools Music Festival Prize-winners’ Concert. At the same year, she had taken the ATCL Recital.

This year, Jenny got the first prize of Youth Senior Group of 2016 3rd Hong Kong Asia-Pacific Youth Piano competition and first prize of Adolescent group of The 3rd Hong Kong International Music Festival. At the end of May 2016, Jenny was invited to hold a solo concert in the Purple Crown International Piano Music Festival in the Middle School of China Conservatory of Music in Bejing. She was invited to perform in Schlern International Music Festival in Italy. As a Young Scholar, she was invited by LLIMF to join Oxford Philomusica Piano Festival in London this summer. She also be invited to participate the Summer Music Summit in Chicago, in which Jenny will perform Beethoven Piano Concerto with local Orchestra as well as piano solo.

With sensitive and perfect pitch, it’s clear that Jenny was born for music. While she was still in her mum’s tummy, she listened to the music her elder sister played. She devotes most of her leisure time to music, she even listens to music when she is having her meals. Whenever she listens to music, she can feel the music flowing to the ceiling. She loves listening to concertos, symphonies and other kinds of music. Her favorite piece is Piano Concerto No.1 by Chopin. Jenny also loves to share her music with others. ‘I think music has a magic power in it because it can communicate with audiences in soul and creates every magic moment on the stage.’ Being an international pianist is her dream.

Kimberly Han – a pianist and violinist from Chicago, Illinois. She started piano lessons when she was five and a half years old, and has been studying with Brenda Huang for 9 years. She is also taking regular masterclasses with Alexander Korsantia from New England Conservatory.

“To me, classical music is timeless; it has the ability to transcend any age, and express emotions through generations of people. Being selected as a 2016-2018 Young Scholar by the Lang Lang International Music Foundation allows me to explore this belief not only through many performance opportunities, but also through interacting with fellow musicians and young scholars, like myself. In these coming two years, I am definitely looking forward to joining the Lang Lang Young Scholars family, learning from Maestro Lang Lang for sure, and most importantly, just being able to share and give my love for music to others.

Becoming a 2016-2018 Young Scholar is an indescribable feeling. It was amazing, but realizing this as a once-in-a-lifetime opportunity has made me really think about the teachers, friends, symphony orchestras, and performances in my life. Everything, and everyone in these years has helped me become who I am today. For that I am extremely grateful. And I’m looking forward to what’s coming next.”

A freshman of Lake Forest High School, Kimberly is a frequent award-winner in many music events – East Central Division / Illinois State Winner of 2016 MTNA Junior Competition, Walgreens National Concerto Competition Winner (2015 20th MYA Senior Division Overall & Piano Category; 2014 19th Open Junior Division Piano and 2013 18th MYA Junior Division Piano), Winner of 2015 Chicago Symphony Orchestra (CSO) Youth Audition in March 2015, and Winner of CSO “Carnival of the Animals” Audition in January 2015, Piano Winner of 2014 11th DePaul Concerto Festival, First Place winner of 2013 15th Chopin Youth Piano Competition, along with many more.

As a solo pianist and chamber musician, Kimberly has performed in L’Auditori of Barcelona, Spain, Chicago Symphony Center, Preston Bradley Hall of Chicago Cultural Center, DePaul Concert Hall, Bennett-Gordon Hall of Ravinia Festival, and Pick-Staiger Concert Hall of Northwestern University.

Kimberly had her concert debut with Oistrach Symphony Orchestra performing Felix Mendelssohn’s Piano Concerto No. 1 in G minor in February 2014, under Maestro Mini Zikri. In March 2015, Kimberly performed Saint-Saens “Carnival of Animals” as solo pianist with Chicago Symphony Orchestra (CSO) during guest conductor, Vladimir Kulenovic’s debut conducting the CSO. She has been invited to perform “Nights in the Garden of Spain” as a soloist with the CSO again under Maestro Scott Speck in April 2016. In 2015-2016 season, Kimberly will perform George Gershwin’s “Rhapsody in Blue” with Kankakee Valley Symphony Orchestra and Sergei Prokofiev’s Piano Concerto No. 3 in C major, 1st movement with Midwest Young Artists (MYA) Symphony Orchestra both in February 2016, under Maestro Dr. Allan Dennis. Other concerts include Felix Mendelssohn’s Piano Concerto No. 1 in G minor with Lake Forest Civic Orchestra under Maestro Robert Nordling in May 2016, Franz Liszt Piano Concerto No. 1 in E-flat major with The New North Shore Chamber Orchestra under Maestro Anatol Lysenka in November 2016, and solo concert with Highland Park Strings under Maestro Larry Block also in the fall of 2016.

Kimberly was featured as a pre-college young pianist on WFMT 98.7FM “Introductions” in January (as soloist) and August (as duo) 2015. She will be featured again in May 2016 as the 2015 CSO Youth Audition winner and a 2016-2018 Lang Lang Young Scholar. She was also selected by Lang Lang International Music Foundation to participate in the second Allianz Junior Music Camp in Barcelona, Spain in November 2014. In September 2015, The North Shore Journal featured Kimberly as a young musician in the “Standout Student” column.

In her free time, Kimberly loves playing violin with the MYA Symphony Orchestra / her chamber ensemble Trio Fiammata / school symphony orchestra, reading and traveling around the world with her family. To give back to the community, Kimberly also performs extensively in the retirement centers across the Chicagoland, and teaches violin to kids from unprivileged districts as a participant in MYA Young Music Scholar program.

Kimberly would like to thank her inspirational teachers Brenda Huang and Alexander Korsantia, for coaching her discipline, dedication and love for classical music; The Lang Lang International Music Foundation, Allianz, Dr. Allan Dennis, Robert Bassill, and the MYA staff for providing her the great opportunity to grow as a young musician; her parents and all of her friends for their continuous support and encouragement.

website: http://kimiehan.wix.com/kimie-han

Peter, born in 2006, began learning piano at age 4 and obtained the Grade 8 Certificate from the Associated Board of the Royal Schools of Music at age 8 and the Performance Diploma with distinction from Trinity College London at age 10.

In 2015, Peter was accepted as a junior piano student at the Hong Kong Academy for the Performing Arts, studying under Professor Eleanor Wong. In 2016, he was selected as Young Scholar 2016 – 2018 of the Lang Lang International Music Foundation.

“Music is joy. Music is hope. I want to bring joy and hope to people all over the world!’ When I learned that I was selected as one of a Young Scholars, I felt so happy and excited because my dream – playing music for people all over the world – comes true! I am longing to learn from Lang Lang, and to make friends with other Young Scholars and students around the world by the same language – music. I hope other students will treasure the chance of learning and enjoy playing piano like me.”

A sixth-grader at the Hong Kong Pui Ching Primary School, he has been repeatedly awarded music scholarships from his school and is currently serving as school choir accompanist. Peter’s first invaluable experience in music competition was his participation in the “2014 CCTV Piano and Violin Competition, Beijing, China”, where he represented Hong Kong as one of the twenty finalists. In Dec 2014, Peter was selected to perform with the world-renowned pianist, Lang Lang, in the “101 PIANISTS” organized by the Lang Lang International Music Foundation. In 2016 and 2017, Peter was invited to attend master classes and to perform at the Oxford Philharmonic Orchestra Oxford Piano Festival in the University of Oxford, UK, and at the Midway Young Artists Orchestra Music Summer Summit in Chicago, USA. In October 2016, he performed as guest soloist at the Hong Kong International Piano Competition held in the City Hall of Hong Kong. On 30 June 2017, Peter performed with Lang Lang and the Chinese Kung-Fu star Donnie Yen in the extravagant gala “20th Anniversary of Hong Kong’s Return to China”, which was attended by the Chinese President Xi Jinping and the Hong Kong principal officials. In Dec 2017, Peter was honored to be invited to perform with Lang Lang at the University of Hong Kong and the Hong Kong Polytechnic University.

Peter has taken part in many regional and international competitions, which not only widen his exposure in music, but also accelerate his artistic progress. His award highlights include:

1st Prize, Piano Concerto (age 13 or under), 70th Hong Kong Schools Music Festival, Hong Kong Schools Music and Speech Association, 2018
Winner Prize, 17th International Television Contest for Young Musicians, Moscow, Russia, 2016.
2nd Prize, Piano Concerto – Betty Drown Memorial Prize (age 13 or under), 68th Hong Kong Schools Music Festival, Hong Kong Schools Music and Speech Association, 2016
1st Prize, Grade 8 Piano Solo, 67th Hong Kong Schools Music Festival, Hong Kong Schools Music and Speech Association, 2015
1st Prize, Chinese Composers, Piano Solo, 67th Hong Kong Schools Music Festival, Hong Kong Schools Music and Speech Association, 2015
1st Prize, Chopin Piano Sonatas, Piano Solo, Hong Kong Asia-Pacific Youth Piano Competition, Hong Kong Music Development Centre, 2015
1st Prize, Chinese Composers, Piano Solo, Hong Kong Asia-Pacific Youth Piano Competition, Hong Kong Music Development Centre, 2015
1st Prize, Grade 8 Piano Solo, Hong Kong Golden Bauhinia International Youth Piano Competition, Hong Kong Golden Bauhinia Music Foundation, 2014
1st Prize, Grade 8 Piano Solo, Tchaikovsky and Kabalevsky Piano Competition, Hong Kong Musician Association, 2014
1st Prize, Grade 8 Piano Solo, the 7th Hong Kong Students Open Music Competition, Speech & Music Recital Development Foundation, 2014
1st Prize, Grade 8 Piano Solo, the 5th Hong Kong Youth Virtuosos Piano Competition, Virtuosos Music Academy, Hong Kong, 2014
Aside from music, Peter loves Chinese Kung-fu, specializing in dagger, sword, and Shaolin boxing.

Raymond Feng began playing piano at age 4 and has been a pupil of Elier Suárez since age 5.

He had his orchestral debut with the Ashdod Symphony in Perugia, Italy at the age of 11 and has been a featured pianist with the Rochester Philharmonic, Genesee Symphony, Greater Buffalo Youth and Hochstein Youth Symphony Orchestras.

“Music is a wonderful gift. I am grateful for the music access I have had through years of learning piano and violin, making music with friends in ensembles and orchestras, going to concerts, and performing for people. All these experiences have helped me be more confident, communicative, creative, and caring for the people around me. I believe that everybody should have access to music, but there is still much work to be done before it becomes a reality for all people and people can enjoy and appreciate classical music.

The Lang Lang Foundation is one of the few organizations that is actively engaged in advocating for classical music and promoting music education, and I am thrilled and honored to join this family. As a Young Scholar, I feel empowered to give back to my community by sharing my passion for classical music and inspiring others to begin their own musical journeys. I am also really looking forward to studying with great pianist Lang Lang and meeting other musicians like me. Music has such a unifying power, and through music, we can all come together and make this world a better place.”

Raymond made his appearance on NPR’s From the Top, performing the 3rd movement of the Grieg Piano Concerto with the Rochester Philharmonic Orchestra at a live taping concert in Kodak Hall at Eastman Theater. Raymond recently received a great honor, being selected as one of the Young Scholars of the Lang Lang International Music Foundation. Raymond has been a prizewinner of international and national competitions since age 9, claiming first prizes in the Thousand Islands Chopin International, AADGT’s Passion of Music Festival, Duquesne National Young Artist, Ithaca College, and MTNA Eastern Division Junior Piano Competitions, among others.

Raymond is a frequent participant of prestigious summer music festivals such as Music Fest Perugia, Cooper Piano Festival where he won the 1st place of the festival competition, and Morningside Music Bridge where he received a full scholarship plus winning 2nd place in the chamber competition and the Stuart Holland Memorial Award. Raymond has performed at major concert venues including Eastman Kodak Hall, Carnegie Hall’s Weill Recital Hall, Benaroya Hall in Seattle, and Merkin Concert Hall in NYC. Raymond’s love of music expands to chamber music and violin as well. He studies violin with Nancy Hunt, and he is the pianist of the Hochstein Capriccio Scholarship Piano Trio, concertmaster of the Hochstein Youth Symphony Orchestra, and co-concertmaster of his school orchestra as well as a frequent member of the NYSSMA All County and Area All-State Honor Orchestras. Raymond has had masterclasses with renowned artists such as John Perry, Krzysztof Jabłonski, Ilana Vered, Peter Takács, Eduardo Delgado, Alvin Chow, and the Ying Quartet.

Outside of traditional concert halls, Raymond is deeply engaged in sharing his passion for music with the community, giving outreach performances at schools, retirement homes and other public places throughout the Greater Rochester area. Raymond believes that the power of music can enrich human life in a positive way, and everyone should have the privilege to have access to great music. In 2014, Genesee Valley Parent Magazine named Raymond as one of its “20 under 20” honorees, the only classical musician to make the list.

Aside from music, Raymond is an accomplished “mathlete”. He is the First Place winner of the 2012 Mathnasium National TriMathlon and the New York State Champion of the MathCounts Competitions in 2013, 2014, and 2015. He has been on his school Science Olympiad team for the past 4 years winning medals at New York state competitions. Improvising at the piano and tennis are among his other interests.

Youtube: https://www.youtube.com/user/Rayfeng2001/