Golden—February 17, 2009—The Jefferson Symphony proudly announces the winners of its 2009 Young Artists Competition. Twelve piano finalists, who had been chosen in October based on their submitted recordings, competed live on January 10 at The Arvada Center before three professional pianists who served as judges. Winners performed in a free public recital that evening, with an orchestral reduction played by their piano accompanists.

While the competition is international, it is noteworthy that all of this year’s winners and most of the finalists had Colorado connections through their teachers or siblings. Several had also previously participated in the Aspen or Breckenridge Music Festivals.

First-place winner is 16-year-old Eloise Kim, a high school junior in Beaverton, Oregon, who played Beethoven’s Piano Concerto No. 4 in G Major. (See photo below right.) Born in Seoul, Korea, she has received a scholarship from the Chopin Foundation of the US for the past two years and was also one of the 2007-2008 Chamber Music Northwest Young Artist Fellows. In the summers of 2002 and 2003, she studied at the Aspen Music Festival. There, she was the youngest pianist to perform in the Wheeler Opera House in Aspen. In 2008, she was accepted to study in Aspen again with renowned pianist John O’Conor. Prizes include First Prize Champion of the Oregon Music Educators Association State Solo Competition (2007), first place winner in the Oregon Music Techers National Association Baldwin Junior Piano Competition (2204), first place in the OMTA Trula Whelan Concerto Competition (2001), winner of the Vancouver (USA) Symphony Young Artist Competition, winner of the Sonata/Concerto Category of the World Piano Pedagogy Conference Most Wanted Piano Competition (2007), Special Director’s Award for the Kingsville International Piano Competition (2007), third place at the Lennox International Young Artists Piano Competition in Dallas, Texas (2006), and winner of the Sixth Biennial Pinault International Piano Competition (2003).

Ms. Kim studies privately with Kelli Stephens (who earned her master’s degree in piano performance from the University of Colorado at Boulder) and Dr. Jean-David Coen. She has appeared as soloist with the Columbia Symphony in Portland, Oregon, and she participated in the Pinault First Place Winners’ Recital at Carnegie Weill Recital Hall in New York City.

“What incredible talent!” exclaimed Jefferson Symphony Association board chair Dennis Orr. “The Young Artists Competition affords us the opportunity to hear the next potential Van Cliburn. The audience is in for a real treat when Eloise will play the fourth Beethoven piano concerto with the Jefferson Symphony Orchestra on March 22nd.”

Second place winner is Scott Cuellar, 19, who performed Liszt’s Concerto No. 1 in E-flat Major. Cuellar, born in Chicago, is a sophomore at Oberlin Conservatory of Music (Ohio), where he studies with Alvin Chow, formerly of Denver. He has won numerous awards and scholarships, including first place in the Schubert Club Scholarship Competition, the Minnesota Music Teachers Association Statewide Competition (Senior Young Artist), the St. Paul Piano Teachers Association Solo Competition, and the MacPhail Center for Music Solo Competition. He was also a prize winner in the Rising Star Talent Competition (Young Adult Division). He recently took first place in the MTNA State Competition.

Two finalists tied for third place. Lindsay Garritson, 21, graduated from Principia College (Elsah, Illinois) last June and is currently pursuing a masters degree in piano performance at Yale University as a student of Boris Berman. She performed Rachmaninoff’s Concerto No. 1 in F-sharp minor Opus 1. Lindsay, the sister of 2002 Jefferson Symphony Young Artists Competition first-place winner cellist Ashley Garritson, plays violin as well as piano. As winner of several concerto competitions, Lindsay has performed with the St. Louis Symphony Youth Orchestra, University City Symphony, Alton Symphony, Belleville Philharmonic, Principia College Orchestra, and in 2001 she was invited to perform with the European Philharmonic Orchestra in France. She was named national second place winner of the 2007 Music Teacher National Association’s Young Artist’s Competition and first prize winner at the 2008 Southern Illinois Young Artists Competition.

Third-place winner Geraldine Ong, 23, from Malaysia, performed Rachmaninoff’s Concerto No. 2 in C minor Opus 18. Ms. Ong earned her bachelors degree from Missouri State University (Springfield) in 2007, receiving several musical scholarships while there. In 2008 she was a winner of the Northwestern University Concerto Competition. Prior to her college career, Geraldine received Licentiate Diplomas from the Royal School of Music and Guildhall School of Music. She is now a masters candidate at Northwestern University (Evanston, Illinois), where she studies piano with Alan Chow, twin brother of Alvin Chow, teacher of this year’s second-place winner. Geraldine and Scott, who had never met before, compared notes on their teachers and decided they were very similar.

 
Photo at left shows (left to right) Jefferson Symphony Young Artists Competition second-place winner Scott Cuellar, first-place winner Eloise Kim, and third place winners (tied) Lindsay Garritson and Geraldine Ong.

The judges awarded an Honorable Mention to Nina Zhou, 21, of Winnipeg, Canada, a graduate student in piano performance at Indiana University (Bloomington). Ms. Zhou is now studying with Arnaldo Cohen, having earned her bachelors degree from Oberlin Conservatory as a student of Angela Cheng, formerly of Denver and the wife of Alvin Chow. Ms. Zhou performed Prokofiev’s Concerto No. 1.

The first place winner receives $2,000 cash, a scholarship worth $1,500 to attend a summer Young Artists Seminar at the Rocky Ridge Music Center in Estes Park, a $5,000 scholarship provided he or she becomes a college senior or graduate student within eight years of winning the competition, and an appearance as soloist with the Jefferson Symphony. Second place winner receives $1,500 in cash. Third place winner receives $1,000. The first and third place cash prizes are funded by the Golden Civic Foundation and the Wilmot Charitable Fund.

Barbara Jackson, a cellist with the Jefferson Symphony Orchestra, established an endowment nine years ago for the $5,000 winner’s scholarship. Her purpose was to encourage and support young musicians in their careers and also to attract contestants of outstanding caliber to the competition. She considers her endeavors a success: The formerly regional competition has become national and even international in scope. “As a member of the orchestra, I find that these incredibly gifted young musicians inspire me and my colleagues to improve our performance,” she said. “And the community gets to hear outstanding soloists, so I feel I am ‘paying back’ my debt to society.”

This was the JSO’s 46th Young Artists Competition. Several former prizewinners have established successful musical careers.

The recorded round of the competition was adjudicated last October by area pianists Grace Asquith, Susan Cable and Robin McNeil. Three distinguished area piano teachers and performers judged the final round on January 10: Olga Dashevskaya of Lakewood, Caleb Harris of the University of Northern Colorado, and Alice Rybak, a faculty member at the University of Denver’s Lamont School of Music and member of the Colorado Symphony Orchestra. The judges described all 12 finalists as outstanding young pianists.

Harris said, “The jury was particularly impressed with the maturity and individuality exhibited in the winning performances.  It is exciting to see that the young generation of pianists is alive and well and it is wonderful that the Jefferson Symphony provides this excellent opportunity to showcase some of this great talent.”

Other finalists were: Ian Barber, 22, a 2005 graduate of the Denver School of the Arts, now a student of André Watts at Indiana University; Belarusian pianist Alexandra Beliakovich, 23, Manhattan School of Music; Trevor Hale, 20, University of Colorado-Boulder, studying with Dr. Andrew Cooperstock; Christine Kim, 20, The Juilliard School; Brian McCarthy, 22, a 2004 graduate of the Denver School of the Arts and 2008 graduate of the University of Puget Sound; Yale Work, 19, a 2008 graduate of Bridge School, Boulder, CO, student of Crystal Lee, now studying with Matti Raekallio at The Juilliard School; and Ashlee Young, 21, Montana State University.

Photo at left shows all finalists: l. to r., front row—Ashlee Young, Christine Kim, Geraldine Ong, Scott Cuellar, Eloise Kim, Nina Zhou, Lindsay Garritson, Trevor Hale; back row—Alexandra Beliakovich, Brian McCarthy, Ian Barber, Yale Work.

First-place winner Kim will perform with the Jefferson Symphony Orchestra at its March 22nd concert at 3:00 in Golden. The 90-member volunteer orchestra, whose winter home is in Bunker Auditorium, Green Center, on the Colorado School of Mines campus in Golden, was founded in 1953. Dr. William Morse conducts.

For further information, please call the Jefferson Symphony office at 303.278.4237 or click on Info@JeffersonSymphonyOrchestra.org. You may use any of the photos.