5th Young Artists Concerto Competition 2012

Co-Chairperson: Wendy Wu and Shirley Ming Whui Yang

The 5th Young Artists Concerto Competition was held on February 18, 2012 at the Jacobs Music Center, Lawrenceville, NJ under the direction of Chairperson, Wendy Wu and Co-Chairperson, Shirley Yang. Three judges, Yumi Oshima, Sylvie Webb, and music director Chiu-Tze Lin, heard wonderful performances from a group of 39 outstanding young artists including 21 pianists, 10 violinists, 1 violist, 3 cellists, 2 flutists, 1 percussionist, and 1 clarinetist. The judges were extremely impressed with the high caliber of performances. The judges selected Three Grand Prize Winners. They will perform with the orchestra on Sunday evening, May 13, 2012 at 7 PM. In addition, the judges declared Silver and Bronze medal winners in recognition of their fabulous performances.  They will be featured in a concert sponsored jointly with the Arts Council of Princeton at the Paul Robeson Center for the Arts on Sunday, March 18, 2012 at 3 PM.   

(All winners are listed in alphabetical order)

Grand Prize Winners:

Hannah Lam, 14, violin – Saint-Saens Introduction and Rondo Capriccioso
Zachary Mowitz, 15, cello – Haydn Cello Concerto in D Major, Mvt. 1
Brielle Perez, 10, piano – Saint-Saens Piano Concerto No. 2 in G minor, Mvt. 1

West Windsor Award:

Charlie Liu, 11, piano – Shostakovich Piano Concerto No. 2, Mvt. 1

Silver Prize Winners:

William Chen, 8, piano – Mozart Concerto in A Major, K. 488, Mvt. 1
Jessica Hong, 13, cello – Haydn Cello Concerto in C Major, Hob. VII, Mvt. 1
Vivian Xu, 12, piano – Mendelssohn Piano Concerto No. 1, Op. 25 in G minor, Mvt. 1

Bronze Prize Winners:

Kathryn Chamberlain, 15, violin – Wieniawski Violin Concerto No. 2, Mvt. 1
Amanda Liu, 14, piano – Prokofiev Piano Concerto No. 3 in C major, Mvt. 1
Zachary Wu, 11, marimba – Saint-Saens Introduction and Rondo Capriccioso
Angela Zhao, 12, piano – Beethoven Piano Concerto No. 1 in C major, Mvt. 1

Judges

Born & raised in New York, Yumi Oshima was one of the youngest students to be admitted to the Juilliard Pre-College division at age 7. As a violinist and violist, Yumi has performed in Carnegie Hall, United Nations, Lincoln Center and throughout the US as well as in Japan, England & France. Yumi earned her bachelors degree in Nuclear Engineering from MIT with a minor in music, studying composition with John Harbison. Ms. Oshima plays in the ensembles and full orchestra of the Bravura Philharmonic.  She currently serves as assistant principal violist of Symphony in C, and is receiving her doctoral degree in viola performance from Rutgers University.  

Sylvie Webb, pianist, holds a Gold Medal from the Conservatoire National de St Germain-en-Laye, France, as well as a Prix d’Excellence from the Montesson Conservatoire. Besides solo and chamber music recitals in France and in the tri-state area, she performed as soloist with the Westminster Community Orchestra and the Manalapan Battleground Symphony, as well as the Princeton Symphony Orchestra for their BRAVO programs. Ms. Webb is one of the founding board members of the Bravura Philharmonic Orchestra. In 2007, she made her solo debut in China, performing at the Grand Theater of Shanghai. A frequent adjudicator for prestigious organizations, she has been on the Westminster Conservatory Faculty since 1993, and maintains a private piano studio in her Princeton home.

Chiu-Tze Lin, a versatile and multifaceted musician - conductor, pianist, and teacher, was named as a finalist in the orchestral conducting division of the 2010 American Prize Award.  Ms. Lin had served as the music director and conductor of the Manalapan Battleground Symphony for seven years.  Under her baton, the symphony received the 2004 Victor Grossinger Award for Innovative Programming.  Ms. Lin was selected as a “Hottest Artist in New Jersey” in 2001 by the Asbury Park Press.  As a concert pianist, Ms. Lin has been acclaimed by the New York Times for her “strong technique, a hearty tone that sounded big and unforced [which] provides the greatest musical pleasure.” She is a Steinway Artist who has performed in Asia, Europe, and across the United States. Ms. Lin has appeared as a touring soloist with the Chicago Symphony, and was a soloist with the Cincinnati Symphony. Her second CD featuring works of J. S. Bach for solo piano has been described by New York Concert Review magazine as a ".... most satisfying performance .... with eloquence and sensitivity." This recording has also been selected by the Bravo Baroque organization as a recommended keyboard CD.  Her recordings have been broadcast from stations across the country. Ms. Lin was a director and faculty member of the 2004 Beijing Music Festival, the first international summer music festival sponsored by the Chinese Ministry of Culture.  Ms. Lin also conducted the Shanghai Musicians Chamber Orchestra at the Sino-American Cultural Exchange Concert. The performance was broadcast on CCTV9, the Chinese Central Television English Channel that transmits across China and around the world. 

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