IRIS JANG WINS TOP HONORS IN PIANO/OHIO 2010

 

Iris Jang, a sophomore at Westerville North High School and a resident of Westerville, was judged the winner of PIANO/OHIO 2010, a piano competition for high school students sponsored by the Competition. 

A student of Nina Polonsky, Miss Jang won first prize at the 2009 Ohio Music Teachers' Association (OMTA) Competition, and won gold and silver medals at the 2007 Word Piano Competition.  She has given recitals at Severance Hall, Weill Recital Hall in Carnegie Hall, and most recently at Mees Hall at Capital University.

As the winner of the PIANO/OHIO competition, Miss Jang received a cash award of $1000.  She, along with the second and third prize winners, also received an invitation to serve on the Junior Jury at the 2011 Cleveland International Piano Competition.

In addition to Miss Jang, the winners are:

SECOND PRIZE: Cash award of $750
Arthur Erlendsson, Pepper Pike.  Mr. Erlendsson is a freshman at Hawken School.  He is a five-time recipient of a Cleveland Institute of Music (CIM) scholarship award, and has performed at CIM and at Hawken Middle and Upper Schools.

THIRD PRIZE: Cash award of $500
Arianna Korting, Gates Mills.  Miss Korting, a sophomore at West Geauga High School, has performed at Carnegie Hall and on National Public Radio's From the Top.  She has received numerous awards, including the OMTA State Scholarship.

FINALISTS: Cash award of $250
Jianni Wu, Hudson.  Miss Wu is a senior at Hudson High School.  She won first prize at the Heidelberg University Competition and performs regularly at CIM and with the Akron Youth Symphony.

Brook Zhang, Gahanna.  Mr. Zhang is a sophomore at Columbus Academy.  He won the Columbus Symphony Orchestra Concerto Competition, and has performed at Capital University, Ohio State University, and the Weill Recital Hall in Carnegie Hall.

Cindy Zhao, Broadview Heights.  Miss Zhao is a freshman at Brecksville Broadview Heights High School.  She won the Heidelberg Pacesetter Competition and has performed at the OMTA Music Festival, at CIM, and with the Lakeland Civic Orchestra.

A field of applicants participated in qualifying rounds held at Steinway piano dealer locations in Akron/Cleveland, Columbus, and Cincinnati.  Six were selected to advance to the final round.

All students were required to prepare 20 minutes of music to be played from memory.  They were permitted to select works from a broad range of composers that included Bach, Mozart, Beethoven, Schumann, Schubert, Chopin, Debussy, Rachmaninoff, and Bartok.

The final round of PIANO/OHIO was judged by an esteemed panel of laureates from the Cleveland International Piano Competition, including:

Dmitri Levkovich, Canada, Second Prize, 2009
Antonio Pompa-Baldi, Italy, First Prize, 1999
Vassily Primakov, Russia, Second Prize, 1999
Konstantin Soukhovetski, Russia, Third Prize, 2003
Dr. John Flower, Non-voting Chairman of the Jury

The performances of all six finalists are available for download free of charge at www.InstantEncore.com/clevelandpiano
 

Pictured on stage at Drinko Hall at the conclusion of the PIANO/OHIO final round (l-r): Jianni Wu, Arianna Korting, Arthur Erlendsson, Competition Board President Dr. James Gibbs, First Prize Winner Iris Jang (seated), Brook Zhang, Cindy Zhao, Antonio Pompa-Baldi, Dmitri Levkovich, Konstantin Soukhovetski, Vassily Primakov.