Competition Finals
Sat April 23 2022 10:00 AM
National Opera Center - Marc Scorca Recital Hall NYC
Results
Overall
1. Sophia Werner (Violin)
2. Tien-Lin Yang (Violin)
3. Lia (Liang-Liang) Chen (Violin)
Divisions
College
Bethany Grace Bobbs (Cello) /
Christina Nam (Violin)
Senior
Simon Hagopian-Rogers (Violin)
Lila Holyoke (Cello) - Honorable Mention
Junior
Evelyn Joung (Cello)
Irene Lee (Oboe) - Honorable Mention
College
Sophia Werner
First Place
Prokofiev’s Concerto No. 2 in G Minor, Op. 63. (Allegro Moderato)
Sophia Werner, 18, has studied violin for 13 years and is currently a freshman at the Juilliard School, where she studies with Laurie Smukler. Other influential teachers include Linda Case, Rebecca Fischer, Robert Lipsett and Joseph Lin. Highlights from her freshman year include performances as quintet and a septet with the New Juilliard Ensemble and a performance of Wynton Marsalis’ “Swing Symphony” with the Juilliard Orchestra and Jazz Orchestra at Carnegie Hall. Last summer she expanded her orchestral experience as a recipient of the Dorothy Richard Starling Foundation fellowship at the Aspen Music Festival and School, where she was a first violinist of the Aspen Festival Orchestra. Formative orchestral experiences were as concertmaster of the Binghamton Youth Symphony and Binghamton Baroque Orchestra.
Chamber music is an important part of Sophia’s life. She has performed as a member of a variety of ensembles including string quartets, string trios and violin-piano duos under the tutelage of Simone Dinnerstein, Rebecca Fischer, Samuel Rhodes, Natasha Brofsky, Laurie Smukler and Joel Krosnick among others. Other chamber experiences have been
at Greenwood Chamber Music Camp (Cummington, MA), the Oberlin Baroque Performance Institute (BPI), 2.5 years with the Harlow String Quartet (Ithaca, NY), and at the Chamber Music @NewPark festival in Ithaca with members of the Toronto Symphony. This summer, Sophia will attend Kneisel Hall in Blue Hill, ME, as a Young Artist fellow.
In both 2016 and 2019, Sophia soloed with the Cayuga Chamber Orchestra (Ithaca) as the winner of the Lee Strebel Memorial Youth Concerto Competition. Also in 2019, Sophia performed as a soloist with the Orchestra of the Southern Finger Lakes as the winner of the Doreen B. Hertzog Concerto Competition (Elmira, NY), and twice with the Ithaca Community Orchestra. She is a 2020 and 2022 finalist in the Adelphi Orchestra’s Young Artist Competition. She has also enjoyed two solo performances with the Binghamton Youth Symphony Orchestra, and one with the Binghamton Community Orchestra.
Other musical experiences have included invitations to perform with the Oberlin BPI Faculty Orchestra and the Cayuga Chamber Orchestra (twice as a section member), performances with her sister, Miranda, a violinist at Indiana University, and masterclasses with Andrés Cárdenes, Paul Kantor, Marilyn McDonald, Cynthia Roberts, Julie Andrijeski, and Beth Wenstrom. She placed first in her categories for violin and piano in the Southern Tier Music Teachers’ Association competitions in 2016 and 2017.
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Tien-Lin Yang
Second Place
Brahms Violin Concerto Op.77 Mov.I
Tien-Lin Yang, 20, was born in Taiwan and started playing violin at 6. He has won top prizes in solo and chamber music competitions in Taiwan, including the first prize in the National Music Competition of Violin, the first prize in the National Music Competition of Piano Quintet in Taiwan and the second prize in the senior division of the Twelfth Annual Academy of Taiwan Strings Violin Competition. He moved to the United States at 16 to study in the Juilliard School Pre-College Division with Catherine Cho and had his first recital at Juilliard on 2/1/2020. He also won the gold prize in the 2019 International Virtuoso Competition at New York. He is now pursuing his Bachelor of Music degree at the Juilliard School, continuing his violin studies with Catherine Cho.
Bethany Bobbs
College Division
Prokofiev: Sinfonia Concertante, first movement(Andante)
Bethany Bobbs is currently a scholarship student at The Juilliard School under the tutelage of Joel Krosnick and Astrid Schween. She has attended the Perlman Music Program and PMP Suncoast since 2017 where she studied with Clara Kim, Paul Katz, and Zvi Plesser. Bethany has won numerous prizes, including winner of the Lynn Harrell Competition, LISMA International Competition, Houston Symphony Concerto Competition, and an award at the National YoungArts Competition. Already a seasoned soloist, she has performed with orchestras such as the Missouri Symphony Orchestra, Houston Symphony, Georgia Philharmonic, Yonkers Philharmonic Symphony, Delaware Symphony, Ocala Symphony, among many others. Bethany is currently a Jupiter Symphony Chamber Player, where she performs each month alongside musicians such as Paul Neubauer, Brannon Cho, Stella Chen, and Stefan Jackiw. Besides performing, Bethany enjoys using her musical talent to help others. In 2020, Bethany and her twin sister, Susanna, founded a non-profit organization known as Harmony for Healing to provide funds for the Artist Relief project that financially aids unemployed artists during COVID-19. Recently, Bethany and her friends at The Juilliard School put together a benefit concert for Ukraine to help fund the shipment of medical supplies and humanitarian aid to the people of Ukraine. Bethany is a current recipient of the Arkady Fomin Scholarship Fund.
Christina Nam (Violin)
College Division
Barber Violin Concerto - Andante and Presto in moto perpetuo
Since her solo debut with the Cincinnati Symphony Orchestra under Maestro Robert Trevino at age 9, virtuoso violinist Christina Nam has concertized around the world appearing in recitals and as soloist with numerous orchestras across the globe.
Recipient of many accolades both at international and national competitions, Ms. Nam received second prize, as the youngest competitor at age 14, in the esteemed Cooper International Violin Competition where she appeared with Maestro Jahja Ling and the Cleveland Orchestra at Severance Hall performing Tchaikovsky’s Violin Concerto. Other prizes include semi-finalists at the 8th Louis Spohr International Competition (2016) and at Johansen International Competition (2018), and top prizes and recognition from the Overture Awards, Louisville Orchestra Young Artists, Sejong Music, Clark J. Haines Memorial, Jack and Lucille Wonnell Young Artists, Lakeland Young Artists, Belew Young Artist, David L. Pierson Young Musicians Concerto Competition, Mary Lane Violin Competition, Frieda Schumacher Competition, Dayton Philharmonic Concerto Competition, Clifton Music Club, Cincinnati Symphony Club, and Matinée Musicale Scholarship Competitions. Ms. Nam was invited to participate in the Junior category of the prestigious Menuhin Competition 2018 Geneva, Switzerland. During the competition, she was chosen as soloist with the Orchestre du Conservatoire de Musique de Genève under the baton of Maestro Antoine Marguier performing Saint-Saens Introduction and Rondo Capriccioso. Nam also had the honor to represent the USA at the Closing Gala Concert in the Bow Passing Ceremony for next Menuhin Competition, Richmond Virginia, USA 2020. Most recently, Ms. Nam is a 2019 National YoungArts Winner and a recipient of Josephine I. and David J. Josephh Jr. Award.
Nam’s solo career has included appearances with numerous symphony orchestras across the country. In addition to her performances with the prominent orchestras of Cincinnati and Cleveland, she has performed with the Louisville Orchestra, Miami Valley Symphony, Blue Ash-Montgomery Symphony, Kentucky Symphony, Ohio Valley Symphony, Wright State University Symphony, Lakeland Civic Orchestra, Seven Hills Sinfonietta, Cincinnati Symphony Youth Philharmonic, Cleveland Philharmonic, and Butler Philharmonic Orchestra. She has also appeared twice as soloist with Philadelphia International Music Festival Orchestra with Maestro Cristian Macelaru as a two-time winner of the PIMF Competition. She frequently played solos with the Starling Chamber Orchestra, most notably at age 9 at the National Convention of American String Teachers Association in Atlanta, and in 2016 as a soloist on the SCO’s China Tour. Her credits internationally also include an invitation in 2012 to perform in the very concert that inaugurated the Harpa International Music Academy in Reykjavik, Iceland. Recently, Nam was the violin soloist for Faure’s Requiem in a concert, Sing for a Cause project conducted by Maestro Louis Langrée of the Cincinnati Symphony Orchestra.
A devoted chamber musician, Ms. Nam has worked with Colin Carr, Daniel Heifetz, members of the Juilliard, American, Ying, Cavani, Great Wall, Calidore, Borromeo, and Ariel string quartets. She is a founding member of the Immaculata Chamber Music Series and performs regularly throughout the greater Cincinnati region. Recently her Éclatante String Quartet from the Cincinnati Starling Project won Silver Medal at the Fischoff National Chamber Music
Competition. A born leader, she served as concertmaster of the Cincinnati Symphony Youth Philharmonic Orchestra, the Walnut Hills High Chamber Orchestra, and the Starling Chamber Orchestra.
In the past, she has spent her summers traveling to various festivals at home and abroad. From the Great Wall International Music Academy in Beijing, the Bowdoin International Music Festival in Maine, and the Cincinnati Young Artist Chamber Music Festival at home in Cincinnati to the Innsbrook Institute in Missouri and the Pacific Region International Summer Music Academy in Canada. She also participated in the Meadowmount School of Music in New York and the Heifetz International Music Institute in Virginia as a Dorothy Richard Starling Foundation Full Scholarship recipient. Ms. Nam performed as a student artist at Starling-Delay Symposium on Violin Studies at the Juilliard School, as Artist-in-Residence giving a solo recital and outreach concerts at Randolph College in Virginia, and as a soloist at the inaugural Atlanta Festival Academy International Rising Stars Concert. This past summer, she attended the Aspen Music Festival as a full scholarship orchestral fellowship. Christina’s upcoming concerts include performing as a featured recitalist for the prestigious Matinee Musicale Cincinnati concert series with pianist, Rohan de Silva.
Nam is a full scholarship Greene Foundation Fellowship student of Catherine Cho and Donald Weilerstein at the Juilliard School. Her former teachers include Kurt Sassmannshaus, Amy J. Lee and Jan Mark Sloman. Nam has played in masterclasses for Pamela Frank, Robert Lipsett, Friedemann Eichhorn, David Kim, Kathleen Winkler, Mark Kaplan, Rachel Barton Pine, Vadim Gluzman, and Gil Shaham. Nam’s recording and broadcast credits include two appearances on NPR’s radio show “From the Top” and PBS/CET’s “Showcase with Barbara Kellar”. Nam can be heard on Volumes I and II of the Violin Recital Album of Sassmannshaus Tradition published by Bärenreiter.
Seniors
Lia Chen (violin)
Third Place Overall
Sibelius violin concerto in D minor mov 1
Liang-Liang (Lia) Chen was born in San Gabriel, California, and raised in Taipei, Taiwan, where she studied violin starting from age 5 with Hsin-Yu Yang and Richard Lin. After auditioning and being accepted into the prestigious Juilliard Pre-College program at age 12, she moved to NYC, where she now studies with Dr Ann Setzer. She has won several awards and honors, including second place in the Juilliard Pre-College concerto competition, Grand Prize in the Elite International Competition, first place in the Fiorello H LaGuardia concerto competition, the merit award for YoungArts foundation, second place in the Camerata Artists International Competition, and first place in the International Artist Award Competition. She has had solo recitals in several countries, including Taiwan, China, and the United States. She enjoys playing and collaborating with fellow musicians in charity concerts for foundations such as Show Me Your Heart Foundation and Music in Us. In her free time Lia enjoys painting, playing tennis, and baking.
Simon Hagopian-Rogers
Senior Winner
Starting at age 4, Simon began studying at the Special Music School in New York City with Viktor Basis. During that time, he attended the Cremona International Music Academy in Italy four times. At the festival, he took part in the string completion twice. The first time, in 2013, he tied with two other people for second prize. Two years later, he won first prize and performed as soloist with one of the Festival orchestras the following year playing Vitali’s Chaconne and Wieniawski’s Scherzo Tarantella. In 2014, Simon was a first prize wi nner of the Vivo International Competition. In 2015, Simon was one of the first prize winners in the American Protege Competition and won “Judges Favorite Award Winner” Beginning in 2016, Simon began studying with Aaron Rosand. In 2017, he played at the Armenian Embassy in Washington DC. in honor of violinist Sergey Khatchaturyan. In 2018, Simon was one of the winners of the Kaufman Music Center Concerto Competition, and performed Spohr concerto no. 8 at Merkin concert hall with the Orchestra. At age 13, Simon was excepted to Juilliard pre-college, where he began studying with Li Lin. He has been attending precollege since then. In addition to Violin, Simon has been playing Piano for many years and currently studies at Lucy Moses with Genya Payle. He also composes music and has taken private composition lessons at Juilliard precollege with Manuel Sosa. He has performed in master classes for people including Ida Kavafian and Masao Kawasaki.
Lila Holyoke
Senior Honorable Mention
Lila Holyoke, cello (New York City, NY), is in her fourth year at Juilliard’s pre-college program, where she studies with Natasha Brofsky. She began studying cello at age five at the Special Music School with Yari Bond. While there she performed at Merkin Concert Hall on numerous occasions. She has opened for pianists Jonathan Biss and Orli Shaham and played principal cello in a small ensemble led by Joshua Bell. She won the ISO concerto competition at age ten. In 2016 she premiered August Read Thomas’ work Rainbow Bridge to Paradise.
She has been featured in master classes with Orli Shaham, Danny Philipps, Gregory Beaver, Ani Kavafian, Astrid Schween, Mary Peckham, Steve Doane, Hannah Roberts, Clive Greensmith, Gil Kalish, Joel Krosnick, Fred Sherry, Rebecca Fischer and the Cavani Quartet.
Lila has played in the New York Youth Symphony Chamber program for seven years. With her trio, Trilogy, Lila was a semifinalist at the 2019 Fischoff Chamber competition. Trilogy performed at Carnegie’s Weill Hall, the Chamber Music Society at Lincoln Center, the National Arts Club and received the NYYS Director’s Award for outstanding ensemble. Her current quartet played at the NYYS Gala honoring composer Jesse Montgomery in 2021.
Juniors
Evelyn Joung (cello)
Junior Division Winner
Piece Name: Tchaikovsky - Variations on a Rococo Theme, Op. 33
A native of Princeton, NJ, Evelyn Joung, age 14, started playing the cello when she was seven years old. In 2019, she was accepted into the Juilliard’s Pre-College Division as the youngest cello student, at age 11. She is a student of Clara Minhye Kim.
Evelyn placed first in numerous competitions, including the Crescendo International Competition (2016), the Vivo International Music Competition (2019), New York International Music Competition (2019), the International Grande Music Competition (2020), the Camerata Artists International Concerto Competition (2022), and the Lyra Music Youth Competition (2022). She was chosen as the alternate winner of the Juilliard Pre-College Concerto Competition in 2019. She received a full scholarship to the Morningside Music Bridge summer festival in the summer of 2021, where she participated in masterclasses with cellists Laurence Lesser, Yu Wei, and Zvi Plesser. This summer, Evelyn will be joining the Perlman Music Program.
Evelyn is a founding member of the Tres Gracias Trio. Tres Gracias won First Place and Young Virtuoso Prize at the New York Young Virtuoso Competition (2020), First Prize at the IMM CONCORSO in Italy (2020), First Prize and Judge’s Pick at the Vivo International Music Competition (2020-21), Grand Prize at the Enkor Competition (2021), and First Place at the Camerata Artists International Competition (2021). The Trio also has concert tours planned in Cuba and South Korea.
Evelyn was awarded performances at Carnegie Hall, Merkin Concert Hall, and Lincoln Center. She loves to play not only solo cello but also chamber music and orchestra. She has been a member of Pro Sono, a non-profit organization that shares the passion and love of classical music to all generations, and has played monthly at hospitals and senior homes in New York and New Jersey since 2017. As a piano player, she won the Gold Prize at the Golden Key Music Competition (2017). Evelyn is currently an eighth-grader at the Chapin School in New York City. In addition to playing the cello, she enjoys reading novels, traveling, and eating tasty food at restaurants.
Irene Lee (Oboe)
Junior - Honorable Mention
Vivaldi Oboe Concerto in A minor RV 461, 1st Mvmt.
Irene Lee is a 13-year-old oboist who is currently studying with Yousun Chung. Starting at the age of 11, Irene showed talent, diligence, and perseverance which got her accepted into the Juilliard Pre-college at the age of 12. She won numerous competitions including the American Protégé International Woodwinds & Brass Competition, NY Young Virtuoso Competition, LISMA, Camerata Artists International Competition, Great Composers Competition, NY Music Competition, and was able to perform a solo performance with the Little Orchestra Society in 2022. Irene also attended the Juilliard Summer Winds program in 2020 and 2021. When Irene is not doing music, she enjoys drawing, reading, and creating stories whenever she gets a chance.