Paderewski Festival announces winners of piano competition
The Paderewski Festival announced this week the winners of the seventh annual Youth Piano Competition held Oct. 26 at Cass Winery in Paso Robles. The competition is open to residents of California’s Central Coast, including the counties of San Luis Obispo, Monterey and Santa Barbara.
Each year, students in two categories—Juniors (ages 10-14) and Seniors (ages 15-18)—compete for a variety of cash awards, an opportunity to perform during the annual Paderewski Festival in Paso Robles, and a chance to be selected for the all-expenses paid 2015 Paderewski Youth Cultural Exchange program in Poland.
From left: Sydney Haughian, Ivan Davidek, Bella Oldenburg, Daniel Ha, Kevin Park, and Evan Lin
The judges included: Krezesmir Dębski, 2013 Paderewski Festival performer, prominent Polish composer and virtuoso violinist, pianist and conductor; India D’Avignon, Associate Professor of Music at Cal Poly State University in San Luis Obispo and Paderewski Festival Board Member; and Marek Zebrowski, Artistic Director of the Paderewski Festival in Paso Robles and Director of the Polish Music Center at the University of Southern California’s Thornton School of Music.
After hearing this year’s applicants, the jury decided to award the following prizes:
Paderewski Legacy Award for the Best Contestant from San Luis Obispo County ($500): Evan Lin, 16, from San Luis Obispo, who studies with Alan Boehmer. Evan will perform Toccata in E-flat minor (1932) by Aram Khachaturian and Ignacy Jan Paderewski’s Cracovienne fantastique, Op. 14 no. 6 at the Youth Competition Winner’s Recital on November 9.
First Place, Junior Division ($400): Daniel Ha, 13, from Nipomo, who studies with Dr. Lynne Garrett. Daniel will perform the Danza de la moza donosa from Danzas Argentinas, Op.2 by Albeto Ginastera and Felix Mendelssohn’s Rondo capriccioso, Op. 14 at the Youth Competition Winners’ Recital on November 9.
Second Place, Junior Division ($300): Kevin Park, 12, from Orcutt, who studies with Dr. Lynne Garrett. Kevin will perform Frederic Chopin’s Grande Valse Brillante, Op. 34 no. 1 at the Youth Competition Winners’ Recital on November 9.
Third Place, Junior Division ($200): Sydney Haughian, 13, from San Louis Obispo, who studies with Iva Svitek and Alan Boehmer. Sydney will perform Ignacy Jan Paderewski’s Menuet a l’antique, Op. 14 no. 1 at the Youth Competition Winners’ Recital on November 9.
In recognition of the excellent level of preparation exhibited by the Junior Division contestants, the Youth Piano Competition jury also awarded two Honorable Mention Prizes ($100 each) to the following participants:
Ivan Davidek, 14, from Carmel, who studies with Irene Kendall, will perform O polichinelo from A Prole do Bebe (1918) by Heitor Villa-Lobos, and Bella Oldenburg, 14, from San Luis Obispo, who studies with Alan Boehmer, who will perform Johann Sebastian Bach’s Prelude in G major from Das Wohltemperierte Klavier, Vol. 2, BWV 884 at the Youth Competition Winners’ Recital on November 9.
The Winners’ Recital will be held at the Paso Robles Inn Ballroom, 1103 Spring Street, November 9 at 4 p.m. Cash prizes and medals from the Paderewski Festival will be awarded during a ceremony immediately following the concert.
The 2013 Paderewski Youth Piano Competition Winners’ Recital is free and open to the public. To accommodate the highest possible number of concertgoers, reservations are strongly recommended and may be made by going to the Festival’s website – www.paderewskifest.com. Otherwise, seating will be on a first-come basis.
The Paderewski Festival in Paso Robles is a non-profit organization that sponsors an annual series of concerts featuring internationally acclaimed artists, the Paderewski Youth Piano Competition and Exchange Program.
For festival details see related story: 2013 Paderewski Festival is Nov. 7-10
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