Paderewski Festival announces winners of youth piano competition
On Friday, Nov. 6, the Festival will celebrate Ignacy Jan Paderewski’s 160th birthday with an online Gala Concert. Pianist Adam Zukiewicz will perform via livestream from the Auditorium of the University of Northern Colorado. Courtesy photo.
–The Paderewski Festival in Paso Robles is announcing the winners of the 2020 Youth Piano Competition. Due to the pandemic, this year’s youth competition auditions were held virtually and participants were invited to submit their performance by video. The jurors—Cal Poly professors India D’Avignon and Paul Woodring, and Paderewski Festival Artistic Director and USC Polish Music Center Director Marek Zebrowski—individually watched the students’ performances and met by videoconference on Oct. 17 to select the winners.
There were 10 contestants in the Junior Category (ages 10-14) and five contestants in the Senior Category (ages 15-18). Competitors came from the Central California region, including Fresno, Monterey, Santa Barbara, and San Luis Obispo counties. In both age categories, the jurors heard several promising young musicians who demonstrated very high levels of accomplishment.
The 2020 Youth Piano Competition finalists in the Junior Division are:
- Third Place and cash award of $200: Sela Yarbrough, a 10-year old 5th grader from Fresno Co., and a student of Andreas Werz.
- Second Place and cash award of $300 each will be given to two contestants ex aequo: Suri Kim and Andy Shen. Suri Kim is a 12-year old 7th grader from Santa Barbara County, studying with Lynne Garrett. Andy Shen is a 14-year old 9th grader from San Luis Obispo, studying with Alan Boehmer.
- First Place and cash award of $400: Noelle Hadsall, an 11-year old 6th grader from Santa Barbara County, and a student of Pascal Salomon.
- The 2020 Youth Piano Competition finalists in the Senior Division are:
- Third Place and cash award of $500: Isabella Osgood, a 17-year old from San Luis Obispo County, and a student of Lynne Garrett.
- Second Place and cash award of $600: Aidan Purtell, a 15-year old 10th grader from Fresno County, and a student of Andreas Werz.
- First Place and cash award of $750: Holly Hadsall, a 15-year old 10th grader from Santa Barbara County, and a student of Pascal Salomon.
Because of the restrictions on public gathering, this year’s Youth Competition Winners’ concert will be broadcast on the Paderewski Festival YouTube channel on Nov. 7 at 4 p.m. PST. The 2020 Youth Competition winners will be heard in a repertoire of works by Bela Bartók, Ludwig van Beethoven, Frédéric Chopin, Wolfgang Amadeus Mozart and Ignacy Jan Paderewski.
Event details:
2020 Youth Piano Competition Winners’ Recital, featuring Holly Hadsall, Noelle Hadsall, Suri Kim, Aidan Purtell, Isabella Osgood, Andy Shen and Sela Yarbrough. Music by Bartók, Beethoven, Chopin, Mozart and Paderewski. Broadcast on the Paderewski Festival YouTube channel: Saturday, November 7 at 4 p.m. Pacific Standard Time.
This event is free and open to the public. Further information at: www.paderewskifest.com or by calling (805) 235-5409.
The Paderewski Festival in Paso Robles is a 501 (c) (3) non-profit organization dedicated to bringing world-class music to California’s Central Coast region and to commemorating Ignacy Jan Paderewski’s personal connections to the Paso Robles community and San Luis Obispo County.
All events are subject to change.
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