Composers: Samuel Barber

Youlan Ji – Cliburn Junior 2015 Quarterfinal Round Recital

YOULAN JI
China |  Age 16

2015 Cliburn International Junior Piano Competition and Festival
June 21–28, 2015  I  TCU
Fort Worth, TX, USA

Program:
BACH Prelude and Fugue in D Major, Book II, BWV 874
CHOPIN Nocturne in E-flat Major, op. 55, no. 2
BARBER Sonata for Piano, op. 26

Born in Beijing, Youlan Ji moved to New York in 2012 to attend The Juilliard School’s Pre-College Division, where she studies with Yoheved Kaplinsky. She has won first prizes at the United States Open Music Competition (2011), Third International Rosario Marciano Piano Competition (2011), and Xinghai Cup Piano Competition (2008). She has been featured in recitals in Beijing, Shanghai, and New York, and performed the Beethoven Second Concerto with Juilliard’s Pre-College Orchestra as winner of its concerto competition. In her spare time, Youlan enjoys watching movies and swimming.

Debby Pearlberg – Cliburn Amateur 2016 Preliminary Round Recital

2016 Cliburn International Amateur Piano Competition
Preliminary Round
Van Cliburn Recital Hall

Debby Pearlberg, 68
Math tutor
Southfield, Michigan
United States

Debby Pearlberg, from Southfield, Michigan, currently studies with 1981 Cliburn Competition Silver Medalist Panayis Lyras and previously studied with Mischa Kottler, pianist with the Detroit Symphony Orchestra. A graduate from Wayne State University and the University of Michigan, she worked as a librarian at the New York Public Library and then stayed home full time to raise three children. Since learning about the Cliburn Amateur Competition, Ms. Pearlberg became determined to participate here, and she did just that in 2007. Four years later, she was also accepted into the Competition, but a tendinitis flare-up a few weeks before the event caused her to withdraw. Now, five years later, she is looking forward to performing for her grandchildren at the Competition. A math tutor who is taking some time off from crunching numbers, Ms. Pearlberg enjoys photography, reading, and dog training.

Program:
BARBER, Nocturne, op. 33 “Hommage to John Field”
LISZT, Paganini Etude No. 3 in G-sharp Minor (“La Campanella”)

Colleen Adent – Cliburn Amateur 2016 Preliminary Round Recital

2016 Cliburn International Amateur Piano Competition
Preliminary Round
Van Cliburn Recital Hall

Colleen Adent, 54
Homemaker
Vancouver, Washington
United States

A self-professed explorer, Colleen Adent enjoys “finding out how things were made, where they came from, and what I can learn that I didn’t know about before.” She received a bachelor’s degree in piano performance from Biola University (La Mirada, California) in 1983. After several years as a stay-at-home mom, Ms. Adent now dedicates her time to leading her church’s music program, where she schedules musicians for services and helps lead band rehearsals as director of music. In addition, she gives piano lessons. For the last two years, Ms. Adent has appeared in “Ten Grands,” an evening showcase featuring 10 grand pianos and 10 pianists, in Portland, Oregon, and in Seattle. In her free time, Ms. Adent likes to wander through used bookstores for treasure—usually biographies of composers, statesmen, and inventors—and enjoys quilting.

Program:
BARBER, Excursions, op. 20: III. Allegretto
DEBUSSY, L’Isle joyeuse

Mari Yoshihara – Cliburn Amateur 2016 Preliminary Round Recital

2016 Cliburn International Amateur Piano Competition
Preliminary Round
Van Cliburn Recital Hall

Mari Yoshihara, 48
Professor of American studies
Honolulu, Hawaii
United States/Japan

Mari Yoshihara, a 2011 Cliburn Amateur competitor, has studied piano since childhood. Upon entering graduate school, she took a break, she says, and kept music compartmentalized, away from her professional life—until she began research that led to the publication of two works: Musicians from a Different Shore: Asians and Asian-Americans in Classical Music and a Japanese-language book about the 2009 Van Cliburn International Piano Competition. Currently a professor of American studies at the University of Hawaii, she conducts research, teaching and writing on U.S. cultural history and United States-Asian relations. She was awarded first prize in the amateur division of the Aloha International Piano Festival in 2014; currently, she studies with Thomas Yee. Dr. Yoshihara has many great memories of her experience in Fort Worth, and she looks forward to reuniting with friends she made here. On a romantic note, she also met her current boyfriend, Jun Fujimoto, while participating in the 2011 Cliburn Amateur Competition.

Program:
BARBER, Excursions, op. 20: III. Allegretto
BATES, White Lies for Lomax

Rachel Kudo – Cliburn 2017 Preliminary Recital

RACHEL KUDO
United States | Age 30

Fifteenth Van Cliburn International Piano Competition
Preliminary Round Recital – Sunday, May 28, 2017 – 3:20 p.m.
Bass Performance Hall

Program:

BACH Overture in the French Style in B Minor, BWV 831
HAMELIN Toccata on “L’homme armé”
BARBER Sonata for Piano, op. 26

A winner of the Gilmore Young Artist Award, Rachel Kudo gave her first performances with orchestra at age 16 in Tchaikovsky’s Piano Concerto No. 1 with the Fort Worth Symphony Orchestra and De Falla’s Nights in the Gardens of Spain with the Chicago Symphony Orchestra. She has since performed with the Warsaw Philharmonic in Poland and the RTE National Symphony Orchestra in Ireland, among others. She has appeared in recital at Chopin’s birthplace in Poland, Salle Cortot in Paris, Musikverein in Vienna, Tel Aviv Museum of Art, Aspen Music Festival, Dame Myra Hess Memorial Concert Series in Chicago, and Avery Fisher Hall, Alice Tully Hall, and Carnegie Hall in New York. Born in Washington, D.C., to Japanese-Korean parents, Ms. Kudo began studying piano at age 4 with Emilio del Rosario and continued at The Juilliard School and the Mannes College of Music. Her past teachers include Richard Goode, Yoheved Kaplinsky, and Gilbert Kalish, and she currently studies with Leon Fleisher. She enjoys yoga, cooking, and traveling.

Martin James Bartlett – Cliburn 2017 Preliminary Recital

Martin James Bartlett
United Kingdom | Age 20

Fifteenth Van Cliburn International Piano Competition
Preliminary Round Recital – Friday, May 26, 2017 – 3:20 p.m.
Bass Performance Hall

Program:

BACH Toccata in C Minor, BWV 911
HAMELIN Toccata on “L’homme armé”
SCHUBERT Impromptu in G-flat Major, D. 899, op. 90, no. 3
BARBER Sonata for Piano, op. 26

Martin James Bartlett won the title of BBC Young Musician in 2014 and has since appeared regularly on BBC TV and radio broadcasts. In 2016, he performed as part of Queen Elizabeth II’s 90th birthday Thanksgiving Service at St. Paul’s Cathedral, broadcast live on BBC One. He also was one of 27 international artists, including Elton John and Stevie Wonder, chosen by the BBC to record a cover of the Beach Boys’ classic God Only Knows. Mr. Bartlett is currently studying with Vanessa Latarche at the Royal College of Music as a Foundation Scholar. He has performed at the Royal Albert Hall, Barbican Centre, Queen Elizabeth Hall, Wigmore Hall, Cadogan Hall, Usher Hall, and Steinway Hall in London. Internationally, he has performed across France, Monaco, Italy, Russia, and Serbia. He made his BBC Proms debut in 2015 with the Royal Philharmonic Orchestra in Gershwin’s Rhapsody in Blue. He also has performed with the BBC Concert, BBC Symphony, Bournemouth Symphony, and European Union Chamber orchestras. In his spare time, he enjoys reading, traveling, and wine collecting.

Kenny Broberg – Cliburn 2017 Preliminary Recital

KENNY BROBERG
2017 CLIBURN SILVER MEDALIST
United States | Age 23

Fifteenth Van Cliburn International Piano Competition
Preliminary Round Recital – Saturday, May 27, 2017 – 3:20 p.m.
Bass Performance Hall

Program:
FRANCK-BAUER Prélude, Fugue et Variation, op. 18
HAMELIN Toccata on “L’homme armé”
BACH Toccata in C Minor, BWV 911
BARBER Sonata for Piano, op. 26

A native of Minneapolis, Kenneth Broberg studied piano from age 6 through high school under Dr. Joseph Zins. He continued his studies with Nancy Weems at the University of Houston’s Moores School of Music, where he earned a Bachelor of Music degree. He is now a graduate student working with 2001 Cliburn gold medalist Stanislav Ioudenitch at Park University in Parkville, Missouri. Mr. Broberg has won first prizes at the Hastings and Dallas international piano competitions, in addition to medals at the Sydney, Seattle, New Orleans, and Wideman (Shreveport) competitions. Several of his performances at last year’s Sydney International Piano Competition were released on CD on the Universal Music label. He has performed as soloist with the Royal Philharmonic Orchestra, Minnesota Orchestra, Sydney Symphony, Seattle Symphony, Dallas Chamber Symphony, and the Louisiana Philharmonic, among others. Mr. Broberg has had solo, chamber, and concerto performances broadcast on NPR and ABC (Australia) radio. His passions include hockey, baseball, books, and movies.