Glossary: j

Julia Landey

Julia Landey

Mexican actress Julia Landey has a wide-ranging career as a performer, educator, and entrepreneur. She earned a degree in acting at the University of Guadalajara and went on to win the 2015 Proyecta Production award, given by the state of Jalisco’s Ministry of Culture, for a monologue that she wrote and performed in. She also enjoyed a season in residence in one of Mexico City’s major theaters.

Throughout her career, Julia has explored many creative mediums, including clowning, puppet theater, and film. She has participated in multiple international puppet festivals in countries around the world, with shows aimed at young audiences, and has been a storyteller in the children’s pavilion for the Guadalajara International Book Fair for six years. An enthusiastic and dedicated educator, she has primarily worked with elementary students as a teacher and leading workshops at the Dallas Museum of Art’s Go Van Gogh program.

Outside of performance and teaching, she and her husband apply their creativity to food. They have a catering company that combines a culinary experience with their culture. Julia moved to Dallas four years ago and looks forward to her first season with the Cliburn.

Jon Nakamatsu

Jon Nakamatsu – UNITED STATES

Now in his third decade of touring worldwide, American pianist Jon Nakamatsu continues to draw critical and public acclaim for his intensity, elegance, and electrifying solo, concerto, and chamber music performances. Catapulted to international attention in 1997 as the gold medalist of the Van Cliburn International Piano Competition—the only American to achieve this distinction since 1981—he subsequently developed a multi-faceted career that encompasses recording, education, arts administration, and public speaking, in addition to his vast concert schedule.

Mr. Nakamatsu has been guest soloist with over 150 orchestras worldwide, including those of Baltimore, Berlin, Boston, Cincinnati, Dallas, Detroit, Florence, Los Angeles, Milan, San Francisco, Seattle, Tokyo, and Vancouver. He has worked with such esteemed conductors as Marin Alsop, Sergiu Comissiona, James Conlon, Philippe Entremont, Hans Graf, Marek Janowski, Raymond Leppard, Gerard Schwarz, Stanisɫaw Skrowaczewski, Michael Tilson Thomas, and Osmo Vänskä.

As a recitalist, Mr. Nakamatsu has appeared in New York City’s Carnegie Hall and Lincoln Center, Washington, D.C.’s Kennedy Center for the Performing Arts, Musée d’Orsay, and Théâtre du Châtelet in Paris, and in major centers such as Boston, Chicago, Houston, London, Milan, Munich, Prague, Singapore, Warsaw, and Zurich. In Beijing he has been heard at the Theater of the Forbidden City, the Great Hall of the People, China Conservatory, and National Centre for the Performing Arts. His numerous summer engagements included appearances at the Aspen, Tanglewood, Ravinia, Caramoor, Vail, WolfTrap, Colorado Brevard, Britt, Colorado College, Evian, Interlochen, Klavierfestival Ruhr, Santa Fe, and Sun Valley Festivals. In 2024, he will participate in an extended residency at Bowdoin Festival in Maine and return to Chautauqua Institution in New York where he has served as artist-in-residence since the summer of 2018.

With clarinetist Jon Manasse, Mr. Nakamatsu tours as a member of the Manasse/Nakamatsu Duo. Following its Boston debut in 2004, the Duo released its first CD for harmonia mundi usa (Brahms Sonatas for Clarinet and Piano) which received the highest praise from The New York Times classical music editor James Oestreich, who named it among the “Best of the Year” for 2008.  A frequent chamber musician, he has collaborated repeatedly with ensembles such as the Emerson, Escher, Jupiter, Miró, Modigliani, Prazak, St. Lawrence, Tokyo, and Ying string quartets, Imani Winds, and Berlin Philharmonic Wind Quintet, with whom he made multiple tours beginning in 2000.

Mr. Nakamatsu’s 13 CDs recorded for harmonia mundi usa have garnered extraordinary critical praise. An all-Gershwin recording with Jeff Tyzik and Rochester Philharmonic Orchestra featuring Gershwin’s Rhapsody in Blue and Concerto in F remained in the top echelons of Billboard’s classical charts for over six months. Other acclaimed discs include the recording premiere of Lukas Foss’ First Piano Concerto with Carl St. Clair and Pacific Symphony, Brahms Piano Quintet with Tokyo String Quartet in the quartet’s final recording as an ensemble, and a solo recording including Robert Schumann’s Second Piano Sonata whose YouTube posting has garnered over 600K hits.

Mr. Nakamatsu has been profiled extensively in print, radio, television, and online. He has appeared on CBS Sunday Morning, in Reader’s Digest magazine and recently on Live from Here! with Chris Thile. In 1999, he performed at the White House at the special invitation of President and Mrs. Clinton. He has also performed for the United States Mayor’s Convention in San Francisco and, in 2001, was the featured guest artist during the opening and dedication of the Japanese American Memorial to Patriotism During World War II in Washington, D.C.

A former high school teacher of German with no formal conservatory training, Mr. Nakamatsu studied privately with Marina Derryberry for over 20 years beginning at the age of 6; worked with Karl Ulrich Schnabel since the age of 9; and trained for 10 years in composition, theory, and orchestration with Dr. Leonard Stein of the University of Southern California’s Schoenberg Institute. He holds undergraduate and graduate degrees from Stanford University in German Studies and secondary education. In 2015, he joined the piano faculty of the San Francisco Conservatory of Music and, in 2023, the Department of Music at Stanford University. He lives in the Bay Area with his wife Kathy and young son Gavin.

jonnakamatsu.com

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Jan Schulmeister

JAN SCHULMEISTER
The Horchow Family Third Prize Winner

Czechia  I  16

“Music is a passion for me. It has the power to affect all movements of the mind, to enchant, to bewitch. Thanks to it, I can speak to people without words, but with the greatest urgency.”

Jan Schulmeister belongs to the sixth generation of the Černý-Schulmeister family, well-known in Czechia for musical ability, and began studying piano with his mother, Martina Schulmeisterová, and Eva Zonová at the age of 5. When he was 7, he started participating in competitions, to remarkable results. He has taken home more than 30 first place or other extraordinary awards, both in his home country and at international competitions in Italy, Belgium, Spain, Sweden, Switzerland, Estonia, Austria, North Macedonia, and the United States. In 2018, he became the youngest member of the Petrof Art Family, under which he has recorded two CDs. Jan currently continues his studies with Martina Schulmeisterová at the Conservatory of P. J. Vejvanovský Kroměříž, and also takes lessons with Alena Vlasáková at the Janáček Academy of Performing Arts in Brno, Czech Republic, and Ewa Kupiec of the Hochschule für Musik, Theater und Medien, Hannover, Germany. He has a passion for music education and finding innovative ways to reach younger audiences through concerts: “Together with appropriate explanations from me and from their teachers, we can make the ‘musical stories’ more accessible to them. I am always pleased with the subsequent reactions and interesting questions.” Outside of the practice room and stage, he enjoys reading about music history and astronomy, as well as recreational target shooting.

REPERTOIRE

Preliminary Round

BACH Prelude and Fugue in C Major, BWV 846
LISZT Transcendental Etude No. 10 in F Minor
SCRIABIN Etude in C-sharp Minor, op. 2, no. 1
BIZET–HOROWITZ Variations on a Theme from Carmen

Quarterfinal Round

HAYDN Sonata in E-flat Major, Hob. XVI:52 (I)
DEBUSSY “La cathédrale engloutie” from Préludes, Book I
JANÁČEK Piano Sonata 1.X.1905 “From the Street” (I)
LISZT Hungarian Rhapsody No. 10 in E Major

Semifinal Round – Recital

RANDALL MEYERS “Mantra” from Simplexity for Piano
RACHMANINOV Six moments musicaux, op. 16

Semifinal Round – Concerto Movement

SAINT-SAËNS Piano Concerto No. 2 in G Minor, op. 22 (II)

 

Final Round – Concerto 

SAINT-SAËNS Piano Concerto No. 2 in G Minor, op. 22

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Jaeuk Lim

JAEUK LIM 임재욱

South Korea  I  16

“Classical music should deliver hope and emotion to people, which will make the world more humane. I would like to be an active messenger. The degree of my happiness reaches the fullest while playing music on the stage, and I would like to share this fullest happiness with the audience through my performance.”

Jaeuk Lim finds artistic inspiration in the performances and passionate attitudes of other musicians: “they drive my artistry and motivate me to be more serious and excel in the music field.” Born in Incheon, he attended Yewon School and made his concerto debut at the Incheon Culture and Arts Center. Last year, he was accepted into the Seoul Arts High School, where he currently studies piano under Eun Jung Shon. With more than 10 top-three finishes at competitions in Korea, he is approaching his Cliburn Junior appearance with pure dedication: “In preparation for the Competition, I would like to push the limits and become more mature musically. Through the experience, I want to form a value in music and will exert myself to perform better.” He enjoys reading books, which he says informs his music, alongside meditation.

REPERTOIRE

Preliminary Round

BACH Prelude and Fugue in E Major, BWV 854
LISZT Transcendental Etude No. 5 “Feux follets”
CHOPIN Ballade No. 4 in F Minor, op. 52

Quarterfinal Round

MOZART Sonata No. 9 in D Major, K. 311
CHOPIN Nocturne in C Minor, op. 48, no. 1
CHOPIN Scherzo No. 2 in B-flat Minor, op. 31

Semifinal Round – Recital

BEETHOVEN Sonata No. 30 in E Major, op. 109
HOUGH Fanfare Toccata
LISZT Après une lecture du Dante: Fantasia quasi Sonata

Final Round – Concerto 

BEETHOVEN Piano Concerto No. 3 in C Minor, op. 37

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Jeffrey Swann

JEFFREY SWANN – UNITED STATES

Jeffrey Swann enjoys an international performing career which has taken him throughout the United States, Europe, Latin America, and Asia. He won first prize in the Dino Ciani Competition sponsored by La Scala in Milan, a gold medal at the Queen Elisabeth Competition, a bronze medal at the Cliburn Competition, and top honors at the Warsaw Chopin, Vianna da Motta, and Montreal Competitions, as well as the Young Concert Artists auditions in New York City. His large and varied repertoire includes more than 60 concertos, as well as solo works ranging from Bach to Boulez.

In addition to presenting lecture/recitals worldwide, Jeffrey has performed with the orchestras of Cincinnati, Pittsburgh, Seattle, Indiana, Dallas, Saint Louis, Phoenix, Houston, Lexington, Baltimore, and Minneapolis; and in Europe with the orchestras of Rotterdam, The Hague, Belgian National and Radio, Santa Cecilia, La Scala, Maggio Fiorentino (Florence), RAI Turin and Rome, Südwest Rundfunk, Bayerischer Rundfunk, the Prague Philharmonic, Radio France de Montpellier, and the London Philharmonia, among many others. The conductors with whom he has performed include Zdenek Macal, David Robertson, Esa-Pekka Salonen, Marek Janowski, William Steinberg, Kazimirz Kord, Myung-Whun Chung, Roberto Abbado, Riccardo Chailly, Daniele Gatti, and Leonard Slatkin. Recent concerts include the complete Beethoven Sonatas series at Bargemusic (NY), and recitals and master classes in Arizona, Washington D.C., Sicily, Israel, Italy, Puerto Rico, Portugal, and the Republic of Georgia.

In addition, Jeffrey is an internationally renowned Wagner scholar. He lectures throughout the United States illustrating from the piano and is a frequent guest of the Bayreuth Festival. He has written extensively on Wagner, most recently an article on Wagner and Proust, published by Oxford University Press.

He studied with Alexander Uninsky at Southern Methodist University and with Beveridge Webster and Adele Marcus at The Juilliard School, where he received his B.M., M.M., and D.M.A. Degrees. He has made recordings for Ars Polona, Deutsche-Gramophon, RCA-Italy, Replica, Fonit-Cetra, Music & Arts, and Agorá. His CD, “The Virtuoso Liszt” (Music & Arts), won the Liszt Society’s Grand Prix, and his first volume of the Complete Beethoven Sonatas (Agorá) was chosen one of the Best of the Year by Fanfare magazine. His recordings are now available online through NAR Classical.

Jeffrey Swann served as artistic director of the Dino Ciani Festival & Academia (Cortina d’Ampezzo, Italy) and artistic director of the Scuola Normale Superiore’s Concert Series (Pisa). He is currently Professor of Piano at New York University and the President’s Distinguished Artist-in-Residence at Northern Arizona University, where he was recently awarded an Honorary Doctorate.

 

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Jane Coop

JANE COOP – CANADA

Elegant, experienced, and brilliant, are words to describe pianist Jane Coop who takes her art form to a higher stratum. Renowned for her appealing performance style, she is considered Canada’s premier Mozart interpreter by The Calgary Herald and has consistently been praised for her capacity to graciously carry the sensitivity and spirit of the music she plays, right to her listeners.

Jane has worked with prominent conductors such as Sir Andrew Davis, John Eliot Gardiner, and Rudolf Barshai, and with orchestras around the world including the Royal Philharmonic, Seattle and Oregon Symphonies, Hong Kong Philharmonic, National Taiwan Symphony Orchestra, Bavarian Radio Orchestra, and most orchestras in Canada. As a respected concerto soloist, recitalist, and chamber musician, she has made appearances in eminent halls such as the Bolshoi Hall in St. Petersburg, the Kennedy Center, Alice Tully Hall, Roy Thomson Hall, the Hong Kong Cultural Centre, the Beijing Concert Hall, and the Salle Gaveau in Paris. In her own country, she has given concerts in every province, as well as Yukon. Recent highlights include a concerto with the Saskatoon Symphony and a residency at the Lunenburg Academy of Music Performance in Nova Scotia, among solo and chamber recitals.

Jane has recorded extensively and garnered multiple JUNO nominations. This newest title, her 17th recording to her discography, Three Keyboard Masters: Bach, Beethoven, & Rachmaninoff, reflects the depth of her pianistic canon. She is also fortunate to have four concerto recordings, various chamber works recorded with the Satie String Quartet of Paris, and the complete Beethoven Piano and Violin Sonatas with esteemed colleague Andrew Dawes in her list.

Jane’s major teachers were Anton Kuerti and Leon Fleisher. Rounding out her significant contribution to Canadian music, she served as Professor of Piano and Chamber Music at the University of British Columbia’s School of Music for more than three decades. In December 2012, for her years of artistic dedication to this country, she was appointed to the Order of Canada.

Jane Coop is a Steinway Artist.

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Jinhyung Park

Jinhyung Park

South Korea  I  Age 26

Seoul native Jinhyung Park began studying piano at the age of 5 and made his recital debut 10 years later. After completing his bachelor’s degree in piano performance at Yonsei University under the tutelage of Ian Yungwook Yoo, he moved to Germany to study with Arie Vardi at the Hochschule für Musik, Theater und Medien in Hannover.

Jinhyung’s concert schedule has taken him around the world, with engagements across Korea, as well as recitals in Prague, Bratislava, and Paris, and concertos with the Slovakia Symphony Orchestra, RTVE Symphony Orchestra, Orchestre symphonique de Montréal, Gyonggi Philharmonic Orchestra, Gwacheon Philharmonic Orchestra, KBS Symphony Orchestra, Bucheon Philharmonic Orchestra, and Incheon Philharmonic Orchestra. He is also the proud recipient of a Yamaha Music Korea scholarship and the Shinhan Music Award.

His international prizes include first place at the Prague Spring International Music Competition and second prizes at the Panama and Hilton Head International Piano Competitions; he also boasts strong finishes at the Cleveland, Santander, and Montreal Competitions.

Also interested in conducting and composing, Jinhyung cites his deep love of music as his primary motivator in life. He expects the Cliburn to be “an unforgettable experience for an optimistic future.”

REPERTOIRE

Preliminary Round

HOUGH Fanfare Toccata
DEBUSSY Images, Book I
LISZT Venezia e Napoli

Quarterfinal Round

MENDELSSOHN Prelude and Fugue in E Minor, op. 35, no. 1
BRAHMS Variations and Fugue on a Theme by Handel, op. 24

Semifinal Round – Recital

PROKOFIEV Sonata No. 6 in A Minor, op. 82
SCHUMANN Fantasiestücke, op. 12

Semifinal Round – Mozart concerto

MOZART Piano Concerto No. 20 in D Minor, K. 466

Final Round – Concerto I

BEETHOVEN Piano Concerto No. 4 in G Major, op. 58

Final Round – Concerto II

PROKOFIEV Piano Concerto No. 3 in C Major, op. 26

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Jonathan Mak

Jonathan Mak

Canada  I  Age 25

On Jonathan Mak’s third birthday, his sister’s piano teacher decided to give him a trial lesson; he has been actively studying both piano and viola ever since. He made his orchestra debut with the Canadian Sinfonietta just one year later, at the age of 4.

After graduation from the Cardinal Carter Academy for the Arts in his native Toronto, he went on to study with Daniel Shapiro at the Cleveland Institute of Music, where he earned a bachelor’s degree in piano performance, as well as minors in viola performance and German. Under the tutelage of Boris Slutsky, he recently completed his master’s degree in piano performance at the Yale School of Music, where he is currently pursuing a Master of Musical Arts degree. In fall 2022, he will begin doctoral studies at Rice University with Jon Kimura Parker.

Jonathan’s international accomplishments include first prize at the 2009 Manchester International Concerto Competition for Young Pianists; the 2013 Jean Lumb Foundation Kotcheff Family Arts Award; and the 2021 Sylva Gelber Music Foundation Award. He has been a guest soloist with numerous orchestras, most notably the Orpheus Chamber Orchestra in Bulgaria, Manchester Camerata, Orchestra Filarmonica di Udine, and Krakow Philharmonic Orchestra, and has also given recitals in Italy, Bulgaria, Manchester, China, Vienna, and Poland.

An avid chamber musician, he has been invited to perform at various festivals including the Festival of the Sound in Ontario, Ottawa Chamberfest, and the Edinburgh International Festival. In the summer of 2017, Jonathan was part of the National Youth Orchestra of Canada as an Award of Excellence winner. Returning to the orchestra in 2018, he joined NYOC on their European tour as a recipient of the Canada Council for the Arts Michael Measures Prize.

jonathanmakpiano.weebly.com

REPERTOIRE

Preliminary Round

HAYDN Sonata in A-flat Major, Hob. XVI:46
HOUGH Fanfare Toccata
RACHMANINOV Variations on a Theme of Corelli, op. 42

Quarterfinal Round

BEETHOVEN Sonata No. 18 in E-flat Major, op. 31, no. 3
RAVEL Gaspard de la nuit

Semifinal Round – Recital

SCHUMANN Humoreske in B-flat Major, op. 20
PROKOFIEV Sonata No. 8 in B-flat Major, op. 84

Semifinal Round – Mozart concerto

MOZART Piano Concerto No. 23 in A Major, K. 488

Final Round – Concerto I

BEETHOVEN Piano Concerto No. 3 in C Minor, op. 37

Final Round – Concerto II

BRAHMS Piano Concerto No. 1 in D Minor, op. 15

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Janina Fialkowska

JANINA FIALKOWSKA – CANADA
JURY CHAIRMAN

For over 40 years, concert pianist Janina Fialkowska has enchanted audiences and critics around the world. She has been praised for her musical integrity, her refreshing natural approach, and her unique piano sound thus becoming “one of the Grandes Dames of piano playing” (Frankfurter Allgemeine).

Born in Canada, she began her piano studies with her mother at age 4, continuing on in her native Montreal with Yvonne Hubert. In Paris she studied with Yvonne Lefébure and in New York at The Juilliard School with Sascha Gorodnitzki, experiencing the best of both French and Russian piano traditions. Her career was launched in 1974, when the legendary Arthur Rubinstein became her mentor after her prize-winning performance at his inaugural Master Piano Competition, calling her a “born Chopin interpreter” and laying the foundation for her lifelong identification with this composer.

Since then she has performed with the foremost orchestras worldwide under the baton of such conductors as Zubin Mehta, Bernard Haitink, Lorin Maazel, Sir Georg Solti, Sir Roger Norrington, and Yannick Nézet-Séguin, to name one of the younger generation. She has won special recognition for a series of important premieres, notably Liszt’s newly discovered Third Piano Concerto with the Chicago Symphony and several contemporary piano concertos. Ms. Fialkowska’s discography includes many award-winning discs, e.g.  BBC Music Magazine’s 2013 “Instrumental CD of the Year” award as well as the Canadian “Juno Award” in 2018.

Her native Canada has bestowed upon her their highest honors: Officer of the Order of Canada and the Governor General’s 2012 Lifetime Achievement Award in Classical Music (Canada’s equivalent to the Kennedy Center Honors), as well as three honorary doctorates.  She passes on her wide musical experience in master classes and at her annual International Piano Academy in Bavaria, where she now resides, and makes frequent appearances as a juror of the world’s most prestigious piano competitions.

Janina previously served on the Screening Jury for the 2017 Van Cliburn International Piano Competition.

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JORGE ZAMORA

JORGE ZAMORA                                                                        

AGE 49  I  HUIXQUILUCAN, MEXICO  I  MEXICO
BUSINESS DEVELOPMENT DIRECTOR

Jorge Zamora graduated from the Instituto Tecnológico y de Estudios Superiores de Monterrey with a degree in electronics and communications engineering, and quickly began work in telecommunications in Mexico City. He had studied piano seriously in his formative years, and that love for music led him, at age 25, to study at the Cleveland Institute of Music for three years. Though he’d return to Mexico to build a successful career in technology sales management (he’s currently director of business development for Qualcomm), Jorge’s concertizing days were far from over. After a 10-year break, he came back to performance for the 2011 Cliburn Amateur; he says that, since then, he has witnessed “a chain reaction of positive things” in his life, not only at the piano, but also in the development of a well-balanced life without compromise. For 2022, he is also “much more conscious of how this process also shapes the way my children and the people around me witness how hard work, discipline, and—more importantly—the love of music provide me such encouragement and motivation to do this wonderful Competition.”

 

Repertoire

Preliminary Round

LISZT Ballade No. 2 in B Minor

Semifinal Round 

MUSSORGSKY Selections from Pictures at an Exhibition

Final Round 

BEETHOVEN Concerto No. 5 in E-flat Major, op. 73 “Emperor” (III)

JAMES ROSENBLUM

JAMES ROSENBLUM                                  

AGE 41  I  HARWICH, MASSACHUSETTS  I  UNITED STATES
ATTORNEY

Currently an associate at Senie & Associates—a law firm specializing in land use and environmental matters—James Rosenblum’s academic credits include a Bachelor of Arts in political science from Yale University and a Juris Doctor from Columbia University. After serious private piano study as a child and teenager, he’s kept musically active in adulthood through masterclasses and summer programs, and made the finals of two amateur competitions, both Chicago’s and WQXR’s Classical Moonlighter’s in New York. With his wife, Georgian-American pianist Ana Glig, he has recently made select duo piano and chamber appearances in Massachusetts, and in May 2019, the couple sponsored their first competition for young classical pianists in Gurjaani, Georgia. They’ve also toured Georgia three times, giving masterclasses and performances. James seasonally serves as pianist/organist at First Church of Truro, Massachusetts.

 

Repertoire

Preliminary Round

BACH Prelude and Fugue in C-sharp Major, BWV 848
BACH Prelude and Fugue in B Major, BWV 892
CHOPIN Etudes, op. 10, nos. 6, 5, 1

Semifinal Round 

BACH English Suite No. 3 in G Minor, BWV 808
MENDELSSOHN Lieder ohne Worte in F-sharp Minor, op. 67, no. 2
RAVEL “Ondine” from Gaspard de la nuit
CHOPIN Polonaise in A-flat Major, op. 53 (“Héroïque”)

Final Round 

BEETHOVEN Concerto No. 3 in C Minor, op. 37 (I)

JON LEE

JON LEE

AGE 41  I  SAN FRANCISCO, CALIFORNIA  I  UNITED STATES
SOFTWARE ENGINEER

A decade ago, Milwaukee-born Jon Lee moved to San Francisco from Boston, having completed both bachelor’s and master’s degrees in computer science from the Massachusetts Institute of Technology and subsequently working as a software engineer for seven years. His cross-country relocation was to accept a new position at Apple, and he didn’t think that classical music—which he had studied privately throughout his youth—would reenter his life in any big way. But, he says, after sight reading chamber music in bars with freelance and amateur musicians, he was inspired to return to serious piano study. He’s since won or placed in competitions in San Diego, Seattle, Boston, and Washington, D.C., and has had the opportunity to perform in California, Massachusetts, Texas, Washington, and the District of Columbia. The Cliburn Amateur, he says “is, in a big way, a pinnacle in my journey.”

 

Repertoire

Preliminary Round

HANDEL Suite No. 2 in F Major, HWV 427
SCHUMANN Toccata in C Major, op. 7

Semifinal Round 

BACH–RACHMANINOV Partita No. 3 in E Major, BWV 1006
SCHUBERT–LISZT “Gretchen am Spinnrade”
CHOPIN Etude in F Major, op. 10, no. 8
SCRIABIN Sonata No. 2 in G-sharp Minor, op. 19 (“Sonata-Fantasy”)

Final Round 

PROKOFIEV Concerto No. 3 in C Major, op. 26 (III)

JOHN GUTHEIL

JOHN GUTHEIL

AGE 66  I  LA JOLLA, CALIFORNIA  I  UNITED STATES / UNITED KINGDOM
CEO – MEDICAL ONCOLOGIST

John Gutheil began college as a piano performance major at California State University Northridge before transferring to the University of California at San Diego to complete his degree in biology. He went on to medical school and then to establish a successful career in cancer research. Currently, he is president and CEO of SciQuus Oncology, a company that conducts clinical studies of new cancer treatments. Inspired by his participation in the 2016 Cliburn Amateur, John rededicated himself to the piano and has since won a gold medal at the Seattle amateur competition, and a special prize in San Diego’s; he’s also recently performed at a festival in Russia. Outside of medicine and music, the London native runs marathons and does woodworking, and also enjoys Italian literature, computer programming, and paintings by Caravaggio.

 

Repertoire

Preliminary Round

BACH Prelude and Fugue in C Minor, BWV 847
CHOPIN Etude in C Minor, op. 10, no. 12 (“Revolutionary”)
CHOPIN Nocturne in C-sharp Minor, op. posth.
CHOPIN Etude in G-flat Major, op. 10, no. 5 (“Black Key”)

Semifinal Round 

BEETHOVEN Sonata No. 3 in C Major, op. 2, no. 3

Final Round 

MENDELSSOHN Concerto No. 1 in G Minor, op. 25 (I)

Jean-Efflam Bavouzet

Jean-Efflam Bavouzet – France

Award-winning pianist Jean-Efflam Bavouzet enjoys a prolific recording and international concert career. He regularly works with orchestras such as The Cleveland, San Francisco Symphony, BBC Symphony, and Tokyo Metropolitan Symphony orchestras, and collaborates with conductors including Vladimir Jurowski, Gianandrea Noseda, François-Xavier Roth, Yan Pascal Tortelier, Vasily Petrenko, Ludovic Morlot, Edward Gardner, and Sir Andrew Davis, among others.

This season, he began his Debussy-focused residency at Wigmore Hall with solo recitals and chamber concerts with the Danel Quartet and Dmitri Shishkin. Other recent highlights include concertos across Europe, performances at Lincoln Center and Carnegie Hall with the London Philharmonic Orchestra, appearance at the BBC Proms, a tour of the United Kingdom with the Iceland Symphony, and play/direct with the Camerata RCO.

Mr. Bavouzet records exclusively for Chandos; his latest album, The Beethoven Connection, received numerous accolades from Gramophone, BBC Music, and Choc-Classica magazines, and The New York Times. Ongoing cycles include the complete Haydn piano sonatas and the complete Mozart piano concertos with the Manchester Camerata and Gábor Takács-Nagy. In September 2020, the complete Beethoven concertos were released with the Swedish Chamber Orchestra, play/directed by Mr. Bavouzet. Other recordings have garnered Gramophone, BBC, Diapason d’Or, and Choc de l’année awards.

Mr. Bavouzet has worked closely with Pierre Boulez, Karlheinz Stockhausen, György Kurtág, Maurice Ohana, Bruno Mantovani, and Jörg Widmann and is also a champion of lesser-known French music, notably that of Gabriel Pierné and Albéric Magnard. He is the International Chair in Piano at the Royal Northern College of Music and an advisory board member of the Pianofest in the Hamptons.

bavouzet.com

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Johann Zhao

Johann Zhao

Austria I Age 15

Salzburg-born Johann Zhao has five competition wins to his name in Austria, Czech Republic, and Germany, as well as a gold medal at the AADGT (American Association for Development of the Gifted and Talented) in 2017, which led to his Carnegie Hall debut. A student of Cordelia Höfer-Teutsch at the University Mozarteum Salzburg since 2013, he made his recital and concerto debuts in 2015 at Salzburg’s Summer Schlosskonzerte Mirabell. He has performed with the Bad Reichenhall Philharmonic and will perform with the Berliner Sinfonieorchester in Philharmonie in April. He is also a passionate chamber musician, a self-proclaimed YouTuber, runs marathons, sings in choir, and writes pop music.

“Through playing music, I came to understand the invisible world better, instead of relying on perception only. I am interested also in religion and history, and it seems to me that every religious movement or political change has always been accompanied by making music to awake emotion.”

Competitor Profile

Repertoire

Preliminary Round
BACH Prelude and Fugue in G Major, BWV 860
LISZT La campanella from Paganini Etudes
SHOSTAKOVICH Prelude and Fugue in D-flat Major, op. 87, no. 15
PROKOFIEV Toccata, op. 11

Quarterfinal Round

MOZART Sonata No. 18 in D Major, K. 576 (I)

CHOPIN Barcarolle in F-sharp Major, op. 60

BEETHOVEN Sonata No. 29 in B-flat Major, op. 106 (“Hammerklavier”) (I)

SCRIABIN Etude in D-sharp Minor, op. 8, no. 12

 

Semifinal Round

YIRUMA Kiss the Rain

BEETHOVEN Sonata No. 23 in F Minor, op. 57 (“Appassionata”)

SCHUMANN Toccata in C Major, op. 7

STRAVINSKY Etude in F-sharp Major, op. 7, no. 4

WEBER Perpetuum Mobile

 

Final Round

LISZT Concerto No. 1 in E-flat Major, S. 124

JiWon Yang

JiWon Yang
The Horchow Family Third Prize Winner

South Korea I Age 17

JiWon Yang made her recital debut in Seoul at age 9 and her concerto debut in Kazakhstan at 13. Among her competition accolades are several in her home country, as well as wins at the Zhuhai Mozart Competition in China, Astana Piano Passion Kazakhstan, and Cleveland International Piano Competition for Young Pianists. She has participated in Russia’s International Music Festival “Stars on the Baikal,” as well as the St. Paul University Piano Festival. Notable performances include with the Salzburg Chamber Soloists and at the Cultural Center of the Philippines, and Philippines Chopin Society. A current student of HyoungJoon Chang, JiWon counts traveling and flute performance among her interests outside of piano.

“Music gives me the feeling of joy, anger, sorrow, pleasure, and many different emotions. Also, music helps people to communicate with each other with our hearts.”

Competitor Profile

Repertoire

Preliminary Round
BACH Prelude and Fugue in C-sharp Major, BWV 848
CHOPIN Etude in C Minor, op. 10, no. 12 (“Revolutionary”)
SAINT-SAËNS Étude en forme de valse, op. 52, no. 6
CHOPIN Polonaise in A-flat Major, op. 53 (“Heroic”)

Quarterfinal Round
BEETHOVEN Sonata No. 11 in B-flat Major, op. 22 (I)
CHOPIN Nocturne in G Major, op. 37, no. 2
LISZT Réminiscences de Norma, S. 394

Semifinal Round
LIEBERMANN Gargoyles, op. 29
MUSSORGSKY Pictures at an Exhibition

 

Final Round
TCHAIKOVSKY Concerto No. 1 in B-flat Minor, op. 23

J J Jun Li Bui

J J Jun Li Bui

Canada I Age 14

Toronto-native J J Jun Li Bui won his first piano competition on the day he turned 7, which cemented his commitment to music: he went on to prizes in several Canadian contests, as well as the Hanoi (Vietnam), Aarhus (Denmark), and Midwest (United States) International Piano Competitions. Currently in his third year of full scholarship at The Phil and Eli Taylor Performance Academy for Young Artists at The Royal Conservatory Toronto under Michael Berkovsky, he also studies privately with Dang Thai Son. He has performed in recital across Canada, and with orchestras, including the China Guiyang Symphony, Greater Toronto Philharmonic, and Oakville Chamber. In his time away from the piano, J J enjoys cycling, reading, and table tennis.

“I feel that learning music is like a journey that never ends. A journey that is so wonderful and rewarding.”

Competitor Profile

Repertoire

Preliminary Round

BACH Prelude and Fugue in D Major, BWV 874
CHOPIN Etude in C-sharp Minor, op. 10, no. 4
CHOPIN Barcarolle in F-sharp Major, op. 60

Quarterfinal Round

CHOPIN Nocturne in E-flat Major, op. 55, no. 2
BEETHOVEN Sonata No. 7 in D Major, op. 10, no. 3 (I)
LISZT Gnomenreigen from Two Concert Etudes
CHOPIN Andante spianato et Grande Polonaise brillante, op. 22

Semifinal Round

HAMELIN Toccata on “L’homme armé”
CHOPIN Etude in G-sharp Minor, op. 25, no. 6
CHOPIN Ballade No. 4 in F Minor, op. 52
TCHAIKOVSKY-PLETNEV Concert Suite from The Nutcracker

Final Round

RACHMANINOV Concerto No. 1 in F-sharp Minor, op. 1

Jennifer Lane, mezzo-soprano

Acclaimed mezzo-soprano, Jennifer Lane currently has available more than 50 commercial CD recordings on a wide variety of labels and two films on DVD. She has been featured in performances with top ranking opera companies, orchestras, and in recital, in Spain, France, Italy, Monaco, Germany, Austria, Poland, Israel, Scotland, England, Peru, Bolivia, Colombia, Chile, Canada, Japan, Singapore, Korea, Hong Kong, and all 50 United States. Her “dark, bottomless voice is matched by her expressiveness and intelligence,” and is described as “clear, rich, plangent,” “compelling and dramatic,” and “possessing agility and charisma.” Recent recordings garnered her a Grammy® nomination and inclusion in Deutsche Grammophon Gesellschaft’s Stravinsky Complete Edition in A Sermon, A Narrative, and A Prayer and Threni. Jennifer Lane is professor of Vocal Studies at the University of North Texas, having previously taught at University of Kentucky and Stanford University.

Jonathan Tsay

Soloist, collaborative pianist, chamber musician, producer, and arts administrator Jonathan Tsay maintains an artistic career as diverse as his interests. A recent multi-city tour of Taiwan included solo recital stops at the National Recital Hall in Taipei, Kaohsiung Music Hall, and the Pingtung Arts Center. Other recent solo engagements include performances for the Cliburn, Music at Southminster in Ottawa, Blanco Performing Arts, and Fine Arts Chamber Players.

A sought after collaborator, Dr. Tsay has also performed alongside some of the world’s premier musicians, including violinist Chee-Yun, David Cooper (Principal Horn, Berlin Philharmonic), Jing Wang (Concertmaster, Hong Kong Philharmonic), dramatic soprano Alessandra Marc, violinist Chloé Trevor (“musical ambassador to Generation Z”), the Cézanne Quartet, and Nathan Olson (Concertmaster, Dallas Symphony Orchestra). Dr. Tsay performs regularly as Principal Keyboardist of the Dallas Chamber Symphony and Las Colinas Symphony, and serves as Artistic Director of Ensemble75, a chamber music series based out of Dallas, Texas.

Dr. Tsay’s recordings can be found in Brahms – A Listener’s Guide: Unlocking the Masters Series, as well as on Chloé Trevor’s debut album Immortal and Danse Macabre. A solo CD featuring the works of Rachmaninoff, Shostakovich, Debussy, Liszt, and Muczynski was released worldwide in 2009, and and his collaborative album Harmonic Allusions was named one of the “Top 5” albums of 2017 by TheaterJones.

Increasingly popular as a masterclass teacher, Dr. Tsay has given masterclasses throughout Taiwan and Texas. He has served on the screening jury for the Dallas International Piano Competition as well as adjudicator for numerous competitions including the Texas Music Teacher’s Association Solo Competition and Austin Youth Music Ambassadors.

Dr. Tsay started his piano studies with Carolyn Savko at the age of 5. Under the tutelage of Dr. Carol Leone, he earned a Bachelor of Music with Honors at the SMU’s Meadows School of the Arts. Dr. Tsay entered l’Université de Montréal as a Masters of Music student of Marc Durand, and received his doctorate through an accelerated program. His musical background also includes composition studies with Simon Sargon and David Karp, and conducting with Jack Delaney and Paul Phillips.

www.jonathantsay.com
www.ensemble75.com

JOSEPH KALICHSTEIN

Born in Tel Aviv, pianist Joseph Kalichstein is acclaimed as an orchestral soloist, recitalist, and chamber musician. With diverse repertoire ranging from Bach and Brahms to 20th-century works by Bartok, Prokofiev, and others, Mr. Kalichstein has collaborated with such conductors as Daniel Barenboim, Pierre Boulez, James Conlon, Charles Dutoit, Zubin Mehta, Leonard Slatkin, Edo do Waart, and the late George Szell, among others, performing with the world’s most esteemed orchestras.

Mr. Kalichstein is a founding member of the famed Kalichstein-Laredo-Robinson Trio, which celebrates its 40th anniversary in 2017. He also is a frequent guest with the Guarneri and Emerson String Quartets. He serves as the chamber music advisor to the Kennedy Center and artistic director of the Center’s Fortas Chamber Music Concerts. He continues to hold the inaugural Chamber Music Chair at The Juilliard School, where he also teaches a limited number of advanced piano students

His principal teachers included Joshua Shor in Israel and Edward Steuermann and Ilona Kabos at The Juilliard School. Prior to winning the 1969 Leventritt Award, Mr. Kalichstein had won the Young Concert Artists Auditions, resulting in a heralded New York recital debut, followed by an invitation from Leonard Bernstein to perform with the New York Philharmonic in a nationally televised concert. He served as a Cliburn juror during the 2005, 2009, and 2013 Competitions.

Julia Kociuban

Julia Kociuban

Poland | Age 25

Born in Krakow, Julia Kociuban started her piano education at age 5 and graduated from the Fryderyk Chopin University of Music in Warsaw. She currently studies with Pavel Gililov at Universität Mozarteum Salzburg. In 2015, she was the first Polish semifinalist in the history of the International Tchaikovsky Competition, and in 2016 she won third prize at the International Mozart Competition in Salzburg. Ms. Kociuban has performed at venues in Europe (Hercules Hall in Munich, Konzerthaus in Vienna, and Laeiszhalle in Hamburg), North America, and Asia. She has collaborated with the NDR Symphony Orchestra and Vienna Radio Symphony Orchestra, among others, and worked with conductors including Hans Graf, Neeme Jarvi, and Kristjan Jarvi. In 2015, her debut solo album, Schumann, Chopin, Bacewicz, was released on the Polish classical label Dux. Her album Karneval der Tiere with the Vienna Radio Symphony Orchestra and Lahav Shani was released in 2016. Her other interests include art, books, movies, and cooking.

FACEBOOK  I  INSTAGRAM  I  WEBSITE

COMPETITION REPERTOIRE

Preliminary Recital
BEETHOVEN Sonata No. 13 in E-flat Major, op. 27, no. 1 (“Quasi una fantasia”)
HAMELIN Toccata on “L’homme armé”
SZYMANOWSKI Etude in B-flat Minor, op. 4, no. 3
PROKOFIEV Sonata No. 7 in B-flat Major, op. 83

Quarterfinal Recital
SCHUMANN Carnaval, op. 9
RAVEL La Valse

Semifinal Recital
MOZART Sonata No. 12 in F Major, K. 332
TCHAIKOVSKY Méditation, op. 72, no. 5
CHOPIN Sonata No. 3 in B Minor, op. 58

Semifinal Concerto
MOZART Piano Concerto No. 23 in A Major, K. 488

Final Round Piano Quintet
SCHUMANN Piano Quintet in E-flat Major, op. 44

Final Round Concerto
CHOPIN Piano Concerto No. 2 in F Minor, op. 21

Joel Goodman

Joel Goodman, 67
Cell biologist/professor of pharmacology
Carrollton, Texas
United States

Joel Goodman’s first teacher was his mother, who taught him as a young boy. At college—where he petitioned the dean to have a piano in his dorm room—he minored in music. He took piano for a few years after college, and started up again in 1999 with Adam Wodnicki (University of North Texas) after being inspired by the first Cliburn Amateur Competition. Dr. Goodman plays regularly with the DFW Amateur Piano Club and often attends PianoTexas, where he has had the opportunity to perform with the Fort Worth Symphony Orchestra three times. Meanwhile, Dr. Goodman is on the faculty of University of Texas Southwestern Medical School (Dallas), where he directs a research program to understand how cells store fat, teaches medical and Ph.D. students, and administers the STARS outreach office to promote science education in secondary schools. Dr. Goodman enjoys riding his bicycle, attempts to read the New York Times Ten Best Books each year, and relaxes with his wife, daughter, and two young grandchildren.

COMPETITION REPERTOIRE

Preliminary Round
BACH   Prelude and Fugue in E Major, WTC II, BWV 878
LISZT   Hungarian Rhapsody No. 10 in E Major

Quarterfinal Round
CHOPIN   Barcarolle in F-sharp Major, op. 60
RAVEL   “Une barque sur l’océan” from Miroirs

Semifinal Round
BRAHMS   Seven Fantasies, op. 116
GRANADOS   “El pelele: Escena Goyesca” from Goyescas, op. 11

Final Round
SCHUMANN   Piano Concerto in A Minor, op. 54: I. Allegro affetuoso

Jorge Zamora

Jorge Zamora, 43
Sales director
Mexico City, Mexico
Mexico

Jorge Zamora studied piano privately for years before earning his bachelor’s degree in electronics and communications engineering at the Monterrey Institute of Technology and Higher Studies in Monterrey, Mexico. When he was 25, he entered the Cleveland Institute of Music, where he studied piano performance and audio recording for three years. Mr. Zamora returned to Mexico and embarked on a career in telecommunications. Currently, he is a sales director at Qualcomm International Inc. Mr. Zamora took a 10-year break from the piano prior to the 2011 Cliburn Amateur Competition, in which he was a semifinalist. Last year, he took first prize (2nd category) in the 2015 Piano Bridges Amateur International Piano Competition in St. Petersburg, Russia.

COMPETITION REPERTOIRE

Preliminary Round
CHOPIN   Scherzo No. 2 in B-flat Minor, op. 31

Quarterfinal Round
CHOPIN   Ballade No. 3 in A-flat Major, op. 47
SCRIABIN   Etude in C-sharp Minor, op. 42, no. 5
RAVEL   “Ondine” from Gaspard de la nuit

Semifinal Round
SCHUMANN   Fantasie in C Major, op. 17

Final Round
BEETHOVEN   Piano Concerto No. 5 in E-flat Major, op. 73: III. Rondo (allegro)

Jasmin Tiodang

Jasmin Tiodang, 44
Stay-at-home mother
Carolina, Puerto Rico
Indonesia

Born in Indonesia, Jasmin Tiodang began private piano lessons at age 4, studied with Iravati M. Sudiarso in Indonesia, and continued to play until she moved to the United States to pursue her undergraduate studies. She obtained a bachelor’s degree in piano performance from Winthrop University (South Carolina), where she studied with Dr. Eugene Barban, and a master’s in music and an MBA from the University of Louisville. After several years teaching children at a local music academy and serving as music director at a Catholic church in Louisville, she relocated to Puerto Rico in 2003 with her husband. Now, she is focused on caring for her daughter full time, and she recognizes the importance of being a strong role model: “I need to set an example for my daughter,” she says. Competing at the Cliburn Amateur is Ms. Tiodang’s way of paying tribute to the special people who have encouraged her: her late parents as well as her husband, daughter, teachers, and mentors.

COMPETITION REPERTOIRE

Preliminary Round
GINASTERA   Suite de Danzas Criollas, op. 15

Quarterfinal Round
BACH-BUSONI   Chaconne in D Minor
SCHUMANN-LISZT   Widmüng

Semifinal Round
CHOPIN   Andante Spianato et Grande Polonaise Brillante, op. 22
MOZART   Sonata No. 10 in C Major, K. 330

Final Round
BEETHOVEN   Piano Concerto No. 3 in C Minor, op. 37: I. Allegro con brio

J. Spencer Thompson

J. Spencer Thompson, 55
Radiation oncologist
Oklahoma City, Oklahoma
United States

Born in Bountiful, Utah, J. Spencer Thompson studied piano with Lennox Larson and Gladys Gladstone Rosenberg at the University of Utah and received bachelor’s degrees in music, zoology, and Spanish from Brigham Young University in 1985. After attending the University of Utah School of Medicine, he completed his residency in radiation oncology at the University of Medicine and Dentistry in New Brunswick, New Jersey. Currently, he is an associate professor in the department of radiation and oncology at the University of Oklahoma Health Science Center in Oklahoma City. Dr. Thompson says: “Even though I chose not to make music my profession, I can’t really imagine my life without music in it,” and to that end, studies with Sergio Monteiro. A 2011 Cliburn Amateur competitor, he enjoys cooking, skiing, traveling, reading, and rooting for the Oklahoma City Thunder.

COMPETITION REPERTOIRE

Preliminary Round
RACHMANINOV   Etude-Tableau in E-flat Minor, op. 39, no. 5
GERSHWIN-WILD   I’ve Got Rhythm

Quarterfinal Round
RAVEL   “Alborada del gracioso” from Miroirs
RACHMANINOV   Prelude in D Major, op. 23, no. 4
RACHMANINOV   Etude-Tableau in D Major, op. 39, no. 9

Semifinal Round
HAYDN   Sonata in A-flat Major, Hob. XVI:46
CHOPIN   Etude in A-flat Major, op. 25, no. 1 (“Aeolian Harp”)
GERSHWIN-WILD   Fascinatin’ Rhythm
RACHMANINOV   Prelude in E-flat Major, op. 23, no. 6
DUTILLEAUX   Choral et variations from Sonata, op. 1

Final Round
SHOSTAKOVICH   Piano Concerto No. 2 in F Major, op. 102: III. Allegro

J. Todd Spangler

J. Todd Spangler, 54
Administrative law judge
Knoxville, Tennessee
United States

This year marks Todd Spangler’s fourth entry into the Cliburn Amateur Competition, having participated in 2002, 2004, and 2007. In his last appearance here, he was a semifinalist. Mr. Spangler received a bachelor’s degree in piano performance and a master’s degree in music education from Morehead State University (Morehead, Kentucky), before embarking on a career in law. He is a graduate of the Chase College of Law at Northern Kentucky University and, for most of his professional life, has worked in all facets of litigation. Currently an administrative law judge working with the Social Security Administration in Knoxville, Mr. Spangler enjoys outdoor summer activities such as cycling, devotes time to his church choir, and likes to read.

COMPETITION REPERTOIRE

Preliminary Round
CHOPIN   Ballade No. 4 in F Minor, op. 52

Quarterfinal Round
BACH   Chromatic Fantasy and Fugue in D Minor, BWV 903
KREISLER-RACHMANINOV   Liebesfreud

Semifinal Round
SCARLATTI   Sonata in G Major, K. 427
BEETHOVEN   32 Variations in C Minor, WoO 80
LISZT   Hungarian Rhapsody No. 15 in A Minor

Final Round
BEETHOVEN   Piano Concerto No. 1 in C Major, op. 15: I. Allegro con brio

Janet Sommerfeld

Janet Sommerfeld, 53
Freelance writer/producer
Palos Verdes Estates, California
United States

Janet Sommerfeld began her studies at 6 and played throughout high school in California. During her sophomore year in college, she became an exchange student at Waseda University in Tokyo, where she studied with Hideo Sakoda and Hiroko Nakamura. While in Asia, she performed Gershwin’s Rhapsody in Blue with the Edelweiss Symphony Orchestra. Upon her return to the United States, she completed her degree in broadcast journalism from USC and pursued a career in television news and marketing for Fox Broadcasting and CBS. After a nearly 25-year absence from the piano, Ms. Sommerfeld has returned to music making. Recent performances include appearances as a soloist with the California Concerto Weekend Festival Orchestra at the West Valley College Theater (Saratoga, California). Away from the piano, Ms. Sommerfeld also enjoys reading, traveling, watching anything related to Star Trek, and spending time with her husband and daughter.

COMPETITION REPERTOIRE

Preliminary Round
RAVEL   Jeux d’eau 
PROKOFIEV   “Mercutio” from Romeo and Juliet, op. 75

Quarterfinal Round
BEETHOVEN   Sonata No. 26 in E-flat Major, op. 81a (“Les Adieux”): II. Abwesenheit; III. Das Wiedersehen
PROKOFIEV   “Romeo bids Juliet Farewell” from Romeo and Juliet, op. 75 

Semifinal Round
LYADOV   Barcarolle in F-sharp Major, op. 44
PROKOFIEV   “Young Juliet” from Romeo and Juliet, op. 75
CHOPIN   Fantaisie in F Minor, op. 49

Final Round
SCHUMANN   Piano Concerto in A Minor, op. 54: I. Allegro affetuoso

Julie Saito

Julie Saito, 57
International civil servant
Ile-de-France, France
Japan

Julie Saito began playing the piano in Tokyo at age 6. She studied with great American pianists during her upbringing in several countries, including Carol Colburn in Nairobi, Kenya, Gary Hammond in New York, and Ada Kopetz-Korf at the Manhattan School of Music in 1983–1984. After receiving her bachelor’s degree in musicology from Hunter College, she decided to change direction and attend Columbia University’s Graduate School of Journalism. During her 20-year career, she won an Emmy Award for NBC News and worked for The Asahi Shimbun in Japan. She moved to Paris in 2006 with her three children and is currently working at UNESCO. Her passion for piano was rekindled only three years ago; she met her partner who is also an amateur pianist. Ms. Saito gives regular recitals in homes for the elderly. She also enjoys ballet and still writes articles on dance and music.

COMPETITION REPERTOIRE

Preliminary Round
TAKEMITSU   Rain Tree Sketch II
LISZT   Concert Etude No. 3 in D-flat Major (“Un Sospiro”)

Quarterfinal Round
SCHUBERT   Impromptu in B-flat Major, op. 142, no. 3
DEBUSSY   Feux d’artifice from Preludes, Book II

Semifinal Round
BACH   French Suite No. 2 in C Minor, BWV 813
FAURÉ   Nocturne No. 4 in E-flat Major, op. 36
RAVEL   Sonatine

Final Round
MOZART   Piano Concerto No. 23 in A Major, K. 488: III. Allegro assai

Joann Oh

Joann Oh, 41
Office manager
Irvine, California
United States

Born in Los Angeles, Joann Oh earned degrees in German studies and pre-med at Pomona College (Claremont, California) and Wesleyan University (Middletown, Connecticut). She was the winner of the Elizabeth Tishler prize in piano and a grant recipient of the Yale-Griffith Scholarship to study music and language in Vienna and Munich; in the former city, she studied piano with Rosario Marciano. Previously, Ms. Oh performed with orchestra in San Jose, California with the California Concerto Weekend Orchestra. Ms. Oh performed in recitals and participated in master classes at PianoTexas in Fort Worth this June. In addition to these honors, Ms. Oh was awarded a scholarship from the Korean-American Foundation for academic excellence. Currently a student of Anna Gliadkovskaya, Ms. Oh resides in Orange County, California, and works as an office manager. In high school, Ms. Oh was a nationally ranked synchronized swimmer.

COMPETITION REPERTOIRE

Preliminary Round
LISZT   Concert Etude No. 3 in D-flat Major (“Un Sospiro”)
KORNGOLD   “Die Prinzessin auf der Erbse ” from Märchenbilder, op. 3

Quarterfinal Round
BEETHOVEN   Sonata No. 31 in A-flat Major, op. 110: I. Moderato cantabile molto espressivo
CHOPIN   Ballade No. 3 in A-flat Major, op. 47

Semifinal Round
SCHUMANN   Papillons, op. 2
GRANADOS   Allegro de Concierto, op. 46

Final Round
BEETHOVEN   Piano Concerto No. 5 in E-flat Major, op. 73: III. Rondo (allegro)

Joseph Mercuri

Joseph Mercuri, M.D., 56
Hospitalist physician
Saint Joseph, Minnesota
United States

Born in Washington, D.C., Joseph Mercuri came to Texas for his schooling, earning bachelor’s and master’s degrees in piano performance from the University of Texas at Austin in 1983 and 1986. He turned his attention to medicine, however, graduating from The University of Texas Medical Branch at Galveston in 1994, and then completing a residency in internal medicine in Wisconsin. Since 2001, he was been a hospitalist in St. Cloud, Minnesota. In the many years since he stepped away from music, Dr. Mercuri has come to realize how intrinsic it is in his life and he began practicing again six years ago. A 2011 Cliburn Amateur semifinalist, he looks forward to the chance to grow artistically and personally. When he is not practicing his repertoire, Dr. Mercuri is an avid amateur golfer who enjoys road biking and all that Minnesota has to offer—especially in the summer.

COMPETITION REPERTOIRE

Preliminary Round
RACHMANINOV   Prelude in D Major, op. 23, no. 4
RACHMANINOV   Etude-Tableau in E-flat Minor, op. 39, no. 5

Quarterfinal Round
LISZT   Sonnetto 104 del Petrarca
MENDELSSOHN   Fantasy in F-sharp Minor, op. 28

Semifinal Round
CHOPIN   Sonata No. 3 in B Minor, op. 58

Final Round
BEETHOVEN   Piano Concerto No. 3 in C Minor, op. 37: I. Allegro con brio

Jane Gibson King

Jane Gibson King, 60
Stay-at-home mother
Provo, Utah
United States

Jane Gibson King is a familiar face at this Competition; she was named a finalist in 2011 and received the Press Jury Award. After earning bachelor’s and master’s degrees in piano from Brigham Young University, where she performed in recitals, master classes, and piano competitions, she went on to appear as a soloist with the Utah Symphony, the BYU Orchestra, and the Music Academy of the West Orchestra in Santa Barbara, where she was a student of Jerome Lowenthal. In 1982, she studied with Van Cliburn gold medalist Steven de Groote at Arizona State University. She currently studies with Eugene Watanabe. With four children, Ms. King spent 30 years as a full-time mother and is an advocate for her youngest son, Michael, who has autism. An avid reader and book club-goer, she also revels in being a grandmother, and she volunteers for “Days For Girls International,” where she contributes her skills as a seamstress.

COMPETITION REPERTOIRE

Preliminary Round
CHOPIN   Barcarolle in F-sharp Major, op. 60

Quarterfinal Round
RACHMANINOV   Variations on a Theme of Corelli, op. 42

Semifinal Round
HADYN   Sonata in A-flat Major, Hob. XVI:46
BACH-BUSONI   Chaconne in D Minor
QUILTER-HOUGH   Now Sleeps The Crimson Petal

Final Round
BEETHOVEN   Piano Concerto No. 2 in B-flat Major, op. 19: I. Allegro con brio

John Gutheil

John Gutheil, M.D., 59
CEO/Medical oncologist
La Jolla, California
United States

John Gutheil recently returned to playing the piano after an absence of several decades. Originally on a musical track—he completed two years as a piano performance major at California State University Northridge—he went on to medical school and became an oncology clinical physician. Currently, he is president and CEO of SciQuus Oncology Inc. in La Jolla, California. Looking for a goal, and to give focus to his piano practice, Dr. Gutheil entered this Competition and says he has achieved much already just by preparing for the event. He notes his music has improved steadily and hopes the event will “give him additional ideas about how to continue improving my piano playing.” The avid marathoner and woodworker also enjoys Italian literature and the work of Caravaggio.

COMPETITION REPERTOIRE

Preliminary Round
BEETHOVEN   Sonata No. 1 in F Minor, op. 2, no. 1: I. Allegro
CHOPIN   Etude in A-flat Major, op. 25, no. 1 (“Aeolian Harp”)
CHOPIN   Etude in C Minor, op. 25, no. 12 (“Ocean”)

Quarterfinal Round
RACHMANINOV   Prelude in B Minor, op. 32, no. 10
LISZT   Concert Etude No. 3 in D-flat Major (“Un Sospiro”)
ALBENIZ   “Asturias (Leyenda)” from Suite Española, op. 47

Semifinal Round
BACH   Prelude and Fugue in C Minor, Book I, BWV 847
CHOPIN   Ballade No. 3 in A-flat Major, op. 47
CHOPIN   Nocturne in C-sharp Minor, op. posth.
BRAHMS   Rhapsody in B Minor, op. 79, no. 1
GERSHWIN   Preludes Nos. 2 and 3

Final Round
BEETHOVEN   Piano Concerto No. 5 in E-flat Major, op. 73: III. Rondo (allegro)

Jeanne Backofen Craig

Jeanne Backofen Craig, 46
Homemaker/part-time minister
Forest, Virginia
United States

Piano studies and competitions took up most of Jeanne Backofen Craig’s childhood, but after graduating from Virginia Tech, she stopped performing. In the ensuing 20 years, Ms. Craig stayed home with her three children while pursuing cooking, sewing, gardening, and home-improvement projects. At the encouragement of her husband and now-teenage children, Ms. Craig started to play again, and when she learned about amateur competitions, she says she was inspired to “dig out my old music and see if I could still play those pieces.” A self-taught webmaster, she designed and maintains websites for the Lynchburg Symphony Youth Orchestra as well as her church, where she is a part-time minister of music and liturgy. In her spare time, Mrs. Craig enjoys long-distance running, and she qualified and ran in the 2011 Boston Marathon.

COMPETITION REPERTOIRE

Preliminary Round
BACH   Prelude and Fugue in G-sharp Minor, WTC I, BWV 863
DEBUSSY   Arabesque No. 1 in E Major

Quarterfinal Round
GRIEG   “Notturno” from Lyric Pieces, op. 54
HAYDN   Sonata in E-flat Major, Hob. XVI:52: I. Allegro
LISZT   Concert Etude No. 3 in D-flat Major (“Un Sospiro”)

Semifinal Round
BRAHMS   Intermezzo in A Major, op. 118, no. 2
LISZT   “Vallée d’Obermann” from Années de Pèlerinage
LISZT   Hungarian Rhapsody No. 11 in A Minor

Final Round
MENDELSSOHN   Piano Concerto No. 1 in G Minor, op. 25: III. Presto

James Carter Cathcart

James Carter Cathcart, 62
Scriptwriter/voice actor
Fort Lee, New Jersey
United States

A graduate of the Interlochen Arts Academy in 1971, James Carter Cathcart won a Young Artist award as well as the concerto competition at the school; he also studied with Mollie Margolies at Roosevelt University in Chicago from 1969–1970. While piano has been a vital part of his life since “being in the womb,” he says, his professional pursuits led to scriptwriting and voice-acting. In the latter line of work, Mr. Cathcart’s voice has graced Pokémon, Sonic X, and Yu-Gi-Oh! projects. For the past two years, he has worked to raise money for soup kitchens and community centers across the country by giving benefit recitals. A fan of jazz and rock music, Mr. Cathcart also enjoys cooking and being a husband to his wife, Martha Jacobi, and father to his son, daughter, and stepdaughter.

COMPETITION REPERTOIRE

Preliminary Round
CHOPIN   Etude in A-flat Major, op. 25, no. 1 (“Aeolian Harp”)
CHOPIN   Etude in E-flat Minor, op. 10, no. 6
CHOPIN   Etude in C Minor, op. 25, no. 12 (“Ocean”)

Quarterfinal Round
DEBUSSY   Bruyeres and General Lavine, Eccentric from Preludes, Book II
CHOPIN   Ballade No. 4 in F Minor, op. 52

Semifinal Round

HAYDN   Sonata in F Major, Hob. XVI:23
SCRIABIN   Etude in B-flat Minor, op. 8, no. 11
SCRIABIN   Poèm in F-sharp Major, op. 32, no. 1
SCRIABIN   Etude in C-sharp Minor, op. 42, no. 5

Final Round
BEETHOVEN   Piano Concerto No. 5 in E-flat Major, op. 73: III. Rondo (allegro)