www.stulberg.org STULBERG TIMESSpring 2021 46th Stulberg International String Competition becomes a weeklong event! We are delighted to present the 46th Stulberg International String Competition, featuring 12 outstanding semifinalists selected from a record-breaking 226 applicants. As always, we were thrilled and humbled by the high level of skill and artistry demonstrated by all the young musicians who applied to the Stulberg. Especially in this challenging time, to be able to support these artists and share their music-making with you is a privilege and an honor.

In this unprecedented year, the Stulberg provided funds to our semifinalists to produce high-quality recordings for the judges’ review, and for our online broadcast of the competition. We would like to introduce you to our fantastic 2021 judges, who in addition to se- lecting our winners will lead master classes for local young musicians on competition weekend. You can find their extended bios and information about the master classes on our website.

As it became clear that we would once again have to conduct the competition virtually, the Stulberg took the opportunity to explore new and better ways to showcase these excellent musicians’ work. Featuring an expanded format that will allow you to enjoy the competition more than ever! For the first time, the semifinals round will be spread over a week, with performances Monday through Thursday, ending with a special Bach concert on Friday night. The finals round will air Saturday morning, and the competition will conclude with a medalists’ spotlight concert on Saturday night. All events are “Name Your Own Price” and hosted on Anywhere Seat. Performances will be available to view on our YouTube Channel after airing. See more details below and visit our website for tickets and more information. We look forward to sharing this marvelous week of music with you all!

Violist CynthiaCynthia Phelps’s Phelps, versatile career includes Mitchell NewmanMitchell participates Newman, regularly in the Los Ms. Sant’AmbrogioSara Sant’Ambrogio, has appeared as cellosoloist with or- appearances as chamber musician, soloist, and as Angeles Philharmonic’s and Green chestras including the Atlanta, Beijing Philharmon- principal violist of the Philharmonic. She Umbrella Series. He performed on Grammy-win- ic, Boston, Budapest, Chicago, , Moscow State has performed on major stages across the globe with ning Southwest Chamber Music’s recording of the Philharmonic, Prague Chamber , Osaka the , performing an exten- 1st and 3rd string quartets of Carlos Chavez and Century Orchestra (Japan), Royal Philharmonic, St. sive repertoire including commissioned concertos by has recorded the music of Eric Zeisl fand “Stories Louis, San Francisco, Seattle and Vienna Symphony; Sofia Gubaidulina and Julia Adolphe. She has col- from My Life” by composer Russell she has performed on six continents at the world’s laborated internationally with such artists as Itzhak Steinberg. In recognition of his chamber music con- major music centers and festivals including Aspen, Perlman, Emanuel Ax, Pinchas Zukerman, Gil Sha- certs which raise funds for Mental Health America Concertgebouw in Amsterdam, Bowl, ham, Yo-Yo Ma, Lynn Harrell, and Yefim Bronfman. Long Beach he was named a Mental Health Hero Lincoln Center, Kennedy Center, Konzert Huset A sought-after chamber musician, she performs with by the State Senate in 2010. Currently, in Stockholm, Marlboro, Muiskverein in Vienna, the Boston Chamber Music Society, Chamber Music Mr. Newman teaches and conducts the Los Angeles Ravinia, Orchard and Suntory Halls in Tokyo and Society of Lincoln Center, and the 92nd Street Y. Children’s Chamber Orchestra in South Pasadena at Great Mountain Festival in Korea. Ms. Sant’Am- She is a frequent guest at the Marlboro, SummerFest the Pascale Music Institute. Each year, he produces brogio has won numerous international competi- La Jolla, Bridgehampton, Vail, Mostly Mozart, Santa a concert featuring YOLA students and Philharmon- tions, including The Whitaker, The Dealey, Artists Fe, Cremona, and Schleswig-Holstein Festivals and ic members playing together. He also volunteers for International, Palm Beach Awards and the Naum- is a founding member of Les Amies, a flute-harp-vi- People Assisting the Homeless and Street Sympho- burg Award with her ensemble the Eroica Trio. Ms. ola trio. Ms. Phelps is a recipient of the Pro Musicis ny, scheduling small ensemble concerts at apartment Sant’Ambrogio won a Grammy Award for her per- International Award, and her most recent recording, buildings run by PATH. He has encouraged musical formance of Bernstein’s Arias and Barcarolles and Air, was nominated for a Grammy Award. talent in the PATH community and performed mu- an NPR Best Debut Recording with Eroica for their sic by its residents. Debut recording. Ms. Sant’Ambrogio is the subject of a feature length documentary. www.stulberg.org Spring 2021 STULBERG TIMES

Semifinals EveningRegister for Series: tickets (Name7-8pm, Your Monday, Own Price)May at 17th-Thursday,www.stulberg.org May 20th

Spend the week with the Stulberg! This year, we bring you our semifinals round in four installments. Each eve- ning, we will feature three of our semifinalists and air their first-round performances. Tune in and take advantage of this expanded format to get to know these stellar artists and their exquisite playing. And if you can’t make them all, no problem -- the performances will be available to stream after airing on our YouTube channel.

Monday, May 17th: Wednesday, May 19th:

Serin Park (violin), 17, Fort Lee, NJ Sean Yu (), 16, Rye, NY Prokofiev - Concerto No. 2 in g minor, Op. 63, Prokofiev - Sinfonia Concertante in E minor, Op. 125 I. 1st movement I. Andante Serin, from , is in her seventh year at the Sean was accepted into the Juilliard Pre-College Division at Juilliard Pre-College Division, where she studies with the age of 9, where he still studies with Clara Minhye Kim. Catherine Cho. You may remember him from last year’s Stulberg Compe- tition!

Yireh Choi (cello), 15, Norwood, NJ Tchaikovsky - Variations on a Rococo Theme, Op. 33, Theme Keila Wakao (violin), 15, Chestnut Hill, MA Variations 1, 2, 3, 7 Wieniawski - Violin Concerto No.2, Op.22 in D minor Yireh started playing cello at age 8 and was accepted at the I. Allegro moderato Juilliard Pre-College Division at age 12, where she studies Keila began violin at the age of 3 and currently studies with with Clara Minhye Kim. Soovin Kim and Donald Weilerstein of the New England Conservatory of Music.

Nayoun Blaire Kim (violin), 17, Cresskill, NJ Wieniawski - Violin Concerto No. 1 in F# minor, Lauren Yoon (violin), 12, Wynnewood, PA II. III. 2nd and 3rd movement Lalo - Symphonie Espagnole Op.21 Nayoun was born in South Korea and began violin at 4, and I. Allegro non troppo was admitted to the Juilliard Pre-College Division at age 12, Lauren currently studies with Masao Kawasaki at the Juil- where she studies with Li Lin. liard Pre-College Division, having made her orchestral de- but at age 8 at . Tuesday, May 18th: Thursday, May 20th: Grace Huh (violin), 18, San Jose, CA Sibelius - Violin Concerto in D minor, Op.47 Evan Tsai (), 18, Baton Rouge, LA I. Allegro moderato Bottesini - Grande Allegro alla Mendelssohn in E minor Grace made her solo debut at age 12 with the Palo Alto Originally from Taipei, Taiwan, Evan began cello and Philharmonic Orchestra, and currently studies with Ian bass with his mother, bassist Yung Chiao-Wei, and now Swensen at the San Francisco Conservatory of Music also studies bass with Lawrence Wolf and cello with Jan Pre-College Division. Müller-Szeraws. You may remember him from last year’s Stulberg Competition!

Christy Choi (cello), 18, Tenafly, NJ Shostakovich - Cello Concerto No.1 in E flat Major, Op.107 Bobby Boogyeom Park (violin), 15, Bayside, NY III. Cadenza – Attaccca IV. Allegro con moto Prokofiev – Violin Concerto No. 2 in G minor Christy was born in Sao Paolo, Brazil, and began her cello I. Allegro Moderato in G minor studies at the age of 6. She currently studies at the Juilliard From Seoul, South Korea, Bobby moved to the United Pre-College Division with Clara Minhye Kim. States in 2017 to study violin with Catherine Cho and Don- ald Weilerstein.

Eena Yoon (cello), 17, Richmond Hill, Ontario, Canada Haydn - Cello Concerto in D Major Chelsie Lim (cello), 16, Cresskill, NJ I. Allegro moderato Dvořák - Cello Concerto in B minor, Op. 104 Eena began her musical studies at age 3 on before dis- I. Allegro covering the cello, which she currently studies with David Chelsie, born in Australia, moved to the at age Hetherington and Andres Diaz. 3 and began learning cello from her mother at age 8, before being admitted to the Juilliard Pre-College Division at age 10, where she now studies with Clara Minhye Kim.

More in the next page! www.stulberg.org Spring 2021 STULBERG TIMES Semifinals Evening Series: 7-8pm, Monday, May 17th-Thursday, May 20th Continued Bach Prize Night: 7pm, Friday May 21st Register for tickets (Name Your Own Price) at www.stulberg.org

This ticketed event will feature all 12 semifinalists’ performanc- es of a movement of unaccompa- nied Bach, culminating with the announcement of the 2021 Bach Prize winner. We are thrilled to honor our longstanding part- nership with Kalamazoo’s Bach Masha Lakisova - From Yeyeong Jin: Festival – and delight Bach lov- ers everywhere – with this special concert. Do-re-mi-fa-so-la-ti-do,Illinois to was International how Masha Lakisova began her The CurtisNever Institute of MusicToo in Young admits its musical career at age 4 in her hometown of Vernon Hills, students solely on artistic promise. So, when 9-year-old Ill. Since her first introduction to the scales as a young pia- Yeyeong Jin was accepted as a violin student, not only Finals Round: nist to international violinist, Masha Lakisova has taken the did she show promise, she made history. Yeyeong was the 10am-12pm, Saturday classical world by the strings! The 18 year-old award-win- school's youngest student admitted in their nearly 100-year May 22nd ning violinist already has performed with more than 20 history. The Stulberg celebrates our 2020 Silver Medalist Register for tickets (Name Your around the world. Stulberg is proud to have add- who continues to impress the world with her talent. Own Price) at www.stulberg.org ed yet another award to this young artists’ resume in what promises to be a fruitful career. Yeyeong, now 16, placed in the Stulberg International Program TBD . . . String Competition in 2020. Her graceful, yet, powerful Tune in to see our 6 finalists an- Masha, a native of Vernon Hills, Ill., was the Bronze Med- performance of Johann Sebastian Bach’s Liyrem Gavotte nounced, then watch them per- alist of the Stulberg 2020 competition. Her performance of en rondeau, Parita No. 3 kept the virtual audience holding form the remaining movement/s Johann Sebastian Bach’s “Grave,” a Sonata No. 2 A Minor their breath. The native of South Korea now calls Philadel- from their concertos. wowed the international virtual audience. Not only was her phia her home as she studies at Curtis with the renowned execution of the works outstanding, but the 18-year-old Ju- pedagogue, Ida Kavafian. lliard student performed her works on a violin by Giovanni Fancesco Pressenda (Turin 1845), which is on loan from the Her musical career has been a roller coaster ride of success Medalists Showcase: Stradivari Society of Chicago. that began with her winning competitions at age 5. While 7pm, Saturday May 22nd many 10 year olds worked to familiarize themselves with Register for tickets (Name Your In between having fun with friends, traveling, singing, and math facts, Yeyeong spent hours counting time to complex Own Price) at www.stulberg.org art, her musical talent has propelled her into the classical music scales. As other students learned geography, Yeyeong world stratosphere. Some of Masha’s prestigious accomplish- hopscotched around the world to perform with orchestras Program TBD . . . ments include winner of the Arkady Fomin Scholarship, and musicians who were more than three times her age. The moment you’ll be waiting for: First Prize at the 2018 Tibor Junior International Violin the announcement of the 46th Competition, 2017 National Young Arts Winner, Walgreens In addition to her international win with Stulberg, the stu- Stulberg International String National Concerto Competition, the DePaul Concerto Festi- dent of the Perlman Music Program has won solo perfor- Competition medalists! For the val, and Gold Medalists at the Fischoff International Cham- mances with several orchestras. The young prodigy also has first time ever, we are featuring ber Music Competition (2016, 2017). won the Kumho-Asiana Cultural Foundation Award, which our three medalists in a special resulted in the loan of a fine ½ size violin made in 1700, concert, where you can hear the Her dedication as a student at Midwest Young Artists Con- the Carlo Giuseppe Testore. judges’ selections of the bronze servatory (2011-2017) led to the roles of concertmaster in and silver medalists’ best perfor- three orchestras and first violin in four chamber ensembles. In 2013, shortly after arriving in Philadelphia to attend mances and the gold medalist’s She credits her success to her first lessons with Larisa Zh- Curtis, she has appeared in concert numerous times in full concerto. We are delighted to nizhin to her current instruction under Drew Lecher and Field Hall at Curtis as well as at Carnegie Hall. As this cap off the competition with what Grigory Kalinovsky. She has participated in masterclasses young violinist continues to perfect her craft and wow au- will certainly be a magnificent with virtuosi Ana Chumachenko, Sophie Mutter, Mark diences around the globe, the Stulberg will continue to evening of music. Kosower, the Ariel Quartet, and many others. celebrate her as one of our many students who exemplify what this competition is all about...celebrating phenomenal Masha has already performed on the stage of Carnegie Hall. young musicians! She made history as the youngest finalist of the 7th Interna- tional Louis Spohr Competition for Young Violinists (2013). Yeyeong performed with the Western Michigan Universi- As she continues to perfect her craft and deliver impressive ty Symphony Orchestra in March 2021. The performance winning performances, Stulberg is honored to add Masha to was aired on WMU’s School of Music Youtube Channel the list of successful string performers who will continue to on April 15. take on the world of music in years to come.

Masha will perform with the Kalamazoo Junior Symphony in May 2021. The air date is to be announced. Julius & Esther Stulberg Competition 359 S. Kalamazoo Mall Suite 14 at the Epic Center Kalamazoo, MI 49007 (269) 343-2776 [email protected]

www.stulberg.org

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