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CONTACT: Katherine Blodgett phone : 215.893.1939 e-mail: [email protected]

Vincent Geels phone: 215.893.3140 e-mail: [email protected]

FOR IMMEDIATE RELEASE DATE: March 21, 2012

The Orchestra Announces 2012 Greenfield Student Competition Winners

Local prodigies competed for the honor to play with The Philadelphia Orchestra

(Philadelphia , March 21, 2012)–Five young artists won the 2012 Philadelphia Orchestra Albert M. Greenfield Student Competition and will appear as soloist with the Orchestra over the next year. Thirteen students performed during this final round of competition before an audience in Verizon hall at The Kimmel Center for the Performing Arts on Tuesday, March 13.

The winners of the 2012 Greenfield Competition are Alexander Liu (piano, from Belle Mead, NJ) and Isaiah Kim (, from Wallingford, PA) in the Children’s Division, Bihn Park (cello, from Haverford, PA) in the Junior Division, and Vivian Cheng (piano, from Philadelphia) and Catherine Chen (bassoon, from Philadelphia) in the Senior Division. All the winners receive monetary awards in addition to their engagements with the Orchestra.

During the Competition finals, the winners performed such musical works as the first movement from Bach’s Piano Concerto No.1, the first movement from Saint-Saëns’s Cello Concerto No. 1, Dvořák’s Cello Concerto, Richard Strauss’s Burleske, Tchaikovsky’s Piano Concerto No. 1, Hummel’s Bassoon Concerto, and Vivaldi’s Bassoon Concerto in E minor.

“The finals of the Greenfield Competition are inspiring as the audience is able to hear some of the region’s most talented young musicians,” said President and CEO of The Philadelphia Orchestra Association Allison Vulgamore. “We are proud to be able to showcase the musical virtuosity of these 13 up-and-coming musicians during the final audition, and we look forward to hearing the winners perform with The Philadelphia Orchestra throughout the next year.”

Then-Music Director Leopold Stokowski first initiated a Philadelphia Orchestra Student Competition in 1933. The Competition was named in 1992 in recognition of a generous endowment gift from the Albert M. Greenfield Foundation. This annual competition is open to all accomplished young musicians who reside in or

– more – The Philadelphia Orchestra Announces 2012 Greenfield Student Competition Winners PAGE 2 study regularly with a teacher in the Philadelphia area. Entrants are divided into categories by age, and compete against a standard of excellence, not each other, on the following merits: exceptional talent, virtuosity, artistic individuality, and projection as a performer. Since its inception, more than 400 winners have appeared with The Philadelphia Orchestra, and many have established international solo careers that include sopranos Judith Belgen and Benita Valente, pianists Richard Goode and Eugene Istomin, and violinist Nadja Salerno-Sonnenberg.

Isaiah Kim Isaiah Kim is 10 years old and has been studying the cello with Metta Watts and Christine Watts since he was four. He is a member of the Youth Chamber Orchestra and a at Temple University Music Prep’s Center for Gifted Young Musicians. Mr. Kim is a winner in the Children’s division of the 2012 Philadelphia Orchestra Greenfield Student Competition and will be performing as a soloist with the Orchestra in the upcoming season. He was also the winner of the cello scale competition at the Meadowmount School of Music in summer 2011. He has studied with Melissa Kraut, Tahirah Whittington, and Hans Jensen while at the Meadowmount School of Music the past two summers. Mr. Kim has performed at master classes with Melissa Kraut and Hans Jensen and has performed at several concerts and recitals in Philadelphia and the surrounding suburbs. Isaiah is a 5th grader at the Wallingford Elementary school, where he is the president of the student council; he is also a member of the school orchestra and a string ensemble group at the Strath Haven Middle School. He loves the outdoors and enjoys playing soccer on a travel team.

Alexander Liu Alexander Liu is 12 years old and has been studying the piano for eight years ago under the tutelage of Michael Jacobson at Westminster Conservatory in Princeton, NJ. When he turned six, he was accepted to study with Ingrid Clarfield of Rider University. Since 2009 he has been studying with Meng Chieh Liu of the Curtis Institute of Music. Throughout his young career, Mr. Liu has won many awards, including the New Jersey Music Teacher Association Young Musician’s Competition for the past five years. In 2007 he performed at Carnegie Hall and the following year garnered first place in the Greater Princeton Steinway Scholarship Competition. At the age of nine he was selected through a statewide audition to perform at fundraisers, such as a concert for victims of Hurricane Katrina.A resident of Belle Meade, NJ, Mr. Liu likes math, violin, swimming, and the board game GO. He is a member of his school’s MathCounts Team, participating in school and chapter competitions. Since the fourth grade, he has served as concertmaster of his school orchestra.

Bihn Park Bihn Park is 15 years old and has been studying the cello since the age of seven in Chicago. After moving to Philadelphia, he continued his studies with Metta Watts and Orlando Cole, who gave him lessons once a week until his death at age 101. Park debuted with The Philadelphia Orchestra at age 12 as a winner of the Children’s division of the Greenfield Competition. He has soloed with the Ambler Symphony, the Bucks County Symphony, the Temple Music Prep Youth Chamber Orchestra, the Temple Music Prep Youth Chamber Orchestra, the Temple Music Prep Baroque Orchestra, the Warminster Symphony, and the Ocean City Pops Orchestra. He has taken first place honors in numerous competitions, including Tri-county music festivals, PADE ASTA (American String Teacher Association), Wagner College’s Young Artist Competition,

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Kennett Symphony, and the Pottstown Symphony. He is currently principal cello of the Temple Music Prep Youth Chamber Orchestra where he holds the Orlando Cole Chair and studies with Metta Watts, Thomas Kraines, and . Previous teachers include Hai-Ye Ni and Karen Meier, and he has also studied with Hans Jensen on a merit scholarship at the Meadowmount School of Music. Mr. Park has also participated in master classes with the American String Quartet, the Daedalus Quartet, the Johannes Quartet, and with cellist Marcy Rosen. In August of 2012 Mr. Park will perform the Brahms Double Concerto with the Kennett Symphony, and he was invited to perform at the Glencairn Museum and at Quadrangle, PA. Being an active chamber musician as well as a soloist, he has played Schubert’s “Death of the Maiden” Quartet on National Public Radio’s From the Top in February 2012.

Vivian Cheng Pianist Vivian Cheng has been praised by critics as “absolutely dazzling” ( The Herald Tribune ) and playing “with artistic sensibilities far beyond her years” ( CVNC Arts Journal ). Born in Raleigh, NC, she received her first piano lesson at age five. By age 10 she gave her debut recital at Kenan Recital Hall in her hometown and has since performed throughout the United States and . Ms. Cheng has made appearances in such venues as Steinway Hall and Lincoln Center, and for the Verbier Festival Academy, the International Keyboard Institute and Festival, the Stehcher and Horowitz Foundation, and the Kosciuszko Foundation. She was a winner of numerous competitions, including the Tureck International Bach Competition, the New York International Piano Competition, and the Bartók-Kabalevsky-Prokofiev International Piano Competition.Currently Ms. Cheng is studying at the Curtis Institute of Music, where she is a student of Gary Graffman. She is the recipient of the David H. Springman Memorial Fellowship. A regular performer on the Curtis Recital Series, Ms. Cheng was featured on “Gary Hoffman and Friends” in 2011 and performed alongside Ida Kavafian in Schumann’s Piano Quartet in 2012. Prior to entering Curtis, Ms. Cheng studied at the Juilliard School where, at 15 years of age, she became one of the youngest students in its history to be accepted as a college student. Her performances have been broadcast on PBS and Y Arts of WHYY-TV. She was also featured in the award-winning documentaries Die Martins-Passion (2004) and On a Personal Note (2010).

Catherine Chen Catherine Chen, 19, from Greenwich, CT, entered the Curtis Institute of Music in 2010 and studies with Daniel Matsukawa, principal bassoon of The Philadelphia Orchestra. All students at Curtis receive merit- based full-tuition scholarships, and Ms. Chen is the Anderson and Daria Pew Fellow. She was a National Foundation for Advancement in the Arts (NFAA) Young Arts 2010 finalist and level two winner. She has participated as principal bassoon in the Curtis Symphony Orchestra, the 2011 New York String Seminar, the Julliard School’s Pre-College Symphony and Pre-College Orchestra, the New York Youth Symphony, and the Youth

Band for the United Nations. During her summers she has attended the Pacific Music Festival, the National Orchestral Institute, and the Boston University Tanglewood Institute.Born in Taipei, Ms. Chen moved to the United States at age six. She began her musical studies on piano and cello at age four. Her bassoon studies began at age 14. Her previous teachers include Joyce Kelley and Marc Goldberg. In addition to bassoon, she enjoys reading, cooking, and exercising.

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The Philadelphia Orchestra Renowned for its distinctive sound, desired for its keen ability to capture the hearts and imaginations of audiences, and admired for an unrivaled legacy of “firsts” in music-making, The Philadelphia Orchestra remains one of the preeminent orchestras in the world. While wholly committed to the exploration of and repertoire, the Orchestra also continues to develop compelling programs that resonate with contemporary audiences. The Philadelphia Orchestra is focused on the future while inspired by a rich tradition of achievement and seeks to not simply sustain the highest level of artistic quality, but to challenge— and exceed—that level by creating a powerful musical experience for audiences around the world.

Photo caption: The Philadelphia Orchestra named Alexander Liu, Isaiah Kim (front row l to r), Bihn Sangbin Park, Catherine Chen, and Vivian Cheng (back from l to r) as the 2012 Albert M. Greenfield Student Competition winners.

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