Pictured here at Lee University’s 10th annual Piano Competition are, from left, Thomas; Dean of Lee’s School of Music Dr. William Green, An, Lee, Sohn, Lin, Le, Lowenthal, Oppens, and faculty judge Dr. Gloria Chien.
photo by Mike Wesson
Eric Lin took first place in the 10th annual Lee University piano competition, which concluded the International Piano Festival and Competition held June 16-21. Second place was awarded to Brian Le, and Megan Lee received third.
Finalists were chosen from a field of nine outstanding young pianists, all of whom also participated in the week-long festival. The festival’s 13 participants enjoyed master classes and performances by world renowned pianists Jerome Lowenthal and Ursula Oppens, as well as guest artist MinSoo Sohn and faculty artist Ning An.
“These young students performed at the high levels of talent and achievement we have come to expect for this Festival,” said Dr. Phillip Thomas, chairman of the festival and competition. “I was very proud of them.”
Eric Lin, 15, from Falls Church, Va., started his piano studies at age five. As the winner of the 2014 Ylda Novik Memorial Piano Concerto Competition, he will perform Prokofiev’s Concerto No.3 with the Capital City Symphony in the 2014-2015 Season. He was awarded first prizes at Northern Virginia Music Teachers Association Robert Spencer Concerto Competition in 2013 and 2014, the annual Emilio del Rosario Piano Concerto Competition, and the 2012 DePaul Concerto Festival. Lin was the youngest Finalist Prize winner at 2013 International Institute for Young Musicians Competition and the 2013 Princeton Festival Piano Competition. He was awarded the alternate at the Virginia State MTNA (Music Teachers National Association) competition, first place in the 8th Annual Sejong Music Competition, and first place in the 13th Annual Chopin Young Piano Competition in Milwaukee, Wis. He is a student of Dr. Marjorie Lee.
Brian Le, 16, is a rising junior in the math and science Magnet program at Montgomery Blair High School in Silver Spring, Md. He studies with Nancy O’Neill Breth. Recently, he was the First Prize winner of the 2014 MTNA Senior Piano Duet Competition along with his duet partner, Cynthia Liu. He was also the First Prize winner of the 27th International Young Artists Piano Competition, 2012 Ylda Novik Concerto Competition, and 3rd Classical Piano Competition at Western Virginia University. Le was awarded alternate in the Eastern division of the 2011 MTNA Junior Piano Competition. Last year, he was a prizewinner in the International Institute for Young Musicians International Piano Competition. Le is also an avid performer and has performed at Carnegie Hall and the Kennedy Center.
Megan Lee, 16, is a junior at Hudson High School in Ohio. A scholarship recipient of the 2011-2012 Anthony Quinn Foundation Scholarship Program in the Performing Arts discipline, she has performed at Carnegie Hall’s Weill Recital Hall ten times. She was the winner of the Oregon Music Teachers Association Buckeye Piano Competition in 2007 and 2011. Lee won First Prize in the National Finals of the 2012-2013 MTNA Senior Performance National Competition, California and performed at the 2013 National Conference on Keyboard Pedagogy in Chicago. She has performed as a soloist with the Suburban Symphony Orchestra, Cleveland Pops Orchestra at Severance Hall, Cleveland Institute of Music Conservatory Orchestra, and the Cleveland Philharmonic Orchestra as the winner of the 2014 Frieda Schumacher Young Artists Competition. Lee was selected as a 2014 Gilmore International Keyboard Festival Masterclass Fellow.
For information on the annual Lee University International Piano Festival and Competition, contact Lee’s School of Music at 614-8240.