Zachary Hughes, Lee School of Music Dean Dr. Stephen Plate, Weston Mizumoto, Lee Departmental of Instrumental Music Chair Dr. Phillip Thomas, and Baron Fenwick.
Judges have declared a tie for first place at the sixth annual Lee University Piano Competition. Baron Fenwick and Zachary Hughes were announced as first prize winners Saturday in the Squires Recital Hall by Department of Instrumental Music Chair Phillip Thomas.
Mr. Fenwick and Mr. Hughes took first prize in a field of seven finalists who played in the final round Saturday morning. Weston Mizumoto was awarded third prize at the awards ceremony.
The competition is open to high school students across the country and this year welcomed 16 outstanding young pianists to campus. During the three-day event, contestants were able to participate in master classes under and hear a special performance from the judges for the contest.
For taking first prize in the competition, Mr. Fenwick and Mr. Hughes each received a cash award of $2000 while Mizumoto took a $500 check for third prize. Contestants may also qualify for scholarships in the Lee University School of Music, should they choose to attend.
Baron Fenwick, Watauga, N.C., is a rising junior attending the University of North Carolina School of the Arts. Winner of the 2010 N.C. Symphony Concerto Competition (Senior Division) and of the 2009 Leonard Bernstein Excellence Award at UNCSA, he has enjoyed performance opportunities in master classes with pianists Roy Eaton, Richard Cass and Peter Takacs.
In addition, Mr. Fenwick performed at the Washington Ballet Company Gala in Carnegie-Mellon Auditorium.
Zachary Hughes, Travelers Rest, S.C., is a home-schooled junior who has studied piano for eight years and currently studies with Chih-long Hu of ETSU and Fabio Parrini of North Greenville University.
Along with winning second place at Lee’s 2009 Piano Competition, he has received prizes from numerous regional and national music competitions, including Bristol Music Club Scholarship Competitions, the Laurence Hamilton Morton Piano Competition, and first place at the MTNA Tennessee State Competition.
Weston Mizumoto, Yorba Linda, Ca., recently appeared at Carnegie Hall where a New York concert review critic acknowledged he was a “standout” performer. Recent competitions have awarded Weston a winner’s performance at the Redlands Bowl, Grand Prize at the Elvin S. McGaughey Music Foundation Glendale Piano Competition, and the Yamaha Award at the Japan Musicians Association of California.
He studies with Susan Boettger and also enjoys competitive Rubik’s Speedcubing, ranking among the top in the World Cube Federation’s 2x2, 3x3, one-handed, and blindfolded solving events.
For information on the annual Lee University Piano Competition, please contact the Department of Instrumental Music at 423 614-8264.