Pictured from left are Elaine Chen, Weston Mizumoto, Natasha Wu, Kimberly Hou and Naomi Causby. Click to enlarge.
Kimberly Hou of Arlington, Va. took first place in Lee University’s annual piano competition, the final phase of the International Piano Festival and Competition held June 20-25.
Ms. Hou was awarded first prize for her performances of works by Haydn, Schubert, and Barber. Natasha Wu received second prize, and Weston Mizumoto received third. Other competition finalists were Naomi Causby and Elaine Chen.
Finalists were chosen from a field of 11 outstanding young pianists, most of whom also participated in the week-long festival. The festival’s 21 participants enjoyed master classes and performances by judges and other renowned guest artists.
Ms. Hou won the National First Prize in the 2009 MTNA Junior Piano Competition and is a winner of the 2010 Chopin Scholarship, sponsored by the Chopin Foundation of the United States. She has been invited to perform on NPR’s “From the Top,” at the 2009 National Conference on Keyboard Pedagogy, and to play a solo recital at the Alden Theatre. She has also performed in concerts with the Richmond Symphony Orchestra, the New River Valley Symphony Orchestra, the Kennedy Center Concert Hall, Millennium Stage, Terrace Theatre, Carnegie Hall’s Weill Hall, Hungarian Embassy, and Bulgarian Embassy. Ms. Hou also received first prize at the 23rd and 25th IYAPC, the VMTA Concerto Competition, and the AFAF Piano Competition in Carnegie Hall’s Weill Hall.
Ms. Wu is a student at the Yong-Fu School, a public school that provides music programs for musically-gifted children in southern Taiwan. She has been taking piano lessons since the age of six. Prior to her participation in the Lee University Piano Festival and Competition, she has entered numerous piano competitions in countries such as Taiwan, Japan, Hong Kong, and the U.S.A. Born in Fullerton, Calif., Ms. Wu now lives in Taiwan. She has recently placed second and third in the junior group and the youth group at the Hong Kong Asian Piano Open Competition. Two years ago, Ms. Wu became the first Chinese American to place first in the Japanese Classical Music Competition.
Mr. Mizumoto of Yorba Linda, Calif., has recently won performances with the South Coast Symphony, Mondavi Center for the Performing Arts at U.C. Davis, and at the 2010 Redlands Bowl Summer Festival. He received the grand prize at the Elvin S. McGaughey Music Foundation Glendale Piano Competition, Leni Fe Bland Music Scholarship, and the National Chopin Foundation’s Scholarship Award. He has worked with Polish and Russian masters in Warsaw, Poland. He attends the Orange County High School of the Arts.
Ms. Causby attends the Fine Arts Center in Greenville, S.C., and has been awarded top performance prizes, including first prize in The Arthur Fraser International Concerto Competition, third place in the Burgos International Music Competition, third prize in the David Dubois Piano Competition, finalist in the Blount-Slawson National Competition, and semi-finalist in the International Institute of Young Musicians Piano Competition. She made her debut performing with the Greenville Young Artist Orchestra and Greenville Symphony. She has also performed with the South Carolina Philharmonic, and was recently added to the roster of Steinway Young Artists.
Ms. Chen attends Thomas Jefferson High School for Science and Technology in Alexandria, Va. She began piano lessons at the age of 5 and has studied with Rosita Kerr Mang since 2001.The first place winner of Virginia State Auditions, WMTA Viola Hartman Performance Awards, Bach Competition, NVMTA Concerto Festival and Miriam S. Gottlieb Memorial Piano Competition, Chen also won first place at the 22nd International Young Artist Piano Concerto Competition and was featured as a guest soloist with The Maryland Youth Symphony Orchestra in 2007. She gave a solo recital at Alden Theatre, Maclean in October 2010 and most recently won second place at MSMTA Doris Chase Sonata Competition at UMBC.
For information on the annual Lee University International Piano Festival and Competition, contact the Department of Instrumental Music at 614-8264.