HIGH POINT, N.C., Aug. 24, 2016 – High Point University will host its second annual piano competition, funded by the Randall Thomas Johnson Trust, starting at 1 p.m. on Sept. 10. The competition will bring three talented finalists to the HPU campus to compete for cash prizes. The event will be held in the Pauline Theatre of the Hayworth Fine Arts Center. It is free and open to the public. Tickets are not required.
The piano competition is made possible by a $1.1 million gift from Randall T. Johnson, a native and resident of High Point and member of the HPU Board of Visitors. He is a retired executive in the food brokerage business in Florida and a patron of the arts across the Piedmont. Aleksandra “Sasha” Kasman of Birmingham, Alabama, won the inaugural piano competition in 2015.
“The piano competition offers the rare opportunity to hear three of the best young pianists in the country,” says Marcia Dills, assistant professor of music and director of keyboard studies at HPU. “It also brings to campus world-renowned adjudicators, teachers and performers who help to inspire our students. We are honored to host this event and support these talented artists.”
This year’s three finalists were selected by a screening jury of HPU piano faculty from a pool of applicants ages 15-25 from around the world
. They are as follows:
Angie Zhang, 20, recipient of the Kovner Fellowship at The Juilliard School, is an incoming senior studying with Dr. Yoheved Kaplinsky. She has performed extensively as a soloist with orchestras since she made her debut playing under Grammy-nominated conductor Niel DePonte at age 10. A top prizewinner in numerous competitions, she most recently won the 2016 Juilliard Concerto Competition and earned top prizes in both the PianoArts and New York International Piano Competition. Zhang is the youngest Juilliard Teaching Fellow in the history of the school and currently instructs both Keyboard Sight-Reading and Secondary Piano to her fellow undergraduate and graduate peers. She also holds the 2016-17 Juilliard Keyboard Skills Departmental Assistantship position.
Phuong Nguyen, 25, was born in Ho Chi Minh City, Vietnam, where she began piano studies at 4 with her father, meritorious artist Nguyen Son Hai. She completed her secondary education in piano performance at the prestigious Ho Chi Minh City Conservatory of Music. Since graduating with a Master of Music in Piano Performance and Pedagogy, Nguyen has continued her Certificate in Piano Performance under the guidance of world-renowned pianist and pedagogue Professor Nancy Weems at the University of Houston Moores School of Music. Nguyen has participated in numerous national and international piano concerts, recitals and competitions across the globe. She most recently received an honorable mention at the Ruth Burr Piano Competition in April, and third place at the Mid-Texas Symphony Young Artist Competition in Piano in November 2015. Nguyen is currently a piano instructor in Preparatory & Continuing Studies at the University of Houston and has been a private piano teacher since 2010.
Taiwanese pianist Yi-Yang Chen, 22, has been training on piano since age 8. He was admitted as a graduate student to Robert McDonald and Jerome Lowenthal at The Juilliard School in 2012 and obtained his Master of Music in piano performance in 2014. Chen is currently a doctoral student in piano performance at Eastman School of Music, where he also received a Bachelor of Music while studying under Douglas Humpherys. He has attended the Perlman Music Program, Taos School of Music Summer Chamber Music Program, Four Seasons Winter Workshop (N.C.) and was awarded a fellowship at Music Academy of the West in Santa Barbara during the summer of 2012. In addition, he also has studied chamber music with Itzhak Perlman, Thomas Sauer and with members of the Cleveland, Shanghai, Borromeo, Brentano and Guarneri String Quartets. This year he captured first prize in the Hartford Chopin International Piano competition.
The order of the finalists’ performances will be determined on the day of the competition. The schedule of events is as follows:
Saturday, Sept. 10
1 p.m. – Recital by first finalist
2:15 p.m. – Recital by second finalist
3:30 p.m. – Recital by third finalist
5:30 p.m. – Announcement of the winner
HPU offers robust opportunities in its Department of Music. Students have performed in front of thousands on stages across the world, including Carnegie Hall, St. Peter’s Basilica in Rome, as well as venues in Vienna and Budapest. In 2010, the university became the 110th school in the world to earn the All-Steinway Designation.
For more details on the High Point University Piano Competition, click here.