We would like to welcome our 300 registrants.
Competition Director: Dr. Yelena Balabanova
PRIZES: Personalized Gold, Silver and Bronze Medals for exceptional performances of sonatinas, sonatas, variations, fantasies and rondos.
All performers receive Certificate of Achievement and valuable adjudication notes from world class adjudicators.
IN-PERSON COMPETITION:
Saturday, April 20, 2024
Eligibility: Any resident of WA state.
2 Locations:
AGES up to 13:
Crossroads Community Center
16000 NE 10th St, Bellevue, WA 98008
AGES 14 and older and duets:
St. Luke's Church
3030 Bellevue Way NE, Bellevue, WA 98004
Competition Results will be posted on our website by Sunday, 3 pm, April 21, 2024.
Only residents of Greater Seattle Area, United States may receive physical medals.
VIRTUAL YOUTUBE COMPETITION:
Eligibility: Any pianist, any country.
Video link deadline: April 10, 2024
Judging period: April 11 to April 20, 2024
Competition Results will be posted on our website by Sunday, 3 pm, April 21, 2024.
No medals will be land mailed. Comments by the adjudicator and a link to download Virtual Medal certificates will be provided.
FOR BOTH THE LIVE AND ONLINE COMPETITIONS:
In the event that the pianist cannot participate, no refunds will be issued for any reason, except medical emergency. Proof of hospital visit or physician's note will be required.
This competition will be divided into several groups based on age. There is no minimum age or maximum age to participate. Awards will be merit based. Students may enter for DIFFERENT categories, (sonatinas, sonatas, rondos, variations), but must apply and pay separately as separate applications.
Student will NOT be eligible for prize if music is not memorized or if music is not provided to the adjudicators. Appropriate performance attire is required—no T-shirts, jeans, sweat pants, shorts, or flip-flops.
Sonatinas, Sonatas, Rondos, Fantasies, Variations: Any composer, one or more movements within the time limit. Original 4-hand Sonatina works written by the composer are also permitted.
Music must be performed memorized.
MUSIC POLICY:
All entrants MUST present music to the adjudicator in following forms:
-Books
-Purchased downloads
-Public Domain downloads
IMPORTANT FOR LIVE COMPETITION:
3 ring binder or presentation folder must be used if music books are not used. No loose papers. Please make sure measure rows are numbered. Failure to do this will result in disqualification.
LIVE RECORDING POLICY:
A video recording area will be designated for parents who wish to record their child. You may only record your own child and no one else. Disqualification will apply for violators.
REGISTRATION FEES:
CLASS ONE: Application Fee: $70 if total playing time is under 5 minutes.
CLASS TWO: Application Fee: $90 if total playing time is between 6-10 minutes.
NO REFUNDS ISSUED AFTER REGISTRATION.
ALL pianists will written feedback from the adjudicator. Downloadable Certificate of Participation will be given to all participating teachers to give to their student(s).
Personalized Gold, Silver and Bronze Medals for exceptional performances. Medals will be available for pickup by your teacher at Classic Pianos, Bellevue, WA. PLEASE NOTE: Out of town winners will receive Virtual Medals. We do not land mail medals. A virtual medal is a PDF Certificate which will include the winner's name. Suitable for printing at home and framing. Decisions of the adjudicators are final.
ONLY ONE YouTube link must be submitted. Face and hands must be visible at all times.
Video links and music must be uploaded to: https://form.jotform.com/240615393053149 no later than April 10, 2024.
Music must be performed memorized.
Only YouTube format will be permitted. NO Vimeo, dropbox, Microsoft files, Google docs, ICloud share etc. Video link title and description MUST include the following:
• 2024 SONAFEST (title area in YouTube)
• Full name of pianist (title area in YouTube)
• Age of pianist (as of April 20, 2024)
• Composer and title performed (description area in YouTube)
• Must be set to UNLISTED
• Disable all comments
• If performing more than one movement, it must be recorded in a single footage, without breaks, pauses or video editing. All edited videos such as combined footages from two separate recording sessions, splicing, etc. will be disqualified immediately.
• If your performance is longer than the allotted time, adjudicator will stop exactly at the allotted time or may freely fast forward at will. Therefore, pianists are not permitted to abridge, modify, shorten or leave out sections of the music.
The teachers of the following Medalists will be able to pick up their personalized medals after June 1st at Classic Pianos in Bellevue. Honorable Mention (HM) recipients will receive a certificate via email (no medals).
AGES 4, 5, 6
ADJUDICATOR: Dr. Jensina Oliver
GOLD: Ellie Zhang (Teacher: Ekaterina Melkamini)
GOLD: Rose Huang (Teachers: Ni Liu, Ory Shihor)
SILVER: Elliott Wei (Teacher: Olga Solomatina)
BRONZE: Meleda Miao (Teacher: Ekaterina Melkamini)
BRONZE: Mina An (Teacher: Sisi Ye)
BRONZE: Serena Guo (Teacher: Hanna Cyba)
HM: Chloe Gan (Teacher: Hanna Cyba)
HM: Hannah Pan (Teacher: Yang Wang)
HM: Ruixue Ouyang (Teacher: Shu Wang)
HM: Sky Suh (Teacher: SH Youn)
AGES 7
ADJUDICATOR: Dr. Colleen Hunter
GOLD: Colin Mak (Teacher: Nino Merabishvili)
GOLD: Daniel Wang (Teacher: Hanna Cyba)
SILVER: Ellie Zhang (Teacher: Ekaterina Melkamini)
SILVER: James Hu (Teacher: Maria Khavin)
SILVER: Jeffrey Lou (Teacher: Adam Aleksander)
SILVER: Skylar Sun (Teacher: Maria Maltseva)
BRONZE: Celine Cheng (Teacher: Maria Khavin)
BRONZE: Olivia Kweon (Teacher: Hannah Cho)
HM: Hannah Zhang (Teacher: Ekaterina Melkamini)
HM: Rita Zhang (Teacher: Ekaterina Melkamini)
AGES 8
ADJUDICATOR: Dr. Jensina Oliver
GOLD: Adorace Liu (Teacher: Anastasia Solomatina)
GOLD: Aurora Ngo (Teacher: Ekaterina Melkamini)
GOLD: Haoran Cong (Teacher: Nino Merabishvili)
GOLD: Jason Fang (Teacher: Sisi Ye)
SILVER: Rebecca Li (Teacher: Grace Huang)
SILVER: Gabriel Laksberg (Teacher: Maria Khavin)
SILVER: Yiwen Ding (Teacher: Hanna Cyba)
SILVER: Yishan Zhang (Teacher: Lina Jiang)
BRONZE: Jolin M Lin (Teacher: Tracy Xu)
BRONZE: Skylar Ma (Teacher: Olga Solomatina)
AGE 9
ADJUDICATOR: Dr. Colleen Hunter
GOLD: Kandice Chen (Teacher: Niu Líu)
GOLD: Wenxuan (Wendy) Huang (Teacher: Hanna Cyba)
SILVER: Royden Lo (Teacher: Zhen Jiayi)
SILVER: Vyaas Sudarshan (Teacher: Chen Liang)
SILVER: James Shi (Teacher: Ekaterina Melkamini)
SILVER: Zhixuan Lyu (Teacher: Ekaterina Melkamini)
BRONZE: Agnivish Chaudhuri (Teacher: Nino Merabishvili)
BRONZE: Miranda Tong (Teacher: Yang Wang)
HM: Bella Zhang (Yang Wang)
HM: Arihant Chaudhuri (Teacher: Nino Merabishvili)
HM: Ashley Gao (Teacher: Lina Jiang)
HM: Annabelle Zhang (Teacher: Nino Merabishvili)
HM: Jeremy Deng (Teacher: Emily Cho)
HM: Crystal Jiao (Teacher: Hanna Cyba)
HM: Evan Wang (Teacher: Adam Xuan)
HM: Grace Lin (Teacher: Ni Liu)
AGE 10
ADJUDICATOR: Dr. Jensina Oliver
GOLD: Alvin Lee (Teacher: SH Youn)
GOLD: Ariana Liu (Teacher: Nino Merabishvili)
GOLD: Chloe Nari Wang (Teacher: Adam Aleksander)
GOLD: Ethan Park (Teacher: SH Youn)
GOLD: Nicole Wang (Teacher: Peter Mack)
SILVER: Austin Miao (Teacher: Ekaterina Melkamini)
SILVER: Erica Hao (Teacher: Zihan Luo)
SILVER: Ethan Xu (Teacher: Hanna Cyba)
SILVER: Jaime Ma (Ekaterina Melkamini)
SILVER: Javan Kang (Teacher: Hanna Cho)
SILVER: Olivia Zhang (Teacher: MIaojun Xu)
SILVER: Yiten Kueh (Teacher: Ni Liu)
HM: Chengxin Ma (Teacher: Jeong-Ah Ryu)
HM: Cynthia Chen (Teacher: Lina Jiang)
AGES 11
ADJUDICATOR: Dr. Lark Powers
GOLD: Antang Zhang (Teacher: Ekaterina Melkamini)
GOLD: Arthur Zhang (Teacher: Nino Merabishvili)
GOLD: Ian Fung (Teacher: Ni Liu)
GOLD: Lingxi Chen (Teacher: Olga Solomatina)
SILVER: Boya Chen (Teacher: Linna Wang)
SILVER: Claire Kang (Teacher: SH Youn)
SILVER: Harry Zhang (Teacher: Maria Maltseva)
SILVER: Henna Kang (Teacher: Hanna Cho)
SILVER: Ru-Shan An (Teacher: Hanna Cyba)
BRONZE: Claire Hu (Teacher: Kuei-Fan Lin)
BRONZE: Grace Kaiboriboon (Teacher: Maria Maltseva)
BRONZE: Lucas Popescu (Teacher: SH Youn)
HM: Cara Fan (Teacher: Nino Merabishvili)
HM: Nalin Molly Ananrattanasook (Teacher: Nino Merabishvili)
AGE 12
ADJUDICATOR: Dr. Jensina Oliver
SILVER: Brandon Li (Teacher: Ekaterina Melkamini)
SILVER: Charles Miao (Teacher: Irina Kirova)
SILVER: Lydia Liu (Teacher: Mark Salman)
SILVER: Wesley Waijun Wong (Teacher: Irina Klimenko)
BRONZE: Kayla Kim (Teacher: Emily Cho)
HM: Rada Samoilova (Teacher: Maria Khavin)
AGE 13
ADJUDICATOR: Dr. Lark Powers
GOLD: Hannah Li (Teacher: Nino Merabishvili)
GOLD: Toko Ota (Teacher: Adam Aleksander)
SILVER: Ekaterina Grebennikova (Teacher: Maria Khavin)
SILVER: Emily Liu (Teacher: Adam Aleksander)
BRONZE: Adam Hong (Teacher: Ian Huh)
BRONZE: Asher Roberge (Teacher: Margie Skreen-Dickerson)
BRONZE: Cindy Dou (Teacher: Jing Xu)
HM: Emily Zhang (Teacher: Adam Aleksander)
HM: Jonathan Yang (Teacher: Adam Aleksander)
AGE 14
ADJUDICATOR: Dr. Lark Powers
GOLD: Albert Zhang (Teacher: Adam Aleksander)
GOLD: Alexander Vollmer (Teacher: SH Youn)
GOLD: Emma Huang (Teacher: Olga Solomatina)
SILVER: Isabel Yang (Teacher: Shaoming Greene)
BRONZE: Rebecca Li (Teacher: Hyejung Shin)
AGE 15-16
ADJUDICATOR: Dr. Colleen Hunter
GOLD: Ashley Zong (Teacher: Alexandra Tsirkel)
GOLD: Jeffrey Zhao (Teacher: Maria Maltseva)
SILVER: Aidan Zhang (Teacher: Randall Jackson)
BRONZE: Alexander Du (Teacher: Olga Solomatina)
HM: Azeem Egizi (Teacher: Thomas Lee)
HM: Phil Yao (Teacher: Ni Liu)
AGE 17 and up
ADJUDICATOR: Dr. Lark Powers
GOLD: Alexander Zhang (Teacher: Adam Aleksander)
SILVER: Joshua Cashion (Teacher: Isabella Jie)
HM: Godwin Hong (Teacher: SH Youn)
HM: Junyoung Hwang (Teacher: Emily Cho)
DUETS, all ages
ADJUDICATOR: Dr. Lark Powers
GOLD: Inez and Lourdes Ko (Teacher: SH Youn)
SILVER: Caiden and Chloe Kim (Teacher: SH Youn)
BRONZE: Cailey and Caleb Wie (Teacher: SH Youn)
The teachers of the following Medalists will be able to pick up their personalized medals after June 1st at Classic Pianos in Bellevue. Honorable Mention (HM) recipients will receive a certificate via email. Pianists who live outside of WA state will receive Virtual Medal Certificates via email (no medals).
AGES 6 and under
ADJUDICATOR: Cindy Jihyun Lee
GOLD: Riley Shen (Teacher: Ni Liu)
BRONZE: Charlotte Wu (Teacher: Ni Liu)
BRONZE: Celine Liu (Teacher: Anastasia Solomatina)
HM: Victoria Wang (Teacher: Hanna Cyba)
AGE 7:
ADJUDICATOR: Cindy Jihyun Lee
GOLD: Yuxin Sun (Teacher: Yelena Balabanova)
SILVER: Eliana Cho (Teacher: Yelena Balabanova)
SILVER: Kinsley Cao (Teacher: Tanya Otto)
SILVER: Laura Li (Teacher: Tatiana Lanford)
BRONZE: Isabella Zhang (Teacher: Tanya Otto)
HM: Preston Chao (Teacher: Jong Eun Lee)
AGES 8
ADJUDICATOR: Cindy Jihyun Lee
SILVER: Sanjana Siddhartha (Teacher: Tanya Otto)
AGE 9
ADJUDICATOR: Cindy Jihyun Lee
GOLD: Aimee He (Teacher: Alexandra Tsirkel)
GOLD: Aisha Beydoun (Teacher: Yelena Balabanova)
SILVER: Abby Chao (Teacher: Jong Eun Lee)
SILVER: Miyako Berman (Teacher: Yelena Balabanova)
BRONZE: Jesse Greene (Teacher: Shaoming Greene)
BRONZE: May Xu (Teacher: Tanya Otto)
BRONZE: Perrie Lam (Teacher: Yelena Balabanova)
HM: Daniel Zhao (Teacher: Tatiana Lanford)
HM: Sorena Biglari (Teacher: SH Youn)
HM: Sunney Shi (Teacher: Yelena Balabanova)
AGE 10
ADJUDICATOR: Cindy Jihyun Lee
GOLD: Brian YuHong Wu (Teacher: Yelena Balabanova)
SILVER MEDAL: Brandon Yang (Teacher: Yelena Balabanova)
SILVER MEDAL: Sienna Zhang (Teacher: Nino Merabishvili)
SILVER MEDAL: Steven Li (Teacher: Tatiana Lanford)
HM: Lingyi Li (Teacher: Mengyiyi Chen)
AGE 11
ADJUDICATOR: Cindy Jihyun Lee
GOLD: Joyce Wang (Teacher: Adam Aleksander)
SILVER: Alex Li (Teacher: Kristine Yang)
BRONZE: Claire Shan (Yelena Balabanova)
AGE 12
ADJUDICATOR: Cindy Jihyun Lee
GOLD: Sydney Cui (Teacher: Adam Aleksander)
GOLD: Yiling Sun (Teacher: Yelena Balabanova)
SILVER: Aaron Jin (Teacher: Randall Jackson)
SILVER: Jimmy Huang (Teacher: Yelena Balabanova)
SILVER: Vince Lee (Teacher: SH Youn)
BRONZE: Alexandria Shieh (Teacher: Maria Maltseva)
BRONZE: Ellie Chung (Teacher: Steven Lee)
BRONZE: Mingxiang Gu (Teacher: Tatiana Lanford)
HM: Simon Zhu (Teacher: Maria Maltseva)
AGE 13
ADJUDICATOR: Cindy Jihyun Lee
SILVER: Anna Barnes (Teacher: Alexandra Tsirkel)
BRONZE: Victor Zhao (Teacher: Maria Maltseva)
HM: Jaden Shan (Teacher: Yelena Balabanova)
AGES 14 and 15
ADJUDICATOR: Cindy Jihyun Lee
SILVER: Alexander Vollmer (Teacher: SH Youn)
SILVER: Radmila Sabirova (Teacher: Yelena Balabanova)
SILVER: Owen YuTong Wu (Teacher: Yelena Balabanova)
AGES 16 and older
ADJUDICATOR: Cindy Jihyun Lee
GOLD: Paloma Oh (Teacher: Eliza Vysotsky)
GOLD: Uina Yamaguchi (Teacher: Hanna Cyba)
SILVER: Courtney Tam (Teacher: Yelena Balabanova)
BRONZE: Ryan Chung (Teacher: SH Youn)
HM: Meredith Nam (Teacher: SH Youn)
Known for her expressive and passionate performances, pianist Jensina Oliver has appeared as soloist and chamber musician in the United States, China, Canada, Costa Rica, Israel, and throughout Europe. Her performances with orchestra include appearances with the Hubei Provincial Orchestra of Wuhan, China, as well the Utah Philharmonia, Orchestra of Southern Utah, Intermountain Chamber Orchestra, University of Washington Symphony, and University of Utah Symphony Orchestra. She was a national finalist of the MTNA Chamber Competition, a resident artist at the Banff Chamber Music Festival, and has won several solo and concerto competitions throughout the United States.
As a member of Duo Cascadia, Dr. Oliver performs with Dr. Kay Zavislak, exploring a diverse piano ensemble repertoire and concertizing throughout the Pacific Northwest region.
Ms. Oliver has been praised by critics as “highly talented,” with a “steely-fingered” technique and a flair for “panache and drama.” (SL Trib.) “Byington’s command of dynamic phrasing infused each note with elegant intensity in slower passages; in virtuosic sections, she played with assuredness and authority.” Ms. Oliver’s first CD, JENSINA OLIVER performs Chopin, Liszt, Brahms, and Rachmaninoff is available on CDBaby.com.
Ms. Oliver earned her Doctor of Musical Arts (D.M.A.) in Piano Performance at the University of Washington under the guidance of Mr. Craig Sheppard and has taught music courses at Shoreline Community College since 1998. As a National Certified Teacher of Music (NCTM), she has a thriving studio with students of all ages. Dr. Oliver travels and teaches around the Pacific Northwest, providing meaningful artistic instruction to students and teachers alike.
She currently resides with her family in Seattle, where she is a well-known performer, instructor, clinician, and adjudicator.
Colleen Hunter, DMA, NCTM, teaches applied and class piano at Gonzaga University, and private students in Spokane, and maintains a private piano studio in her home in Coeur d’Alene, Idaho, teaching a wide range of ages and levels from children to adults.
Nationally and state certified with MTNA, Dr. Hunter is active at the state and local level in Washington and Idaho, currently serving as President for Washington State Music Teachers. She is past president of both the Spokane Music Teachers and the North Idaho Music Teachers chapters. As a Visting Artist with WSMTA, she enjoys working with the Musical Artistry Program (MAP) and adjudicating and judging for many music events in the northwest.
Dr. Hunter collaborates professionally with area musicians and in the local schools. She plays with the Panhandle Symphony Orchestra and has played with the Coeur d’Alene Symphony, as well as, the Opus Series for the Coeur d’Alene Chamber Music Society. For several years as entertainment coordinator for the summer festival, Art on the Green, she directed the festival’s weekend of music events and helped promote its winter lecture series and home concerts.
Dr. Hunter holds degrees from the University of Missouri – Kansas City, and Seattle Pacific University. Teachers include Richard Cass (UMKC), Marcile Mack (SPU), Bela Nagy (Boston University and Sion, Switzerland), and Margaret Saunders Ott (Spokane, WA). She is married to Dr. Sam Hunter and they have two adult children.
In demand as a solo and collaborative artist as well as an adjudicator and presenter, Dr. Lark Powers has performed at such venues as Philadelphia’s Kimmel Center, the 92nd Street Y in New York City and at the Library of Congress in Washington, D.C. Internationally she has been heard in Europe, Mexico and Canada. In addition to numerous collaborations with ensembles, including the Tacoma Symphony, Fort Collins Symphony, the Washington-Idaho Symphony, and the Baroque Chamber Orchestra of Colorado, she appears in frequent two-piano concerts as part of the duo she forms with pianist Ricardo de la Torre. Recently she performed on King FM’s NW Focus Live and she is a frequent performer on the Music from Home series at Lakewold Garden, the Listen Live at Lunch series at the First Lutheran Church of Tacoma, the Second City Chamber Series, and the faculty artist series at Pacific Lutheran University.
Lark received a DMA in piano performance from the University of Colorado Boulder, and holds three Master’s degrees (in piano, theory pedagogy and in harpsichord) and a graduate performance diploma in piano from the Peabody Institute. Her undergraduate studies occurred at the University of the Pacific, where she earned a BM in piano performance, summa cum laude, after which she attended the Conservatoire National de Région de Paris for three years where she won a premier prix.
A Nationally Certified Teacher of Music and a Washington State Visiting Artist, Lark teaches at Pacific Lutheran University where she instructs applied lessons and accompanying, and coordinates the group keyboard program. Dr. Powers has presented on topics including managing performance anxiety, the creativity inherent in the Baroque repertoire, the pedagogy of keyboard harmony, the brain and practicing, and more. She is a proponent of new music, specializing in the music of Latin American composers, and can be heard on recordings with the Pan Pacific Ensemble on Albany records and the Cherry Creek Flute Duo on WSU Recording.
Cindy Lee won the Korean New Daily Competition at the age of nine, and the second place in the Royal Sound of Music International Competition. She has performed at prestigious concert halls in the US and Korea, including the Carnegie Hall, KBS Hall, and the Seoul Arts Center. She performed as a soloist with Prime Philharmonic Orchestra in 2008 and with INSIEM Philharmonic Orchestra in 2011. In addition to her career as a solo pianist, she has served as a staff Accompanying Pianist at Manhattan School of Music, University of Nevada Las Vegas, and Kyungwon University, and as a Chief Pianist at Seoul Grand Opera Company and Seoul Grand Choir.
Born in Seoul, Korea, Cindy Lee went through some of the most prestigious music education programs in South Korea, attending Sunhwa Arts School and Sunhwa Arts High School as a piano and music composition major and then Yonsei University as a composition major. She received her Master’s degree in Accompanying Piano from Manhattan School of Music, where she received merit-based scholarship and Dean's Award. Her primary teachers include John Forconi, Chair of Collaborative Piano program at Manhattan School of Music and Dr. Paul Kim, professor at the Long Island University and known as an expert of the French composer Olivier Messiaen.
Cindy Lee performs regularly as a guest artist at major concert series and theaters such as Steinway Concert Series, Winchester Theater, and Starbright Theater. She is already booked for various concerts for next year at local theaters as well. As an Artistic Director, she works with various local theaters and performing art centers to create various concert series throughout the year. She also performs Lee Sisters’ duo piano concert series with narration with Yoon Lee (Juilliard staff pianist and piano faculty at SUNY Purchase College) and Mina Lee (Musicology professor at Duke University). She is also a Founder and Artistic Director of a concert series “ Music of Women Composers.”
As a teacher of more than 25 years, Cindy has taught piano performance, collaborative piano, and music theory at Myungji Conservatory, Mokwon University, and Presbyterian University and Theological Seminary in Korea as an adjunct professor. She was also a teaching faculty at Sunwha Arts Middle/High School.
She has led many college prep students into prestigious universities including Juliard, Manhattan School of Music, and Seoul National University. Since 2014, she has been teaching in Las Vegas. Her students are actively participating in many international competitions, local competitions, Jazz Festival, NFMC Junior Festival and Ensemble Festival and produce outstanding results.
Her book, Accompanying Literature for Pianists, which she wrote for her ‘Collaborative Piano Literature’ class in a college, is being used as a textbook by other professors in Korea. As a music columnist, she wrote weekly for the Las Vegas Korea Times for many years.
Cindy Jihyun Lee currently serves as a board member of the Las Vegas Music Teachers Association as well as Chairperson of the Bushell Scholarship Competition. She has also served as the Chairperson of Silver State Competition. She also serves as Artistic Director at NSA International Music Competition. She serves as the Director of Piano Studies at the Nevada School of The Arts and teaches at her private studio in Spring Valley. She is actively involved in various other important music festivals and competitions around the state as a teacher and judge.