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2021 NYYVC winners

YOUNG VIRTUOSO PRIZE WINNERS
YOUNG VIRTUOSO PRIZE WINNERS

Sophia Jenkins, 11, cello

$300 Young Virtuoso Prize Winner

Sophia Jenkins, age 11, began playing cello at the age of 6 and lives in Basking Ridge, NJ. She has played with the New Jersey Youth Symphony and at the Chamber Music Center of New York.   Sophia has received awards from the North International Music Competition, the NLPA International Young Artist Competition, the Camerata Artists International Concerto Competition, the International Grande Music Competition, the American Protégé International Concerto Competition, and the Bellegrande International Music Competition.  Sophia has participated in the Heifetz Program for the Exceptionally Gifted (PEG) and the Bowdoin International Music Festival.  Sophia studies cello with Inbal Segev.

Caden Tan, 11, voice

$300 Young Virtuoso Prize Winner

Cayden Tan is an 11 year old New Yorker who currently attends 6th Grade at Horace Mann School. He has been studying voice under Sun Young Chang for the past 3 years. Cayden has starred in his school’s musical productions including The Rainbow Fish and Singing in the Rain. He expresses his feelings with others through his passion for music. Furthermore, Cayden has performed numerous times at Carnegie Hall. He received 2nd place for his piano solo at American Protégé Competition and 1st place for his duet at the Crescendo International Competition. Outside of music, Cayden plays tennis and swims competitively.

Nikka Gershman-Pepper, 13, flute

$300 Young Virtuoso Prize Winner

Nikka Gershman-Pepper is a 13-year-old flutist and composer. She is a first-prize winner in numerous competitions including Rising Stars Grand Prix (Berlin), Flutes by the Sea International Competition, Chicago Flute Club (Senior Division), concerto soloist for the Whittier Regional Symphony, and International Music Competition Bonn "Grand Prize Virtuoso". She is a recipient of a Sir James Galway Merit Scholarship Award and has been chosen to perform in masterclasses with Sir James Galway, Denis Bouriakov, Lorna McGhee, Andrea Griminelli, Emily Beynon, Viviana Guzman, Garrett Hudson, and Ransom Wilson. Nikka’s solo concerts include performances at the Beethoven House, Bonn, Germany, VOS with the LA Jewish Symphony premiering her original composition, New York at the Salon de Virtuosi winter concert, and Théâtre Raymond Kabbaz with the Los Angeles Virtuosi Orchestra. She is currently attending the Pre-Conservatory Program at the Colburn Music Academy under the mentorship of Jim Walker.

Sarah Li, 14, piano

$300 Young Virtuoso Prize Winner

Sarah Li, 14, is a freshman at Montgomery High School, New Jersey. She first began studying piano at the age of 4 under the tutelage of Tomoko Harada, to which she continues to this day. Sarah developed a passion for music at an early age, making her Carnegie Hall debut at 6. Since then, she has gone on to win numerous piano competitions, including the NLPA National Young Musicians Showcase Competition, New Jersey Federation of Music Clubs Competition, New York Young Performers Prize Competition, Rondo Vanguard Competition, and Steinway Society Classical Competition. Her most recent accomplishments include receiving the grand prize in the 2020 Prima Volta Music Competition, first place in the 2020 New York Young Virtuoso Competition, first place in the 2020 NJFMC Competition, first place in the 2020 NJMTA Young Musicians Competition, silver in the 2021 Musicale Bach and Baroque Music Competition, gold prize in the 2nd International Apex Music Competition, and first prize in the 2021 New York Young Performers Prize Competition. In addition, Sarah was selected twice to have her performances broadcasted on the radio program Kids on Keys from WWFM The Classical Network, and has taken a master class given by renowned pianist Dmitry Rachmanov. Outside of piano, Sarah also enjoys playing violin, reading, and figure skating.

Jisang Kymm, 15, violin

$300 Young Virtuoso Prize Winner

Jisang Kymm, age 15, is a sophomore at the Horace Mann School in NY.  He is a student of the Juilliard School Pre-College Division studying with Yi-Fang Huang and Molly Carr.  Jisang is the cash prize winner and the 1st place winner at the Prima Volta Music Competition SE 2021 and a finalist in teen strings at the International Music Grand Prix 2021. He attended the Heifetz International Music Institute in the summer of 2021. Outside of music, Jisang loves to play tennis and table tennis. In his spare time, he spends time with his cat.

Kaylin Chung, 16, violin

$300 Young Virtuoso Prize Winner

Kaylin Chung is currently a junior attending the East Brunswick high school in East Brunswick, New Jersey. She has been playing the violin since she was eight years old and currently studies with Elizabeth Faidley in New York City.

Aside from playing the violin, Kaylin runs on her track and cross-country team. She also loves to study environmental science and is an active member of her school’s SAVE club, which raises awareness about climate change and studies human impacts on the environment. In her free time, she loves to bake, read, and hang out with her friends.

Joel Kim, 16, cello

$200 Best Interpretation Award (NV Factory Recording Voucher)

Joel Kim is a junior at Saratoga High School in California. He started playing cello at the age of 9 with Jonathan Koh of the San Francisco Conservatory. He won first prize at the 2020 BMC Music Competition and the 2020 DVC/HNU Young Artist String Competition. Joel is also enthusiastic about chamber music and attends California Music Preparatory Academy. His chamber groups have won prizes at the US Open Music Competition and IGMC. Joel enjoys giving back to community through Tri-M Music Honor Society and HopeBox Charity Youth Orchestra. Joel participated in the Music@Menlo Young Performers Program 2020 and 2021.

PIANO
PIANO
1st place winners

NAME

AGE

STATE

TEACHER

Evelyn Hwang

8

KOREA

Sohyun Ahn

Leane Kwon

13

NJ

Kay Rhee

Katharine Luo

13

NJ

Gloria Chu

Sarah Li

14

NJ

Tomoko Harada

Alex Wong

14

NJ

Carol Ferri

Claire Jiang

15

NJ

Grace Junghee Yang

Gyuri Kim

17

NJ

Dae Hyung Ahn

Christopher Pan

17

NJ

Chiu-Tze Lin

Tianqi Sun

17

CT

Hanbo Liu

2nd place winners

NAME

AGE

STATE

TEACHER

Angela Butz

11

NJ

Hanbo Liu

Natalie Qian

11

NJ

Chiu-Tze Lin

Ishaan Kumar

12

NJ

Daniella Bracchi

Hannah Zhang

12

NY

Wen-Yi Lo

Jingxin Zhong

13

NJ

Hanbo Liu

Kevin Jin

14

NJ

Gloria Chu

Melissa Lee

15

CA

Irina Bendetsky

Pennie Lu

15

NJ

Hanbo Liu

Yuying Wang

16

NJ

Gloria Chu

Natalie Hahn

17

NY

Donna Weng Friedman

3rd place winners

NAME

AGE

STATE

TEACHER

Serin Oh

8

NY

Daniela Bracchi

Madison Chay

11

NJ

Karen Kim

Sage Rhee

11

NJ

Karen Kim

Melody Keeton

14

CO

Laura Klein

Dana Yun

17

NJ

Victoria Dondysh

STRINGS
STRINGS
1st place winners

NAME

AGE

STATE

TEACHER

Julia Jang, violin

11

NJ

Jee Sun Lee

Sophia Jenkins, cello

11

NJ

Inbal Segev

Emma Maini, violin

12

CT

Asya Meshberg

Madison Lee, violin

12

NJ

Jungwon Yoon

Junnosuke Yanagisawa, violin

12

CA

Tomomi Matsumoto

Oliver Kahng, violin

13

NJ

Sharon Cho

Calvin Kwon, cello

13

NJ

Jeehyoun Lee

Mia Robarts, violin

13

NJ

Elizabeth Faidley

Jane Lim, violin

14

NY

Patinka Kopec

Soohong Jeon, cello

15

NJ

Jeehyoun Lee

Jisang Kymm, viola

15

NJ

Yi-Fang Huang/ Molly Carr

Momoka Yanagisawa, violin

15

CA

Tomomi Matsumoto

Eric Zhu, viola

15

MA

Andrew Taylor

Kaylin Chung, violin

16

NJ

Elizabeth Faidley

Keitaku Iwata, violin

16

NJ

Elizabeth Faidley

Joel Kim, cello

16

CA

Jonathan Koh

Jennifer Mori, cello

16

CA

Jonathan Koh

Lucas Chang, viola

17

NJ

Anne Ku

Lucas Chen, cello

17

CA

Jonathan Koh

John Zammit, violin

17

NJ

Sherri Anderson

2nd place winners

NAME

AGE

STATE

TEACHER

Shiloh Yi, violin

9

NY

Yejin Han

Elliot Kahng, violin

12

NJ

Sharon Cho

Lois Kim, cello

12

NJ

Jeehyoun Lee

Dana Chung, violin

13

NJ

Jiwon Kim

Emma Pakola, violin

13

NY

Elizabeth Faidley

Amy Xiao, violin

14

NY

Ella Heifets

Chloe Yoon, cello

14

NJ

Jennifer Jeehyoun Lee

Seongil Oh, violin

15

NY

Ye-Jin Han

Claire Kim, cello

16

NJ

Jeehyoun Lee

Andrew Han, viola

17

NJ

Elizabeth Faidley

3rd place winners

NAME

AGE

STATE

TEACHER

Leon Wang, cello

17

NJ

Hyojin Lee

Dana Yun, violin

17

NJ

Ella Heifets

WOODWINDS
WOODWINDS
1st place winners

NAME

AGE

STATE

TEACHER

Irene Lee, oboe

12

NY

Yousun Chung

William Kang, clarinet

13

NJ

Gun Park

Nikka Gershman-Pepper, flute

13

CA

Jim Walker

Sarah Jung, flute

16

NJ

Soo-Kyung Park

Veronica Li, clarinet

17

NJ

Alan Kay

2nd place winners

NAME

AGE

STATE

TEACHER

Christopher Hong, bassoon

15

NY

Marc Goldberg

Matthew Kim, clarinet

15

NJ

Geon Park

3rd place winners

NAME

AGE

STATE

TEACHER

Audrey Yan

16

NJ

Amy Tu

Anna Micor

17

IL

Garett George

VOICE
VOICE
1st place winners

NAME

AGE

STATE

TEACHER

Evelyn Kim

3

NY

Joy Son

Cayden Tan

11

NY

Sun Young Chang

Maya Joshi

12

NJ

Amelia DeMayo / Liliana Sotirova

Lily Yezdanian

12

NJ

Amelia DeMayo / Liliana Sotirova

Violet Paris

14

NY

Amelia DeMayo / Liliana Sotirova / Gulnara Mitzanova

Francesca Ricciarini

15

NY

Sun Young Chang

2nd place winners

NAME

AGE

STATE

TEACHER

Ellivia Gold

12

NY

Amelia De Mayo

Hyewon Son

16

NJ

HyeYoung Kang

Shayne Goldstein

17

NJ

Amelia DeMayo

3rd place winners

NAME

AGE

STATE

TEACHER

Charlize Tan

12

NY

Sun Young Chang

TongTong Ye

16

MD

Joyce Lundy

ENSEMBLE
ENSEMBLE
1st place winners

NAME

AGE

STATE

TEACHER

2nd place winners

NAME

AGE

STATE

TEACHER

Phillip String Quartet

12

CT

Asya Meshberg

Emma Maini, violin

Aki Takeda, violin

Mio Gogate, viola

Ewan MacLennan, cello

3rd place winners

NAME

AGE

STATE

TEACHER

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