Jefferson Symphony International Young Artists Competition Announces Winners

“Many of the contestants showed a very high level of musicality, maturity, and artistic intelligence. It is quite obvious that this competition is so prestigious and highly regarded, that it consistently attracts an impressive pool of strong applicants.”
Olga Dashevskaya, competition judge.

2011 Jefferson Symphony International Young Artists Competition first place winner Sungpil Kim will return to play with the Jefferson Symphony Orchestra on March 27th in Golden.

2011 Jefferson Symphony International Young Artists Competition finalists at the Arvada Center on January 8, left to right: Eric Tran, Meng Zhou, Shichao Zhang, Peter Mathys, Priscila Navarro, Sungpil Kim, Nina Zhou, Connie Kim-Sheng, Leah Dominy, Hsin-Ju (Cindy) Lo.
Missing from picture: Chuhan (Sally) Wang.

· First place, Sungpil Kim (from Korea),
  Peabody Conservatory,
  Chopin Piano Concerto #1

· Second place, Leah Dominy (from Canada),
  Toradze Piano Studio of
  Indiana University-South Bend,
  Rachmaninoff Piano Concerto #2

· Third Place, Shichao Zhang (from China),
  Eastman School of Music,
  R. Strauss Burleske

· Honorable Mention, Priscila Navarro (from Peru),
  Florida Gulf Coast University,
  Chopin Piano Concerto #1

The Competition was an all-day event on Saturday, January 8, 2011, at the Arvada Center for the Arts and Humanities, co-sponsor. The winners performed in a 7:30 p.m. recital.

11 finalists from six different countries competed for a $5,000 annuity (payable at $1,000 per year for five years) to the first-place winner, as well as cash prizes of $2,000, $1,500 and $1,000 to the first-, second- and third- place awardees. The Golden Civic Foundation, Wilmot Charitable Trust, Fine Arts Foundation, Scientific & Cultural Facilities District, Jacques and Janet Robertson, and Kinder Morgan helped underwrite this competition.

The 1st place winner, Sungpil Kim, 22, praised by International Piano Magazine as “…finely controlled…varied colour as well as weight of tone, and touches of drama…magic in its atmosphere, individuality and poise along with considerable technical finesse,” in a review of a previous performance, will perform in concert with the Jefferson Symphony Orchestra on March 27, 2011, in Golden. Purchase tickets at 303 278-4237 or www.jeffsymphony.org.

Judges for the competition were distinguished area piano performers and teachers: Olga Dashevskaya, Alice Rybak, and Crystal Lee.

This is the 52nd year of this event, which alternates between piano and all other orchestral instruments annually.

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