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Press Releases

Claudette Sorel Piano Competition announces two First Prize Winners

Hyeonuk Park, 16, of Lexington, Massachusetts and Jonathan Zheng, 15, of Bellevue, Washington winners of the 6th Claudette Sorel Piano Competition

First Prize winners Hyeonuk Park, 16, of Lexington, Massachusetts, and Jonathan Zheng, 15 of Bellevue Washington   Two young pianists were announced as First Prize winners of the Claudette Sorel Piano Competition on Sunday, November 7. Hailing from the East and West Coasts, the young men were examples of the young, 15 - 18 year-old passionate musicians for whom the competition was created. The competition, which takes place annually on the campus of the State University of New York at Fredonia, New York, is designed to encourage young pianists' growth in a healthy, supportive environment, and to allow them to demonstrate their own artistic vision.   13 pianists from an international pool of 72 were invited to participate, with applicants coming from the United States, Canada, Israel, Mexico, Spain, and Switzerland.   The Final Round of the competition, streamed live, was held at SUNY Fredonia's state-of-the-art Juliet J. Rosch Recital Hall, with participants performing on a Steinway D Concert Grand piano named "Claudette" in honor of the competition's namesake. Due to the pandemic, not all invited participants were able to travel to the competition.   The First Prize, a $2,500 cash purse, was shared between Mr. Park and Mr. Zheng.   Three additional awards were given:   Ian Cannon, 16, of Sugar Land, Texas, Audience Choice Award; Celine Chen, 17, of Valencia, California, Debussy Award; Emma Tio 16, of San Gabriel, California, Bach Award.   All participants will receive a live recording of their performance and a copy of the judges' written notes.

2020 Claudette Sorel Piano Competition judges Eliran Avni; Father Sean Duggan; Brian Preston; Beverly Smoker; and some of the participants from the weekend event.   Judges for the 2021 Competition were Fredonia piano faculty member and professional pianist and educator Father Sean Duggan; guest judges pianists and educators Brian Preston and Beverly Smoker; and internationally renowned pianist, Fredonia piano faculty member and Competition Director Eliran Avni.   Named for pianist and late SUNY Distinguished Professor Claudette Sorel, who made more than 2,000 concert, recital, and festival appearances and played with 200 major orchestras, including the New York Philharmonic, Boston Symphony, Philadelphia Orchestra, NBC Symphony, and London Philharmonic, the Competition also offers the Sorel Piano Fellows Program, now in its third year and curated for talented pianists (ages 15-18) who are serious about their craft and are looking for an intensive musical experience, but who may not yet be ready for the competition circuit. 28 national and international Fellows, from New York, New Jersey, Texas, California, Florida, Washington, Ohio, Illinois, Connecticut, and Pennsylvania in the United States, and Canada, Spain, Mexico, and Colombia, attended in person or virtually.   Generous support for the competition was made possible through a charitable gift by the Sorel Organization. A special thank you to the Fredonia College Foundation, the School of Music, and Daniel Ihasz, Interim Director.   More on the competition can be found here.

Photo Credit: "Lori Deemer/State University of New York at Fredonia"     Press Contact: Laura Grant, Grant Communications 917.359.7319 Laura@grant-communications.com