Six Brilliant Finalists Named in the CIPC for Young Artists

CLEVELAND, OH – July 5, 2023 After a First Round of international broadcasts, six Finalists have been selected to move on to the Final Round of the Cleveland International Piano Competition for Young Artists – three in the Junior Division (ages 11 -14) and three in the Senior Division (ages 15 – 18). The exceptional young artists will come to Cleveland for the unique opportunity to work closely with conductor Steven Byess and the Canton Symphony Orchestra, professional chamber musicians from The Cleveland Orchestra, and world-class Institute faculty members before their Final Round performances on July 13 and 15, 2023.

Qinyaoyao Ji (Junior – 13, China), Elisey Mysin (Junior – 12, Russia), Zhonghua Wei (Junior – 14, China), Yanyan Bao (Senior - 16, China), Ryan Wang (Senior - 15, Canada), and Saehyun Kim (Senior – 16, South Korea) are the six rising stars chosen among 32 contestants, initially selected from a pool of 213 applications from 27 countries and regions. The astounding artistry of these contestants was recorded at locations across the globe, from London to Hamburg, Cleveland to New York, and Beijing to Seoul, during the First Round Broadcasts in partnership with Steinway & Sons galleries. All First Round performances are available to watch on Piano Cleveland’s YouTube channel.

The Finalists were identified by members of the CIPC for Young Artists Jury, which includes Ran Dank (University of Cincinnati – College of Conservatory of Music), Kevin Kenner (Frost School of Music University of Miami) Alexander Korsantia (New England Conservatory), Janet Landreth (Colorado State University – International Keyboard Odyssiad & Festival, U.S.A.), Vanessa Latarche (Royal College of Music), Yong Hi Moon (Peabody Institute at Johns Hopkins University), and Robert Shannon (Oberlin Conservatory – Professor of Piano Director, Division of Keyboard Studies). 

The Finalists have unique mentorship opportunities that run concurrently with the Final Round performances that help them develop their craft and artistry, including one-on-one work with chamber music partners from The Cleveland Orchestra and Maestro Byess and world-class faculty members at the Cleveland International Piano Institute, presented in partnership with the Cleveland Institute of Music and The Lang Lang International Music Foundation. In addition, Finalists will perform free concerts throughout the community on July 6 at the University of Akron, July 7 at Tri-C Metro Campus Theater, and July 8 at Temple-Tifereth Israel.  

On July 13, the six remaining Finalists will perform classic piano chamber trios with leading members of The Cleveland Orchestra at Mixon Hall - Cleveland Institute of Music. On Saturday, July 15, the same six Finalists will showcase their best concerto performances with The Canton Symphony Orchestra at Gartner Auditorium – Cleveland Museum of Art. These performances will determine the first, second, and third prize winners in each division and six special prizes, including the Audience, Junior Jury, Bach, Beethoven, Chopin, and Mozart prizes.

Watch in amazement as these young artists perform for audiences and jury members, concluding their artistic journey in this competition. Tickets are available for these spectacular performances presenting the next generation of classical music at pianocleveland.org. 

About the Finalists 

Junior Division (11-14)
Qinyaoyao Ji, Age 13, China  
Qinyaoyao Ji began her piano studies at the age of three and went to study with Professor Zhe Tang of the Shanghai Conservatory of Music at the age of seven. She is currently studying in the Piano Department of the High School at the Shanghai Conservatory of Music. She has won many domestic and foreign piano competition awards including First Prize at the Shenzhen Youth Piano Concerto Competition and Second Prize in the ClaviCologne International Piano Competition in 2018. She has extensively toured the United States, Germany, Austria, The Netherlands, and Belgium under the tutelage of Professor Zhe Tang. 

Elisey Mysin, Age 12, Russia  
Born in Stavropol, Russia, Elisey Mysin began to study piano at the age of four. He currently studies at the Central Music School in Moscow with Professor Natalia Trull and Professor Daniil Tsvetkov. 

Elisey is a prizewinner of several international competitions, such as the Astana Piano Passion International Piano Competition (2017, Kazakhstan); Vladimir Krainev Online International Piano Competition (First Prize, 2020, Moscow); Vladimir Krainev International Piano Competition (First Prize, 2021, Moscow); and 4th Zhuhai International Mozart Competition for Young Musicians (First Prize, 2022, China). 

Elisey has performed with orchestras such as the State Academic Svetlanov Symphony Orchestra, National Philharmonic Symphony Orchestra, Vladimir Symphony Orchestra, State Symphony Orchestra of Leningrad, and the Russian National Youth Symphony Orchestra. He has also performed in prestigious concert venues such as Tchaikovsky Concert Hall (Moscow), Zaryadye Moscow Concert Hall, Bolshoy Theatre (Moscow), Moscow International House of Music, and many others. 

He has appeared in prestigious festivals such as Russian Seasons (Italy, 2018); The Amadeus Weekend at the Salzburg Music Festival (Austria, 2018); Classical Young Stars (Austria, 2018); Arturo Michelangeli International Music Festival (Trento, Italy, 2019); Baikal Stars, InClassica International Music Festival (Dubai, UAE, 2021); and Bieszczady bez granic (Sanok, Poland, 2022, main prize of the festival). 

In addition, Elisey has participated in masterclasses with Mikhail Voskresensky, Andrzej Yasinsky, and Eugen Indjic. Elisey is a scholarship recipient and an active participant in the Vladimir Spivakov International Charity Foundation, New Names International Charity Foundation, and Yamaha Foundation. 
 
Zhonghua Wei, Age 14, China  
Zhonghua Wei was born in Guangzhou, China, and began his piano studies at the age of five with Chinese-American pianist Jay Pengjie Sun, Piano Department Chair at Xinghai Conservatory Middle School in Guangzhou. He has also studied with Dr. Vivian Li and Professor Qi Li. 

Now just 14 years of age, Zhonghua is a carefree yet thoughtful boy who has enthusiastically studied significant titles in the piano repertoire including the 48 Preludes and Fugues of Bach’s Well-Tempered Clavier, Mozart’s complete piano sonatas and the complete études of Chopin and Liszt. He has taken numerous prizes at the national level including First Prize at the Pearl River Kayserburg National Piano Competition in 2022, First Prize at the Xinghai Cup in 2020, and Second Prize at the Steinway National Piano Competition in 2019. 

In 2017, he was invited to Bad Homburg to perform two separate half recitals, and in 2018 he gave his first solo piano recital at Yamaha Hall in Guangzhou. In 2022, he was accepted to the prestigious Morningside Music Bridge program which he will also attend in 2023. In his spare time, he enjoys watching films, reading books, outdoor recreation, and music improvisation. 

Senior Division (15-18)
Yanyan Bao, Age 16, China  
Yanyan Bao displayed artistic sensitivity from her earliest years and began piano lessons at the tender age of four. Her early musical precocity led her to begin more disciplined studies at the age of seven with Chinese-American pianist Jay Pengjie Sun, Piano Department Chair at Xinghai Conservatory Middle School in Guangzhou. After being admitted into the Xinghai Conservatory Middle School at age 11 with outstanding ranking, Yanyan continued her piano study with Professor Sun’s wife, Dr. Vivian Li, Chinese-Canadian pianist and Professor of Piano at Xinghai Conservatory. 

Since then, Yanyan has emerged as one of the most promising young pianists in China. Now 16 years of age, Yanyan is already a veteran of the concert stage, having presented solo recitals in numerous cities in China, Italy, and Germany. Yanyan has also selectively taken part in music competitions with prizes including Third Prize at the Zhuhai Mozart Youth International Piano Competition, First Prize at the Shenzhen Lang Lang Futian International Piano Competition, Young Talent Award at the Ettlingen International Piano Competition, Second Prize and Best Chinese Work at the Beijing Chopin International Competition, and First Prize and Best Schubert Prize at the Aspire Category of 2021 E-Piano Junior Competition. 

She has also been fortunate to have taken masterclasses with celebrated pianists such as Gary Graffman, Arie Vardi, Lev Natochenny, Antonio Pompa-Baldi, Stanislav Ioudenitch, Dmitri Alexeev, Li Qi, and Wu Ying. In her spare time, she enjoys reading, drawing, swimming, and of course, listening to music. 

Saehyun Kim, Age 16, South Korea  
Saehyun Kim is a pianist from Seoul, South Korea, currently residing in Massachusetts. In 2022, he won First Prize at both the Morningside Music Bridge International Concerto Competition and the New England Conservatory (NEC) Preparatory School Concerto Competition. In his first-ever international competition, the 2019 International Tchaikovsky Online Piano Competition for Young Musicians, he won Second Prize as the youngest finalist. Additionally, he won First Prize at both the 2021 New York International Classical Music Competition and the 2018 Ewha & Kyunghyang Music Concours, the most prestigious young artist music competition in Korea. 

Over the past seven years, Saehyun has performed at major concert venues in South Korea—such as the Seoul Arts Center, Mozart Art Hall, and TLI Art Center—and beyond. At the age of 10, he had his first solo recital at Kumho Art Hall as a part of the Kumho Prodigy Concert Series. During the 2021–2022 season, he performed twice at Jordan Hall as part of two renowned concert series: First Monday at Jordan Hall and NEC Composers: Piano Music by NEC Alumni and Faculty. This season, he performed at Yamaha Hall Ginza in Tokyo as a part of the Yamaha Rising Pianists Concert Vol. 7 and will have his U.S. concerto debut with the NEC Youth Philharmonic Orchestra at Jordan Hall. 

Kim has appeared as a soloist with the Sendai Philharmonic, Korean Symphony, and more, collaborating with Maestros Ken Takaseki and Chi-Yong Jung. He was also invited to give interviews and performances for national music channels such as JTBC Classic Today and KBS Classic FM. Currently, he is a Young Scholar of the Lang Lang International Music Foundation and a junior at Walnut Hill School for the Arts, studying with HaeSun Paik, faculty at New England Conservatory. 

Ryan Wang, Age 15, Canada  
From Vancouver, Canada, Ryan Wang started playing piano at the age of four, and performed his first solo recital at the age of six. In 2013, he began his musical studies under the tutelage of Professor Lee Kum Sing and Dr. Sunsung Kong. He is currently studying on a music scholarship with Mr. Gareth Owen at Eton College in the United Kingdom and is in the Artist Diploma program with Professor Marian Rybicki at Ecole Normale de Musique de Paris in France.

Ryan has performed in many important and prestigious venues such as Carnegie Hall, on the Ellen DeGeneres Show, Fazioli Concert Hall, RTHK radio 4 in HongKong, CCTV 4 (China), CBC Music, and live on FM96.3 Toronto’s Radio Station at Zoomer Hall. He was invited to perform as part of the cultural component of Canada’s participation in the APEC Summit in Beijing in 2014, and he was also invited to perform a private recital in the Canadian Prime Minister’s home. Orchestral appearances include those with the Singapore Symphony Orchestra, Toronto Festival Orchestra, Xiamen Philharmonic Orchestra, Vancouver Metropolitan Orchestra, West Coast Symphony Orchestra, and many more. He is also a successful chamber musician.

Among his awards are as a prize winner in the Canadian Music Competition, Seattle International Piano Competition, Young Euregio Piano Award Competition, the 29th International Fryderyk Chopin Piano Competition for Youth in Szafarnia (Poland), Chicago International Music Competition, Paderewski International Piano Competition, Ettlingen International Piano Competition, the International Piano Competition ‘SAMSON FRANCOIS’, and Jeune Chopin International Piano Competition in Switzerland. In 2017 and 2019, Ryan was the recipient of the Emerging Artist Grant from the Vancouver Academy of Music.

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About Piano Cleveland
Piano Cleveland promotes Cleveland as a premier piano destination by presenting world-class programming, community engagement, and education initiatives. The organization’s four major programs and events include the Cleveland International Piano Competition, the CIPC for Young Artists, a mixed-genre piano festival, and year-round education and community engagement programming.

About the Cleveland Institute of Music 
The Cleveland Institute of Music empowers the world’s most talented classical music students to fulfill their dreams and potential. Its graduates command the most celebrated and revered stages in the world as soloists, chamber musicians and ensemble members; compose meaningful, award-winning new repertoire; and are highly sought-after teaching artists, administrators and thought leaders. A testament to the excellence of a CIM education, more than half of the members of The Cleveland Orchestra are connected to CIM as members of the faculty, alumni or both. The school’s increasingly diverse student body benefits from access to world-renowned visiting artists and conductors, intensive study with CIM’s stellar faculty and the rich curriculum offered by CIM’s partner Case Western Reserve University. A leader among its peers, CIM presents nearly 350 free performances and masterclasses on campus each year, and hundreds more at locations throughout the region, including Severance Music Center. Explore www.cim.edu to learn more. 

About the Lang Lang International Music Foundation 
The Lang Lang International Music Foundation strives to educate, inspire, and motivate the next generation of music lovers and performers by encouraging music education and performance at all levels as a means of social and emotional development. For more information, visit https://langlangfoundation.org/. 

About Steinway & Sons 
Since 1853, Steinway pianos have set an uncompromising standard for sound, touch, beauty, and value. Because of a dedication to continuous improvement, today’s Steinway remains the choice of 9 out of 10 concert artists, and it is the preferred piano of countless musicians, professional and amateur, throughout the world. For more information, visit www.steinway.com.