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Press Releases
3 Pianists Advance to Finals of Oberlin Conservatory's Cooper Competition
Masterful performances by 31 remarkable young musicians marked the first four days of action at the 2018 Thomas and Evon Cooper International Competition at Oberlin Conservatory. That trend continued into the July 18 Recital Finals, where three pianists were selected to advance to the competition's Concerto Finals July 20 at Severance Hall in Cleveland. On the line is more than $40,000 in cash prizes, including a $20,000 first prize.
The Concerto Finalists are Kai-Min Chang (age 17) of Changhua County, Taiwan; Tony Yun (17) of Toronto, Canada; and Yunchan Lim (14) of Siheung-si, Gyeonggi-do, South Korea.
On Friday, each finalist will perform a complete concerto with The Cleveland Orchestra under the direction of Jahja Ling.
Chang will perform Chopin's Concerto No. 1 in E Minor, Op. 11; Yun will perform Tchaikovsky's Concerto No. 1 in B-flat Minor, Op. 23; and Lim will perform Chopin's Concerto No. 2 in F Minor, Op. 21.
Friday's concert begins at 7:30 p.m.
Also honored at the Recital Finals were Ryan Zhu (14) of Vancouver, Canada; William Chen (15) of New York, New York; and William Yang (17) of Natick, Massachusetts, who earned fourth through sixth place, respectively. Each takes home a prize of $1,500.
For the first time in Cooper history, the 2018 Audience Prize was shared by Lim and Yun, each of whom earned the prize of $500.
July 18 performances by all six Recital Finalists can be viewed on YouTube.
Tickets for the Concerto Finals begin at $13, and all students under age 18 are admitted free with a paying adult. Tickets for the Concerto Finals can be obtained at the Cleveland Orchestra website.
CAN'T BE HERE? Follow the action live online: Friday's Concerto Finals will be broadcast live by Cleveland's classical music station, WCLV 104.9 FM.ABOUT THE COOPER COMPETITION: Founded in 2010, the Thomas and Evon Cooper International Competition is dedicated to presenting an important international competitive opportunity to outstanding young musicians. It is made possible through the generosity of Thomas Cooper, a 1978 graduate of Oberlin College, and his wife, pianist Evon Cooper. The Cooper Competition alternates annually between piano and violin and is open to participants between the ages of 13 and 18. Past winners include George Li and Leonardo Colafelice, both of whom have cultivated outstanding young performance careers.
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