Winners Announced in the 2019 Walgreens National Concerto Competition, hosted by Midwest Young Artists Conservatory

HIGHWOOD, IL. - Over 200 exceptional young musicians from all corners of the country, competed in Midwest Young Artists Conservatory’s 2019 Walgreens National Concerto Competition from December 28 to December 30 at Ravinia’s Bennett Gordon Hall and the MYAC Center at Fort Sheridan in Highwood, IL.

Students from elementary through 12th grades competed for more than $20,000 in scholarships and cash prizes in the MYAC Division and the Open Division, which were both further divided into the Junior Level (up to 8th grade) and the Senior Level (9th through 12th graders). 

A panel of distinguished judges selected the winners and delivered individual comments on each performance. These young musicians will also have the chance to perform their winning pieces with MYAC’s full orchestras, and on the prestigious “From the Top” nationally syndicated radio program. Walgreens Corporation’s annual sponsorship enables MYAC to provide students with preeminent artist-educator judges, a video recording of their performance, written performance evaluations, and an inviting and nurturing environment in which to participate. 

Overall winners will perform at the February 23, 2020 MYAC concert at Pick-Staiger Concert Hall at Northwestern University. Category winners are chosen to perform at a Winners Recital at Bennett-Gordon Hall at Ravinia Festival campus in Highland Park. Winning soloists may also be selected for performance opportunities with area professional and community orchestras. 

2019 Walgreens National Concerto Competition Winners List

OVERALL OPEN DIVISION GRAND WINNER: Masha Lakisova, violin (The Overall Open Division Grand Winner is decided between the Open Junior and Open Senior Division winners.)

JUNIOR OPEN DIVISION

• OVERALL WINNER: Noah Kim, piano
• Strings Winner: Madeline Cha, violin
• Strings Honorable Mentions: Bianca Ciubancan, violin; Aiden Yu, violin; Jan Vargas Nedvetsky, cello; Joshua Wolford, violin
• Piano Winner: Noah Kim, piano
• Piano Honorable Mentions: Jeremy Liu, piano; Vivian Zhu, piano; Shixun Song, piano
• Early Music Winner: Esme Arias-Kim, viola
• Early Music Honorable Mention: Matthew Hahn, piano
• Other Instruments Winner: Anna Huelke, flute
• Voice Winner: Jaiden Hsu, voice

SENIOR OPEN DIVISION

• OVERALL WINNER: Masha Lakisova, violin (Bartok)
• Strings Winner: Masha Lakisova, violin (Bartok)
• Strings Honorable Mentions: Loa Cho, cello; William Tan, cello; Manou Magdalena Chakravorty, cello; Zechariah Mo, viola; Celina Bethoux, violin
• Piano Winner: Regina Lin, piano
• Piano Honorable Mentions: Perren-Luc Thiessen, piano; Frank Gao, piano; Ashley Kim, piano
• Early Music Winner: Jack Thompson, oboe
• Early Music Honorable Mention: Simon Cheng, oboe
• Other Instruments Winner: Abby Grace, flute
• Other Instruments Honorable Mention: Gabriel Hsieh, percussion
• Voice Winner: Alanna Beilke, voice (Handel)

SENIOR MYAC ORCHESTRA DIVISION

• OVERALL WINNER: Ella Saputra, violin
• Strings Winner: Ella Saputra, violin
• Strings Honorable Mentions: Liam Diethrich, violin; Samuel Du, cello; Emma Foreman, cello; Bella Kim, viola (Walton); Ruth Kim, violin (Khachaturian); Ian King, bass; Grace Mockus, cello; Beatrice Park, violin; Haoming Song, cello
• Piano Winner: None
• Piano Honorable Mention: Jenny Zhu, piano
• Early Music Winner: Bella Kim, viola (Hoffmeister)
• Early Music Honorable Mention: Ruth Kim, violin (Vitali)
• Other Instruments Winner: Eric Butler, clarinet
• Other Instruments Honorable Mentions: Sophia Katsma, flute; Timothy Zhang, oboe
• Voice Winner: None

JUNIOR MYAC ORCHESTRA DIVISION

• OVERALL WINNER: Momo Frederickson, violin
• Strings Winner: Momo Frederickson, violin
• Strings Honorable Mentions: Javier Irizarry, violin; Eshaan Mahajan, cello
• Piano winner: Jocelyn Gao, piano
• Piano Honorable Mention: Elizabeth Romanyuk, piano
• Early Music Winner: Jocelyn Gao, piano
• Other Instruments Winner: Tabitha Mo, flute

MYAC’s classical, jazz, and choral programs serve students from grade school beginners through advanced pre-collegiate performers. For tickets to any of our future concerts and events, or more information about MYAC’s programs visit mya.org or call 847-926-9898.

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