2010 Semifinalists - The World International Piano Competition Presented by the IPI of Santa Fe

CONGRATULATIONS TO OUR 2010 SEMI-FINALISTS
The World International Piano Competition

All competitors are anonymous in adjudication
Semifinalists listed in random order.

Ilia Radoslavov A native of Bulgaria, pianist Ilia Radoslavov obtained his Doctoral Degree in Piano Performance as a Paul Collins Distinguished Graduate Fellow, an award celebrating outstanding performing ability and musicianship, at the University of Wisconsin-Madison, where he studied with Christopher Taylor. Ilia has graduated with high distinction and holds degrees in Piano Performance from Southern Illinois University-Carbondale, where he worked with Wilfred Delphin, and the State Conservatory of Music, Sofia, Bulgaria, where his teachers were Stella Dimitrova and A native of Bulgaria, pianist Ilia Radoslavov obtained his Doctoral Degree in Piano Ilya Tchernaev. He has also studied with world-renowned Leon Fleisher, Richard Goode, and Ann Shein. Most recently, Ilia has been the gold medalist in the 2009 Seattle International Piano Competition and will serve as one of the jurors for its 2010 edition. The list of recognitions in his name includes first prizes from the Saint Louis Artist Presentation Society, UW-Madison Concerto Competition, UW-Madison Beethoven Piano Competition, National Mozart Competition, Sofia, Bulgaria, and National Piano Competition, Provadia, Bulgaria; and awards from the Missouri International Piano Competition, Joplin, Missouri, and the Hague International Piano Competition, the Netherlands. Throughout his career, Mr. Radoslavov has been welcomed warmly and with accolades by audiences and critics alike, while appearing in numerous solo and chamber performances in prestigious venues in the United States, Europe, and Mexico. Ilia can be heard on Emergence Records and Centaur Records with three forthcoming CD’s, one of which a solo album. In the spring he will be performing in Seattle, Nelspruit, South Africa, and Ruse, Bulgaria. Ilia’s teaching career ranges widely and encompasses applied piano, chamber music, and teaching various piano-related courses. At present, he is piano faculty at University of Alaska Fairbanks.	LISTEN TO ILIA RADOSLAVOV'S Submission
Monica Lee Monica Lee has performed as soloist and chamber musician throughout the world including: Austria, Hungary, Japan, Russia, Canada, and the United States (California, New York, Hawaii, Missouri, Texas, Florida, Michigan, Tennessee, Georgia, North Carolina). Her more recent performances have included American Liszt Society as well as San Francisco Liszt Society concerts. Monica currently teaches in San Francisco, where she maintains a private studio. Monica was born in Tennessee and began playing the piano at the age of four. After winning numerous state piano competitions and scholarships, she was admitted to the Interlochen Arts Academy at the age of fourteen. At the age of sixteen, she was accepted as an early decision student on full scholarship to the Saint Louis Conservatory of Music. She continued her training at the Manhattan School of Music, where she received her Bachelor's Degree of Music, and received her Master's Degree of Music at the University of Missouri-Columbia. Her primary teachers have included Jane Allen, Nina Svetlanova and William Wellborn. Additional studies have included Robert Weirich and Marc Silverman.	LISTEN TO Monica Lee's Submission
Pamela Hurtado Pamela makes regular appearances as a soloist and as chamber musician in France and in the USA. She has performed in many Concert Halls and Festivals including: Paris (Salle Cortot , Claude DEBUSSY Auditorium, the Fondation Heinrich Heine, Auditorium Marcel Landowsky, Archives Nationales, Colmar (Opéra), Lyon (Opera, Salle VARESE), Saumur (Lions’Club), La Rochelle (“la coursive” Auditorium), Normandie (International Forum Musical), Saint Etienne (Piano Passion Festival), Belfort (Salon de musique Festival), Paris (Bagatelle Chopin Festival) , Dallas (Auditorium Caruth in USA), Cagliari (Sardaigne Festival)). She also performed with the ENORIS ensemble for a concert tour accompanying the famous French actor Jean-Claude Dreyfus as a recite in the “Carnaval des Animaux” of Saint-Saens. She met and worked with famous composers such as Henri Dutilleux, Philippe Hersant and the composer Bruno Ducol invited Pamela to interprete one of his works entitled “Licorne” for two pianos. Pamela is an avid chamber music musician and performs with her partner of predilection, the cellist Sebastien Hurtaud (1st prize award Adam Cello International Competition in New-Zealand). They interpreted a world premiere of Jonathan Grimbert’s sonata and trio. Pamela started playing piano at the age of 9 at the Music School Henri Dutilleux in the class of Laurent Cabasso and Marie-Josephe Jude. Six months later, she already gave her first public performance in solo piano and chamber music. At the age of 13, she became student at the Conservatoire National Regional of Paris and graduated in the class of Billy Eidi. Rapidly, she won different national and international competitions with many awards. At the age of 16, she won the 1st prize of Steinway “Young Artist” Competition, and at 17 she awarded the 1st prize of Vulaines “Special Chopin” Competition, the 1st prize Claude Kahn (four hands), she was a laureate of the San Sebastian International Piano Competition in Spain. She also studied in class of Denis Pascal at Conservatoire National de Region of Rueil-Malmaison where she graduated with first class honours and studied composition at Issy-Les-Moulineaux Conservatoire with Isabelle Duhat. She studied at the Conservatoire National Supérieur de Musique of Lyon under the tutelage of Gery Moutier and Hugues Leclere and graduated with first class honours in 2008. She is also a former student of Rena Shereshevskya at the Ecole Normale Cortot of Paris where she obtained the Zaleski scholarship. She worked with many famous soloists such as Philippe Entremont, Edouart Zilberkant, Alon Goldstein, Jean-François Heisser, Gerome Rose, Menahem Pressler. Pamela is a Fulbright Award winner granted in 2008 which gave her the opportunity to follow an Artist Certificate at Southern Methodist University in Dallas Texas in the class of Joachin Achucarro. The Japanese channel TV NHK consecrated a program with her cellist for the French Fête de la Musique in June 2007. She will record the Hindemith cello sonatas for cello and piano with Sebastien Hurtaud with NAXOS Label in July and will participate next April to the BACH Piano Festival in Dallas.	LISTEN TO Pamela Hurtado's Submission
Anuchin Artem Maximovich Anuchin Artem Maximovich was born on March 28, 1983 in Snezhinsk, Chelyabinsk region, Russia. In 2001 he finished Secondary Specialized Musical School-Lycée under Ural State Conservatory in Ekaterinburg with a major in “piano” (class of Assistant Prof. I.Emelianova) and “composition” (class of Prof. M.Basоk). In 2006, he graduated from the composition faculty of Saint Petersburg State Conservatoire (class of Prof. A.Mnatsakanjan). In 2007, he graduated from the piano faculty of Saint Petersburg State Conservatoire (class of Prof. A.Sandler). In 2009, he finished graduate school in composition at Saint Petersburg State Conservatoire. At present, he is a second-year student under Master of Music Degree program in piano at Bowling Green State University, USA (education is scheduled to be completed in May 2010). He is the winner of fourteen Russian and International Competitions: five Piano Competitions and nine Composition Competitions.	LISTEN TO Anunchin Artem Maximovich's Submission
Eun-Shik Park Eun-Shik Park was born in Seoul, Korea in 1977. He graduated the Seoul National University where he received BM and also studied at the Korean University of Art. He is now training hir musicianship with pursing his Artist Diploma at the Indiana University in which he already finished the Doctorate and Mater degree. He currently studies with a world-renowned pianist Menahem Pressler. He won prizes at several competitions, which include Concert Artist Guild Competition, Indiana Travel Grant competition, Seoul Music Competition for Young Artist, Chopin Competition by the Korea Chopin Association, Joong-Ang Music Competition and more. Eun-Shik Park appeared at many concerts as a soloist and a collaborative pianist in Seoul, New York, Chicago, Paris, and London. He also performed with the KBS symphony orchestra the Seoul National University Orchestra. 2009, he was invited to perform at Great Mountain Music Festival.	LISTEN TO Eun-Shik Park's Submission
Yi-Ju Lai Twenty-two-year-old pianist, Yi-Ju Lai, has performed to critical acclaim in the United States and throughout her native country. Born in Changhua, Taiwan, Ms. Lai began her piano studies at the age of five. Since then, she has won top prizes in several national and international competitions, including the Lennox International Young Artists Competition, Pinault International Piano Competition, International Institute for Young Musicians International Piano Competition, Music Teachers’ Association Concerto Competition, and Young Pianist’s Beethoven Competition. Highlights of her career in America include recital and concerto performances in New York’s Carnegie Hall and CAMI Hall, the Kennedy Center in Washington, D.C., Corson Auditorium in Interlochen, Michigan, the Lied Center in Lawrence, Kansas, and Zipper Hall and Thayer Hall in Los Angeles. In Taiwan, she has performed in Yuanlin Concert Hall, Taipei Family Theater, National Taichung Library Concert Hall and National Chiang Kai Shek Cultural Center. In October, 2006 she was invited to play at the World Piano Pedagogy Conference. She has also been a guest artist of the Santa Barbara Beethoven Festival. Ms. Lai attended Interlochen Arts Academy and Idyllwild Arts Academy. She just graduated as a Bachelor’s degree from the Colburn School Conservatory of Music in California, where she studied with John Perry and will continue to pursue her Artist Diploma under his guidance. Her former teachers include Douglas Ashcraft, Yahui Sandy Lin, Yoshikazu Nagai, Scott McBride Smith, and David Uerkvitz.	LISTEN TO Yi-Ju Lai''s Submission
Steven Linn Steven moved to United States in 1999 to study with Dr. Yoheved Kaplinsky at the Juilliard School Pre-college Division in New York. In addition to his performances within the Juilliard Pre-college division, Steven has performed in The New Jersey Performing Arts Center, The New Brunswick State Theatre, Alice Tully Hall, and Avery Fisher Hall in Lincoln Center. His Juilliard chamber music ensemble has performed in Jordan Hall at The New England Conservatory in March 2007 for National Public Radio’s “ From the Top”. Steven won the 2002 Juilliard Pre-College Piano Competition. This award resulted in his performance of the Shostakovich 2nd piano Concerto with the Pre-College Chamber Orchestra, Ki-Sun Sung conducting. He also won the 2004 Nordmann Piano Scholarship Competition and received full scholarship in Juilliard Pre-College division. In 2006, He won first prize in Juilliard Mozart Piano Concerto Competition after which he performed with the Juilliard Pre-College Symphony Orchestra. He was also the winner of the Munz Scholarship competition in 2008 at Juilliard. That same year, he won the Gold Medal in international Chinese Piano competition in New York. In May, 2009 he was a semi finalist in the International Dublin piano competition and made his Paris debut in Salle Cortot Hall later that November. In March 2010, he was invited to perform in Salle Cortot Hall, and many other engagements in France. In 2002, at the age of thirteen, Steven was a soloist with the Orlando Philharmonic Orchestra, performing Mozart concerto with conductor George Manahan. In 2003, he performed in a family concert with the New York Philharmonic Orchestra in Avery Fisher Hall. At the age of fifteen he was again soloist with the Orlando Philharmonic Orchestra, this time performing Beethoven Concerto no. 1 with conductor Hal France. In 2006, he performed the Liszt piano concerto no. 1 with the New Jersey Symphony Orchestra. In 2007 Steven auditioned and received full scholarship to the College division of The Juilliard School where he continues studies with Dr. Yoheved Kaplinsky. Currently, he is studying with Yoheved Kaplinsky and Matti Raekallio as a 3rd year Undergraduate in Juilliard School.	LISTEN TO Steven Linn's Submission
Tzu-Feng Liu Pianist Tzu-Feng Liu works as a solo pianist and collaborative artist, and has performed in many different settings, including vocal, chamber, orchestral and solo concerts in both Taiwan and the U.S. She received her Doctoral of Musical Arts degree from the University of Illinois at Urbana-Champaign in 2008. Tzu-Feng’s past awards include first prize at the 1997 Taipei Senior division piano competition, second place at the 1998 Taiwan Senior division piano competition and finalist in the Taiwan Symphony Young Artist debut, as well as the YAMAHA young artist debut in 1999. In 2003, she was the winner of the concerto competition at the University of Illinois. Her 2010 concert highlights include solo performances at Keller Hall, (Albuquerque, NM), Weill Recital Hall at Carnegie Hall (New York, NY) and the Embassy of the Republic of Poland (Washington, DC). Besides her solo engagements, Dr. Liu is also devoted to new music performance. She was the co- winner of the UIUC “21st Century Piano Commission” award in 2007. Ms. Liu has been invited to perform in several festivals including the Electronic Music Midwest Festival (EMM, Kansas City), CHASM Festival (Tallahassee, FL), Society for Electroacoustic Music in the United States (Salt Lake City, UT) along with John Donald Robb Composer’s Symposium Concerts in 2008 and 2010. She currently resides in Albuquerque,NM.	LISTEN TO Tzu-Feng Liu's Submission
Frank Huang A native of Seattle, WA, pianist Frank Huang has performed many concerts in the United States and abroad to critical acclaim. He recently made his New York debut in Weill Hall, Carnegie Hall, as a winner of Artists International. New York Concert Review raved that Mr. Huang was a “thoughtful and accomplished performer” and that his playing was “impressive for its maturity and refinement.” In addition, the Chopin Foundation of the United States, Northwest Chapter has described his playing with “authority and panache” and El Comerico of Lima, Peru praised his performance of Mozart’s Piano Concerto, K.482 “with the utmost sensitivity.” Mr. Huang has performed in notable venues such as Benaroya Hall, Seattle, US Embassy in Warsaw, Zelazowa Wola Park (Chopin’s birthplace), Gijon International Piano Festival (Spain), Theatro Municipal (Rio de Janeiro, Brazil), Kennedy Center, Washington DC, and Lincoln Center in New York, along with radio broadcasts in Seattle, Vermont, and New York. In addition, he has performed with Sammamish Symphony, Northwest Philharmonia, and Peru National Symphony, to name a few. Recently, he was the winner of the 2008 5 Towns Piano Competition, adding to his list of competition successes including first prize at The International Young Artists Concerto Competition. An avid chamber musician, he is not only a founding member of The Fairmount Trio, but has also collaborated with members of the Cleveland Orchestra in concerts. Mr. Huang has worked with distinguished musicians such as Lee Kum-Sing, Nelita True, Byron Janis, Jon Kimura Parker, Robert McDonald, Richard Goode, Murray Perahia, and Dominique Weber. He studied extensively with Willard Schultz before obtaining Bachelor of Music and Master of Music degrees from The Juilliard School, where he continued his studies with Julian Martin. Mr. Huang is currently a doctoral student at the Cleveland Institute of Music studying under the direction of Antonio Pompa-Baldi. A dedicated teacher, his students has won top prizes in competitions and acceptances to major universities and conservatories, including the pre-college division of The Juilliard School. Mr. Huang currently serves as a piano faculty member at the Arts Prep program at Cuyahoga Community College in Cleveland, Ohio.	LISTEN TO Frank Huang's Submission
Christopher Janwong McKiggan Born in Christchurch, England, Christopher began his piano studies at age six with his father. He moved to Thailand at age seven, residing with his father, a British citizen, and mother, a Thai citizen of Chinese heritage, and continued to study piano at the age of ten. Christopher has won numerous awards including Gold medalist in the Seattle International Piano Competition, second prize winner in the solo division and third prize winner in the senior concerto division at the Kingsville International Music competition (2009), first prize winner in the Bradshaw and Buono International piano competition (2008), winner in the UMKC concerto/aria competition (2009), first prize of the MMTA Piano Collegiate State Level Competition (2006), the second century scholarship in the Sigma Alpha Iota auditions (2008), second prize in the Jefferson City Piano Concerto Competition (2009), first prize in the Kansas City Musical Club competition (2009),the Ruby McClure award from the Missouri Federation of music (2009), finalist in the Music Academy of the West Concerto competition (2009), Gold medal in the Fifth Thai National Youth Music Competition (2001), among others. Christopher is founding pianist with the Bangkok Piano Trio and Eon Piano Trio which one of their concerts was graced by the presence of H.R.H Princess Galyani Vadhana. The Eon Trio regularly performs every summer, and has performed a variety of places throughout Asia. Christopher recorded “Three Minds” by Thai composer Narong Prangcharoen, which was released by Albany records in the album “Phenomenon”. At UMKC he has studied with Dr. Robert Weirich and Dr. John McIntyre. He is currently studying at the UMKC as a piano performance major with Dr. Robert Weirich.	LISTEN TO Christopher Janwong McKiggan's Submission
Elena Krakopolskaya Elena began her education at the age of six at the Moscow Gnessin School for Gifted Children, the school which occupies the first place in rating of all music schools in Russia. There are more than 300 laureates of national and international competitions among the graduates, including the world famous musicians Victor Peikazen, Velerei Kastelsky, Ivan Monigetti, Nikolai Demidenko, Alexander Knyazev, Boris Berezovsky, Eugeny Kissin and many others. Elena made her broadcasting debut at the age of 7 on the Moscow radio. While at school, she performed at some of the most prestigious concert halls and was a winner of several competitions. After twelve years of training with specialization in piano and musical theory she was accepted to the Gnessin Academy of Music. After additional five years of rigorous instruction under renowned pianist, prizewinner of International Competitions, professor Vladimir Tropp, she earned her Master’s degree as a Concert performer, Soloist of Chamber Ensemble, Accompanist and Teacher. After graduating with high distinction for musical excellence, Elena toured extensively in Russia, Ukraine, Latvia, Georgia, Lithuania and Poland with collaboration of the Moscow Philharmonic and “RossKonzert”. At the same time, she became the Musical Director of the legendary Stanislavsky Theatre in Moscow, a position she held for 15 years. Since 1990 Elena lives in Toronto, Canada, where she has garnered an impressive record as an outstanding teacher and performer. Elena taught piano in Toronto conservatories and later in her own successful piano studio. Despite her busy teaching schedule Elena frequently performs as a soloist and accompanist. Her recent solo recitals include such prestigious places like Toronto Centre for the Performing Arts and Festival of Nations in Rome, Italy.	LISTEN TO Elena Krakopolskaya's Submission
Maxim Anikushin Maxim Anikushin has won top prizes in a number of prestigious competitions including the Senigallia Competition in Italy, Prokofiev Competition in St. Petersburg, Russia, and the Carlet Competition in Spain.After Mr. Anikushin won the Concerto Competition in 2006 at Manhattan School of Music, culminating in the performance of the Barber Piano Concerto, the conductor of the perforance Maestro JoAnn Falletta called Maxim a "big talent" with "fabulous technique." She subsequently invited Mr. Anikushin to perform the Shostakovich Concerto No. 1 with the Buffalo Philharmonic Orchestra for their 2007/08 season. And after Mr. Anikushin's highly successful New York recital debut at Weill Recital Hall at Carnegie Hall, Harris Goldsmith wrote in the New York Concert Review, "Maxim Anikushin is undoubtedly destined to enter the annals of his generations important young pianists." Mr. Anikushin holds Bachelor and Master's degrees from The Julliard School and a doctorate degree from Manhattan School of Music. He is managed by Beverly Wright & Associates, Inc.	LISTEN TO Maxim Anikushin's Submission