Kyle Orth Claims First Prize of the Dallas Chamber Symphony International Piano Competition 2014.
Kyle Orth, who performed Prokofiev’s Piano Concerto No. 2, will receive a cash prize of $1,500 and a concert engagement to perform his piano concerto with the Dallas Chamber Symphony in the autumn of 2014 at Dallas City Performance Hall.
Lizhen Wu claimed the Second Prize, and will receive a cash award of $1,000 for his performance of Rachmaninoff’s Piano Concerto No. 2 in C Minor. Soeun Lee took Third Prize, and will receive a cash award of $500 for her performance of Mendelssohn’s Piano Concerto No. 1.
Finalists Yang Ding and Moye Chen both received Honorable Mentions for their performance of Liszt’s Totentanz, and Rachmaninoff’s Piano Concerto No. 3 in D Minor, respectively. Both will receive a cash prize of $400.
The DCS International Piano Competition was held in three rounds at Caruth Auditorium at Southern Methodist University’s Owen Arts Center March 13-15, 2014. The Dallas Chamber Symphony presents its annual International Piano Competition in community partnership with the SMU Meadows School of the Arts.
Quarter-finalists of the competition took advantage of opportunities to work with the Meadows School’s piano faculty, including public master classes taught by Joaquin Achucarro and Dr. Carol Leone.
Soeun Lee (South Korea)
Twenty-one-year-old pianist Soeun Lee, was born in Wonju, South Korea and began playing at age 4. She has earned awards in several piano competitions including the 37th Teenager National Piano Competition (1st prize), the 13th Korean Chopin Competition, the 15th Seoul National Symphony Orchestra Piano Competition (1st prize), the 1st Korean Franz Liszt Piano Competition, the 11th TBC Daegu Broadcast Competition, the 9th Eumakchunchu National Piano Competition (1st prize), 2010 International Joseph Haydn Piano Competition (2nd prize). After winning the young artist competition in Wonju, Soeun made her debut at age 10 performing as soloist with the Wonju Philarmonic Orchestra in Wonju and was invited to perform several concerts with that orchestra after her debut. She appeared at the 24th Young Musicians Festival (2007) and the 2013 Superior Musician Concert. She also performed in many cities in Korea. In addition, Soeun participated in a number of music festivals and workshops, including 2007 Courchevel Music Alp Festival in France, 2011 International Indiana University Auer Music Workshop for Beethoven in United States, 2012 Seoul National University International Piano Academy. Soeun studied music at Seoul Arts Center Musical Prodigy Academy, and Music Academy run by Korea National University of Arts. She entered to Seoul National University, one of the top South Korean music institutions, as the youngest at her age of sixteen and completed her Bachelor’s degree in Piano Performance, studying with Professor Kwui Hyun Kim. She was awarded a scholarship of academic achievement in every semester. In addition, she was selected as a talented artist by Gangwon Talent Rearing Foundation–an association that has offered yearly support to Soeun since 2009. She graduated Seoul National University summa cum laude and is studying her Master at Eastman School of Music with Professor Enrico Elisi and holding an accompanying assistantship as well.
Moye Chen (China)
Moye Chen has performed extensively as a concert pianist in Asia and United States. He has performed in the renowned venues such as Carnegie Hall, Finney Chapel, Benaroya Concert Hall, Krannert Center for Performing Arts, Beijing Concert Hall, Shanghai Concert Hall, and Shanghai Grand Theatre; he has been invited to perform in the Gilmore International Keyboard Festival, Beijing International Contemporary Music Festival, Shanghai Spring Music Festival, and Tongyeong International Music Festival. Chen was a winner of many competitions, including Seattle International Piano Competition, Heida Hermanns International Piano Competition, Buono and Bradshaw International Piano Competition, Krannert Debut Artist Competition, and Palatino Piano and Composition Competition; in addition, he is a recipient of Charles Ross Fellowship Awards in 2012 and 2013.
A native of Beijing, Chen began his piano study at the age of seven; in 1997, he moved to Shanghai and had the great honor of performing during the ceremony of Macao’s return to China in 1999. This performance has been broadcasted by CCTV and SHTV. He has also performed as a soloist with Beijing Symphony Orchestra, Oberlin Chamber Orchestra, Oberlin Orchestra and Asian Ensemble Orchestra. Chen earned his Bachelor and Master’s Degree from Shanghai Conservatory of Music under the guidance of Hung-Kuan Chen. He also received Artist Diploma from Oberlin Conservatory of Music, where he studied with Angela Cheng. Other teachers include Tema Blackstone, Alvin Chow, Dennis Helmrich, Cheung-Yu Mo, and Xiaosheng Zhao. He has performed in the master classes of Fou T’song, Anton Kuerti, Christopher Elton, Mingqiang Li, Lazar Berman, Constance Keene, Anatol Ugorski, Zhong Xu, Earl Wild, and Volker Banfield. Chen is currently pursuing his Doctorate of Musical Arts at University of Illinois.
Yang Ding (China)
Admired as an exciting performer, pianist Yang Ding, a native of China, is a prize winner in main piano competitions. He won the top prize in the Cincinnati College- Conservatory of Music concerto competition, as well as the Bradshaw& Buono International Piano Competition, Kansas City Musical Club competition, and the Isabel Scionti Piano Scholarship Competition. In addition, he is a prizewinner of New York Five Towns Young Musician Competition, Hong Kong Chinese Piano Works Piano Competition and the China National Piano Competition “Golden Bell”. Recently, Ding won 2nd place at Jacob Flier International Piano Competition, 5th place at the 54th Cincinnati World Piano Competition and 2nd place at the 11th Los Angeles Liszt International Piano Competition.
As a solo performer, Ding has performed throughout the U.S. , Korea and China. The venues have included Carnegie Hall Weill Recital Hall, Hewlett Woodmere Public Library, NY, Sheperd Hall and McKenna Theater at SUNY New Patlz, Thayer Hall in Los Angeles, Le Petit Trianon Theatre in San Jose, CA, Crighton Theatre at Conroe, Voertman Hall, Denton, Texas, Cincinnati Arts Museum, Werner Hall and Corbetter Auditorium in Cincinnati, OH, Benaroya Hall in Seattle, WA, Grant Hall and White Recital Hall in Kansas City, MO, Tsuen Wan Town Hall in Hong Kong, and Seoul Arts Center, Korea. He just finished a recital tour in September 2013 and gave six standing- ovation solo recitals in University of Missouri at Kansas City, Pittsburg State University, KS, Northern Illinois University, University of Cincinnati, Wright State University, OH and Capital University, OH. Ding was awarded Honorary Citizenship of Flower Mound for his solo recital at International Chamber Series concert organized by Lewisville Lake Symphony Orchestra in October, 2013.
Now Ding is a doctor student at the University Of North Texas College Of Music, with a teaching fellow award and a special GATS Award from the Toulouse Graduate School. Major teachers include Pamela Mia Paul, Robert Weirich, Eugene Pridonoff, Rosemary Platt and Yuanji Fan.
Lizhen Wu (China)
Pianist Lizhen Wu was born in 1988 in the town of Yue Yang in the People’s Republic of China. He began studying the piano at the age of 5. Because of his promising musical gifts, he was accepted into the Wuhan Conservatory, which necessitated moving away from home. He studied at the Conservatory with Wang Xian, who remained his teacher until he came to the United States in 2006.
Mr. Wu – known to his American friends as Rick – won First Prize in the Hazimen Piano Competition in China and was invited to the United States to perform at four universities, including the University of North Texas. He auditioned for the Bachelor of Performing Arts degree at the UNT College of Music, and was accepted as a freshman performance major in the fall of 2006 on a scholarship, and studying with Dr. Pamela Mia Paul. In 2012, Mr. Wu was accepted as a graduate student at SMU with full scholarship. He is currently studying with Joaquin Achucarro.
Kyle Orth (USA)
Hailed as a pianist of unusual virtuosity and artistic sensitivity, Kyle Orth is praised by audiences and critics alike. Having concertized across the United States, Israel, and Mexico, Mr. Orth is widely recognized as a captivating and moving musician.
Since Mr. Orth’s orchestral debut at the age of fifteen, he has soloed with the Dallas Symphony Orchestra, the Israel Symphony Orchestra, the Fort Worth Symphony Orchestra, and the Orquesta Sinfónica de Oaxaca (Mexico), as well as the symphonies of Richardson, Plano, San Angelo, Lewisville, Brazos Valley,
Midland-Odessa, TCU, and Springfield, MO. He has appeared under the batons of Jaap van Zweden, Vahagn Papian, Miguel Harth-Bedoya, and Anshel Brusilow, and others. The Fort Worth Star Telegram admiringly labeled him a “piano phenom” who delivers “spine tingling” performances. My West Texas called him a “spectacular concert pianist” whose performance was “scintillating.”
A distinguished competitor, Mr. Orth holds over twenty first-place wins in local, national, and international music competitions. He was named National First-Place Winner in the Music Teachers National Association (MTNA) Yamaha Senior Piano Competition. Other triumphs include First Prize at the Lennox International Young Artist’s Competition and First Prize at the Dallas Symphony Orchestra Lynn Harrell
Concerto Competition. He also received top prizes in the Kingsville International Young Performers Competitions, Corpus Christi International Piano Competition, and Wideman International Piano Competition.
In addition to attending PianoTexas International Academy as a Young Artist, he participated in the Texas Conservatory for Young Artists and in the Tel Hai International Master Classes in Israel, where he won first place in their concerto competition. He has also given recitals in Cabo San Lucas and Oaxaca, Mexico, as well as performances at the Dallas Museum of Art, the Modern Art Museum of Fort Worth, and the Meadows Museum (at SMU).
Mr. Orth recently graduated from Texas Christian University (TCU) with a Bachelor’s of Music in Piano Performance as a student of John Owings. He currently studies with Alex McDonald.
