Fourth International Chopin Youth Competition

October 29-30, 2005
Houston Baptist University
Mabee Theatre

And the Winners Are...

Elementary Category Medalists

  • Gordon Kwong, Gold Medal
  • Esther Liao, Silver Medal
  • Mendel Nguyen, Silver Medal
  • Nicolas Dao, Bronze Medal
  • Denise Kwong, Bronze Medal
  • Kevin Pallapati, Bronze Medal

    Junior Category Medalists

  • Yun-Tai Kim, Gold Medal
  • Joanna Pallapati, Gold Medal
  • Jasmine Li, Silver Medal
  • Danny Jan, Silver Medal
  • Louis Liao, Silver Medal
  • Jonathan Xu, Bronze Medal

    Senior Category Medalists

  • Gloria Kim, Gold Medal
  • Gabriel Medina, Gold Medal
  • Marie Feng, Silver Medal
  • Joel Adimathra, Bronze Medal
  • Andrew Wang, Bronze Medal

    Special Award
    Jan Ekier Award for the Best Performance of the Most Difficult Piece

  • Mendel Nguyen

    Congratulations to all our participants!

    Semi-Final Round Results

    The list of Finalists and Special Award recipiets follows. Congratulations!

    Elementary Category Finalists

  • Denise Kwong
  • Esther Liao
  • Gordon Kwong
  • Kevin Pallapati
  • Mendel Nguyen
  • Nicolas Dao

    Elementary Category Special Awards

  • Alan Yang, Honorable Mention
  • Helen Nebeker, Honorable Mention
  • Jason Tan, Honorable Mention
  • Eric Yu, Honorable Mention
  • Esther Liao, Best Mazurka
  • Gordon Kwong, Best Polonaise and Best Waltz
  • Rebecca Wang, Best Among the Youngest
  • Grace Do, Best Among the Youngest

    Junior Category Finalists

  • Jasmine Li
  • Jonathan Xu
  • Danny Jan
  • Joanna Pallapati
  • Yun-Tai Kim
  • Louis Liao

    Junior Category Special Awards

  • Jessica Cao, Honorable Mention
  • Tonya Belosludtsev, Honorable Mention
  • Danny Jan, Best Mazurka
  • Kevin Yates, Best Waltz

    Senior Category Finalists

  • Andrew Wang
  • Joel Adimathra
  • Marie Feng
  • Gabriel Medina
  • Gloria Kim

    Senior Category Special Awards

  • Blake Benthall, Honorable Mention
  • Allison Yuen, Honorable Mention
  • Hao Wang, Honorable Mention
  • Austin Chen, Honorable Mention
  • Blake Benthall, Best Mazurka
  • Gloria Kim, Best Waltz

    Semi-Final Round Schedule

    A summary of the times follows. The announcements include the Finalists as well as the Special Prize winners. The Finalists will play in the Final round on Sunday at 4:00 PM.

    Category Time Announcements
    Elementary Saturday Morning 11:30 AM, Saturday
    Junior Saturday Afternoon 5:00 PM, Saturday
    Senior Saturday Evening, Sunday Afternoon 3:00 PM, Sunday

    The Finalist concert will begin at 4:00PM on Sunday. The medallists will be announced shortly after the concert ends, before 6:00PM.

    Preliminary Round Results

    Results from the Preliminary Round are now available. Five judges listened to the 94 contestants and 59 semi-finalists were chosen. There were many difficult decisions. The list of semi-finalists follows.

    Congratulations to our winners!

    Elementary

  • Nicolas Dao
  • Grace Do
  • Gordon Kwong
  • Denise Kwong
  • Melissa Lam
  • Lindsey Li
  • Esther Liao
  • Helen Nebeker
  • Mendel Nguyen
  • Kevin Pallapati
  • Barbara Sun
  • Jason Tan
  • Rebecca Wang
  • Shirley Xu
  • Andrew Xu
  • Alan Yang
  • Eric Yu
  • Ellen Zhou

    Junior

  • Tonya Belosludtsev
  • Dominique Brzeski
  • Jessica Cao
  • Reem Ghaddar
  • Tarek Ghaddar
  • Anurag Gupta
  • Alan Jaiyen
  • Danny Jan
  • Yun-Tai Kim
  • Jasmine Li
  • Louis Liao
  • Kevin Ma
  • Dennis Mou
  • Joanna Pallapati
  • Stephanie Tsai
  • Rosemary Wang
  • Jonathan Xu
  • Kevin Yates
  • Yuxi Zhou

    Senior

  • Joel Adimathra
  • Blake Benthall
  • Riley Bryant
  • Austin Chen
  • Jaimie Chung
  • Marie Feng
  • Nathan Fu
  • Jonathan Hatch
  • Gloria Kim
  • William Lian
  • Margarita Martirossian
  • Gabriel Medina
  • Masaru Oka
  • Rebecca Sagastegui
  • Amy Sagastegui
  • Maria Sylte
  • Andrew Wang
  • Hao Wang
  • Allison Yuen
  • Kaili Zhang
  • Fei-Fei Zhang
  • Luisa Zhou

    General Information and Rules

    The Fourth International Chopin Youth Competition organized by the Chopin Society of Houston will take place Saturday and Sunday, October 29 to 30, 2005 at the Mabee Theatre, Houston Baptist University. It is open to pre-college pianists national and international.

    Owing to the popularity of our previous competitions, it will now be necessary for competitors to enter a Preliminary round prior to the main event. There are two ways of going through the Preliminary round: live audition on October 16, 2005 or by submitting a video tape of the complete performance.

    Forshey piano has kindly offered to host our prelimimary round in their Steinway store in Houston:

      Forshey Piano
      2920 Kirby Dr.
      Houston, TX 77098
      713.524.2900

    Due to the large number of contestants, students are subject to the following time limits for the preliminary round based upon their category:

  • Elementary: 5 minutes
  • Junior: 6 minutes
  • Senior: 7 minutes

    The judges may wish to hear each piece, so each student should be prepared to play their entire repetoire. However, the judges will stop the student as necessary to remain within the above time constraints. (The Video Auditions are also subject to these limits.)

    This round is closed to the public. Only the Elementary category may by accompanied by one parent.

    The schedule for the Preliminary Round Live auditions is available in the Attachments box on this page. This is a Word document.

    Successful candidates will be promptly informed of their acceptance to the Semi-final round by letter or email. We will return the $30 check along with a letter to all those not accepted to the Semi-final round.

    The competitors will be judged by a panel of outstanding musicians. Written comments from the judges will be available following the competition.

    All participants are expected to wear appropriate performance attire to ensure a proper atmosphere. Chopin Society of Houston reserves the right to record all performances during the event for use at its own discretion. By signing the application form the participant renounces all rights and fees.

    Repertoire Requirements

    All works must be performed by memory. No changes or substitutions will be accepted. Please note only original versions will be accepted – no transcriptions, no arrangements!


    There are three different age categories:
  • Elementary: K1 - 5 (DOB on or after 9/1/94)
  • Junior: Grade 6 - 8 (DOB between 9/1/91 and 8/31/94)
  • Senior: Grade 9 -12 (DOB between 9/1/87 and 8/31/91)

    Contestants are required to perform a selection of one longer or several shorter contrasting compositions of Fryderyk Chopin up to the time limit in their respective age categories and, in addition, one waltz chosen from the following lists:

    Elementary Category

    Time Limit: 8 minutes plus one of the chosen Waltzes
  • A minor, Op. Posth:



  • G-flat Major, Op. 70, No. 1



  • F minor, Op. 70, No. 2



  • A-flat Major, Op. Posth.




    Junior Category

    Time Limit: 10 minutes plus one of the chosen waltzes
  • A minor, Op. 34, No. 2



  • F Major, Op. 34, No. 3



  • E minor, Op. Posth.



  • E-flat Major, Op. Posth.




    Senior Category

    Time Limit: 12 minutes plus one of the chosen waltzes
  • E-flat Major, Op. 18



  • A-flat Major, Op. 34, No. 1



  • A-flat Major Op. 42



  • A-flat Major Op. 64, No. 3





    Note that the required waltz does NOT count towards the time limit.

    If several smaller works are performed, they should be contrasting in either style or tempo. If a contestant wishes to perform one larger composition (such as a Ballade or Scherzo), which exceeds the time limit, he/she is allowed to play it along with the required waltz. These rules apply to all age groups.

    Awards

    The following prizes will be awarded:

  • Gold, Silver and Bronze Medals in each category
  • Monetary Prizes for Gold Medallists
  • Honorable Mention as deserved
  • Special Prize for the Best Performance of a Waltz in each category
  • Special Prize for the Best Performance of a Polonaise
  • Special Prize for the Best Performance of a Mazurka
  • Special Prize for the Best among the Youngest Performers
  • Jan Ekier Award – The best performance of the most difficult work

    The judges decisions will be final. Awards and medals will be presented after the final round on Sunday evening.