The 2011 YAPC was held on Friday, March 11 at Shawn’s Pianos, 221 Newfield Avenue, West Hartford, CT. Estrid Eklof and Bridget de Moura Castro served as co-chairs for this event. The 2011 competition drew five competitors from throughout the state of Connecticut, representing Vassar College and the Hartt School, and study with Luiz de Moura Castro. The judges were> Michiko Shoji, Toho School of Music, Sendai, Japan,
Hae Sun Paik, New England Conservatory, Boston, and
Thomas Mastroianni, Catholic University, Washington, DC
Winners:
1st place William Healey
2nd place Myung-sik Cho
3rd place Corbin Beisner
The winner will appear with New Haven Chamber Orchestra,
The Suzuki Music Schook, Westport,
St. James Church, Farmington,
Pomperaug Woods, Southbury, and
The State Convention in the fall of 2012
The second place winner will perform at the Simsbury Library
Ethel Walker School, Simsbury
The third place winner will perform at The Meadows, Essex,
The Seabury, Bloomfield,
Gloria Dei Church, Bristol and
The Whitney Center, Hamden
Finalist Nathaniel Baker will perform at The Academy Point, Mystic and
Hopewell Baptist Church, Windsor
Finalist Ling Zhou will perform at St. Monica’s Church, Hartford
1st prize William Healy
He began studying piano with Dennis Malone at the age of four. From a young age his passion for music was clear. He composed constantly, beginning to play jazz trumpet at age nine. He currently studies music at Vassar College in NY and under Luiz de Maura Castro in Avon, CT. He directs and conducts a contemporary music chamber orchestra called Mahogany and plans to pursue composition and piano performance.
2nd prize Myungsik Cho
Graduated from Daejeon Art High School in Korea. University of Hartford BM 2008, Manhattan School of Music MM 2010, studied and is studying with Marc Silverman and Luis de Maura Castro.
3rd prize Corbin Beisner
Born in 1988 in Las Vegas, NV where he began learning the piano by studying jazz and composition. Later, he found his passion in classical music. He has participated in the International Piano Academy in Freiburg, Germany, the Barcelona Forum Internacionalde Musica in Spain, the Lake Como Summer Piano Academy in Italy, and the International Piano Festival in Obidos, Portugal. He has worked with several world-renowned pianists including Paul Badura-Skoda, Boris Berman, and Vitaly Margulis.
He has won numerous awards including 1st prize in the festival competition in Freiburg, Germany, premier prize in the Obidos Piano Competition, and third prize in the International Liszt Competition in California. He was also a laureate of the first Fulbright Concerto Competition in Arkansas.
He has given concerts in Spain, performances with the Las Vegas Philharmonic and Indiana Lafayette Symphony, Beth El Orchestra in Hartford, CT. He studies with Luiz de Maura Castro and received his BM, summa cum laude, from the Hartt School in Hartford, CT.