Art of Piano: Participant Concert 2

Born in Zhengzhou, 22-year-old pianist Zhuoya Zhu(Kevin) has performed in Beijing, Tianjin, Zhangjiajie, Shanghai, Guangzhou, Hong Kong, Rome, San
Francisco, Rochester, Philadelphia, Boston, New York, Wilmington, and many other cities and has played solo concerts in many places. He began to learn the
piano at the age of eight, initiated by teacher Limu Zhang and then studied with pianist, educator and Professor Yuan Wu of the Central Conservatory of Musicfor three years. Since the end of 2012, he has studied with Chinese-American pianist, composer,educator and professor Yigiang Sun for almost seven years. Until 2019, at the age of 17, he was admitted to nine famous and prestigious music colleges, including Eastman School of Music, New England Conservatory of Music, and Oberlin Conservatory of Music, etc. These multiple conservatories also gave him very high scholarships at the same time. He eventually chose to attend the New England Conservatory of Music in Boston and re-enrolled in 2023 for a graduate degree after his impressive and successful graduation recital. He is studying in the studio of professor Meng-Chieh Liu in New England Conservatory.

In addition, He also has been taught and guided by many prestigious and well-known pianists and professors in various music festivals, competitions, and master classes: including Hung-Kuan Chen, Jerome Lowenthal, Alexander Korsantia, Boris Slutsky, Antonio Pompa-Baldi, Douglas Humpherys, John Perry,
J, Marc Silverman, Robert Shannon, Jerome Rose, Eduardo Delgado, and many other piano masters.

He has also won many piano competitions, including but not limited to the Gold medal of the 2013 Oushen Cup International Youth Piano Competition; Champion of the 4th China International Youth Piano Competition in 2014; In 2015, he won the gold medal of Henan TV Piano Competition and became the
contracted pianist of the TV station; The third prize in the Steinway International Piano Competition in 2016; Gold Medal of Huanglong International Music Festival in 2017 and 2018; Gold Medal of the 2018 Liszt International Piano Competition in China. He was also one of the two winners of the 2021 Artcial International Piano Competition and Festival. At the same time, he was also invited to give a solo concert at the festival.

He has participated in many famous music festivals, including the Aspen music festival, Artial music festival in San Francisco, the Vivace music festival in Wilmington, the Todi music festival in Italy, etc. He just received the full scholarship in Banff center arts festival in 2024. At these festivals, He received a lot of acclaim and many accolades. Jerome Lowenthal, the former chair of the piano department at the Juilliard School, described his playing as a very balanced and convincing performance; Pianist Yakov Kasman describes his performance as "very impressive, with the power to move people."

Zhuoya (Kevin) Zhu was generously supported by the Artemisia Foundation Artist Award.

Dakota Perez was born in Dallas, Texas but has lived in Calgary for most of his life. Most recently, he was selected as a winner of the 2024 RBC Concerto Competition, and performed the first movement of Grieg’s Piano Concerto in A Minor with the Calgary Philharmonic Orchestra.He made his orchestral debut with the Calgary Civic Symphony in 2021 as a winner of the
Rotary Calgary Concerto Competition, performing the first movement of Rachmaninov’s Piano Concerto No. 1. For two years (2021-22 and 2023-24), Dakota has been in the Calgary Pro Musica Dick Matthew’s Young Artists Development Program.

Dakota has studied with Katrina Thompson-Fost, Dr. Karen Gerelus, Dr. Lana Henchell, and was a student in the Academy for Young Artists at the Mount Royal University Conservatory. He received his ARCT in piano performance from the Royal Conservatory of Music at the age of 16. He recently graduated from the University of Calgary with a Bachelor of
Music in Piano Performance in the studio of Dr. Jani Parsons and will begin a Master of Music in Piano Performance in the Fall, studying with HieYon Choi at the Peabody Institute of The Johns Hopkins University. During his time in Calgary, he has found value in teaching music theory and most of all, his collaborative work and the opportunities and community that it provides.

Dakota Perez was generously supported by the Heather Edwards Artist Award.

Pianist Andrew Zhao made his concert debut at the age of 11 performing Beethoven's Piano Concerto No. 1 with the San Diego Symphony Orchestra conducted by Ken-David Masur. His solo appearances across the United States and Europe, in repertoire ranging from Bach to Saariaho, include performances at the Wallis Annenberg Center for the Performing Arts in Los Angeles, Carnegie Hall in New York City, Harris Concert Hall at the Aspen Music Festival, and the Borromeo Music Festival in Switzerland. As a chamber musician, Andrew is a founding member of the London-based Trio Thalassa, which won the Royal Academy of Music’s Historical Women Composers Prize for their performance of Rebecca Clarke’s Piano Trio.

Andrew is currently a masters student at the Royal Academy of Music, where he studies with Rustem Hayroudinoff. He graduated with a B.A. in music and public policy analysis from Pomona College in southern California, where he studied with Genevieve Feiwen Lee. In his hometown of San Diego, California, Andrew studied with Inessa Litvin, and is grateful to Mrs. Litvin for establishing his musical foundations and love for piano playing. He has participated in masterclasses with Robert McDonald, Dang Thai Son, and Jean-Yves Thibaudet.

Canadian musician Susannah Zou is an active solo and chamber performing pianist. She began her musical journey at the age of six and became a regular competitor in festivals and competitions, winning numerous awards and scholarships. As a performer, Susannah has been described as sensitive and spirited. She has held solo recitals across Canada, as well as internationally in Italy, and the Netherlands. She was a national finalist in the Canadian Music Competition of 2023. In 2017, shemade her solo debut in the Crescendo International Music Competition where she claimed the first prize award and had the opportunity to perform at the Weill Concert Hall of Carnegie Hall.

She has attended the Holland International Music Sessions ,Orford Musique, the Amalfi Coast Music Festival, Tuckamore Music Festival, as well as the Casalmaggiore International Music Festival. Aside from solo piano, Susannah enjoys collaborating with instrumentalists frequently, and is the co-founding pianist of Duo Avenoir and Trio Hiraeth.

Susannah Zou has recently graduated from the University of Toronto and has completed her Bachelor’s degree in piano performance under the tutelage of Lydia Wong. She is the recipient of the Women’s Musical Club of Toronto Centennial Scholarship for 2023.

Susannah Zou was generously supported by the George Brough Memorial Endowment.

Described as a “phenomenal talent” by the Atlanta Audio Club, Peruvian pianist Priscila Navarro is the first prize winner of several international competitions, including the Liszt-Garritson International Competition in Baltimore, Maryland, Beethoven Sonata Competition in Tennessee, Chopin International Competition of Texas, Artist Series of Sarasota, Florida, Imola City Awards, Italy, and the Heida Hermanns International Music Competition in Connecticut. Priscila made her Carnegie Hall solo recital debut in 2013 and returned there in 2022 for further concerts. She received a Special Bach prize from Martha Argerich at the International City of Vigo Competition in Spain, being one of five finalists from over 400 participants. Her performances have been streamed on BBC public radio as well as the Medici TV channel.  Besides her busy performance career, Priscila is a passionate pedagogue and has been on the jury at several international competitions, including the Chopin International Competition for Latin American pianists, the Heida Hermanns International Competition, and the Parnassus International Competition. She is also the artistic director and founder of the Parnassus Music Society. In 2022, she received the Christa-Marshall Bach foundation prize at the Leipzig Bach competition. Priscila joined the roster of Astral Artists as a winner of the 2022 competition. 

Priscila Navarro was generously supported by the Heather Edwards Artist Award.

Pianist Antonina Suhanova has performed on international stages since 2000, in venues like the Steinway Hall in New York, the Wiener Saal in Salzburg, the Wigmore Hall and the Barbican Hall in London. From 2012 to 2018 she acquired First Class Bachelor of Music, Master of Performance and Artist Diploma degrees, all with distinction, under the tutelage of the British pianist Ronan O’Hora at the Guildhall School of Music and Drama. During her studies, Antonina participated in numerous masterclasses of such world-renowned pianists as Vladimir Ashkenazy, Idil Biret, Steven Osborne, Matti Raekallio, Richard Goode, Robert Levin and Yefim Bronfman.

Antonina has appeared as a soloist with the “Moscow Virtuosi” Chamber Orchestra, the Latvian National Symphony Orchestra, the City of Cambridge Symphony Orchestra, Brandon Hill Chamber Orchestra and other collectives, collaborating with such distinguished conductors as Andris Nelsons and Vladimir Spivakov. 

She has performed at renowned festivals in the United Kingdom, USA, Brazil, China, Italy, Germany, Netherlands, Switzerland, Austria and Russia. Antonina is a recipient of the Hattori Foundation Senior Award, Help Musicians UK awards, the Drake Calleja Trust award, the William Brown prize in the Scottish International Piano Competition (2017) and a nominee for the International German Piano Award 2018. 

In 2018, her solo debut at the Wigmore Hall was broadcasted live on BBC Radio 3. In 2020 as the Musicians’ Company prize winner Antonina made her solo debut at the Southbank Centre, Purcell Room. In 2022 she became grant holder of Oleg Prokofiev Trust and was invited to perform at the Rio Piano Festival in Brazil. Since September 2022 Antonina joined the faculty of the Junior Guildhall School of Music and Drama. 

Antonina Suhanova was generously supported by the Sir Mark Turner Memorial Scholarships Endowment. 

Pianist In-Ae Ha won 3rd Prize at the 28th Epinal International Piano Competition, the 28th Janáček International Music Competition, and was Finalist at the Wideman International Piano Competition. She began her musical studies at the age of four in Kentucky and was recognized for her talent when she appeared on the NPR’s classical music program “From the Top” at the age of 10. After returning to Korea, In-Ae made her debut at Kumho Art Hall in the Prodigy Concert Series at the age of 14 and won first place at the International Piano Competition of Korea. She received her Bachelor’s and Master’s degree from Korean National University of Arts studying with pianists Dae-jin Kim and Minsoo Sohn. She is currently pursuing her Doctoral Degree under the tutelage of pianist Arthur Greene while being appointed as Graduate Student Instructor, which provides funding for tuition during the full length of the program. In Spring of 2024, In-Ae has been invited to participate as a fellow at the Gilmore Festival, and will perform solo recitals at the Detroit Steinway Gallery, JCC Art Hall in Seoul, and for the Dame Myra Hess Memorial Concert Series produced by Classical Music Chicago. 
 

In-Ae Ha was generously supported by the Heather Edwards Artist Award.