AFAF's 2010-2011 Season
The American Fine Arts Festival 2010-2011 Season featured a number of special events, including the AFAF Piano, Strings & Winds International Concerto Competition and a recital honoring the bicentennial of Frederic Chopin, the AFAF International Chopin Celebration Concert. In addition to the return of AFAF’s international vocal competition, Golden Voices of America, a parallel competition for string players, Golden Strings of America, made its debut during the 2010-2011 season. Our summer program, the AFAF Summer Music Courses in Europe, now in its fourth year, once again combined a week of music study with an opportunity for our students to explore Europe rich cultural history, which this year included tours of Russia, Germany, Austria, and Italy.
Regular Season Program
Our regular festival program, which began with a Fall Gala Concert at the Weill Recital Hall at Carnegie Hall on October 23, 2010, continued with in-person auditions in New York, New Jersey, Massachusetts, California, Connecticut, Washington DC, and for the first time in the festival’s history, in Beijing, China. Our Winter Gala Concert took place on February 19, 2011, also at the Weill Recital Hall at Carnegie Hall. The Winners’ Concert Series took place in New York City during the months of May and June, with several other concerts scheduled for October/November 2011.
International Chopin Celebration Concert
On November 13, 2010, the AFAF celebrated the bicentennial of Frederic Chopin (1810-1849), the herald of the Romantic Age and perhaps the greatest composer for the piano with a special recital at Weill Recital Hall at Carnegie Hall. Auditions to the recital were open to to pianists of all nationalities and performances included Chopin's works in various genres from miniatures such as Preludes and Mazurkas to the grandiose large-scale works such as Ballades and Sonatas.
International Chopin Celebration Concert Winners
Colin Choi, (b. 2001), IL
Allison Cheng, (b. 2000), CA
Kevin Chen, (b. 1999), NH
Annelise B. K. Bui, (b. 1999), CA
Siddharth Arun, (b. 1998), MA
Danielle Smith, (b. 1998), NY
Marina Kruglova, (b. 1998), Russia
Jessy Feng, (b. 1998), IL
Maximilian Bui, (b. 1998), CA
Tiancheng Sun, (b.1996), MD
Darius Goh, (b. 1996), CA
Dominik Cooreman, (b. 1996), NJ
Richard He, (b. 1995), NC
Felix Jarrar, (b. 1995), CT
Audrey Luo, (b. 1995), NJ
Sitan Chen, (b. 1995), GA
Rachel Chen, (b.1995), CA
Allison Hwang, (b. 1994), CA
Kirsten Takaki, (b. 1993), IL
Brian Leong, (b. 1994), IL
Polina Suarez, (b. 1992), Mexico
Anirudh Arun, (b. 1991), MA
Gunter Schroder, (b. 1990), Germany
Alexander Larichev, (b. 1990), Russia
Xian-Rong Chen, (b. 1989), China
Jamaal Davis, (b. 1989), VA
Piano, Strings & Winds International Concerto Competition
The AFAF Piano, Strings & Winds International Concerto Competition was open to piano, strings and winds player of all nationalities. Winners of this prestigious competition were scheduled to perform at the Weill Recital Hall at Carnegie Hall in New York City and have the opportunity to travel to Russia in July 2011 to perform with the renowned Kostroma Symphony Orchestra.
1st Place Winners
Hayden He, Violin, (b. 2002), China
Mendelssohn Concerto in E minor Op. 64, mvts. 1,2 and 3
Harrison Li, Piano, (b. 1997), NY
Liszt Concerto No. 1 in E-flat major, S. 124, mvts. 1 and 4
Clark Pang, Cello, (b. 1996), CA
Dvorak Concerto in B minor, Op. 104, mvt. 1
Han Cao, Piano, (b. 1996), China
Rachmaninov Concerto No. 2 in C minor, Op. 18, mvts. 2 and 3
Sitan Chen, Piano, (b. 1995), GA
Grieg Concerto in A minor, Op. 16, mvt. 1
Albert Lee, Piano, (b. 1994), NJ
Rachmaninov Concerto No. 3 in D minor, Op. 30, mvt. 1
Isabel Lau, Cello, (b. 1994), CA
Dvorak Concerto in B minor, Op. 104, mvt. 1
Ree Lu, Piano, (b.1994), UT
Rachmaninov Concerto No. 3 in D minor, Op. 30, mvt. 3
Brynn Elcock, Piano, (b. 1993), PA
Rubinstein Concerto No. 4 in D minor, Op. 70, mvts. 1 and 2
Stefani Feldman, Clarinet, (b. 1993), CA
Weber Concerto No. 1 in F minor, Op. 73, mvt. 1
Keun Hwa Kim, Violin, (b. 1982), NY
Sibelius Concerto in D minor, Op. 47, mvt. 3
2nd Place Winners
Fred Lu, Piano, (b. 1993), VA
Beethoven Concerto No. 5 in E-flat major, Op. 73, mvt. 1
Noelle Midori Naito, Violin, (b. 2002), MD
Mendelssohn Concerto in E minor, Op. 64, mvt. 3
Tiffany Koo, Piano, (b. 2002), CA
Mozart Concerto No. 19 in F major, KV. 459, mvt. 1
Kenneth Ryu Naito, Violin, (b. 2000), MD
Bruch Concerto No. 1 in G minor, Op. 26, mvt. 3
Nadia Azzi, Piano, (b.1998), FL
Beethoven Concerto No. 2 in B-flat major, Op. 19, mvt. 1
Leland Ko, Cello, (b. 1998), MA
Dvorak Concerto in B minor, Op. 104, mvts. 1, 2 and 3
Shankar Balasubramanian, Violin, (b. 1997), VA
Wieniawski Concerto No. 2 in D minor, Op. 22, mvt. 3
Sam Won, Violin, (b. 1996), South Korea
Buch Concerto No. 1 in G minor, Op. 26, mvt. 1
Aditya Raguram, Piano, (b. 1996), NJ
Saint-Saens Concerto No. 2 in G major, Op. 22, mvt. 1
Albert Lee, Violin, (b. 1996), CA
Mendelssohn Concerto in E minor, Op. 64, mvt. 1
Mackenzie Lee, Cello, (b. 1996), NJ
Dvorak Concerto in B minor, Op. 104, mvt. 1
Zijing Gao, Piano, (b.1996), NC
Rachmaninov Concerto No. 1 in F-sharp minor, Op. 1, mvt. 1
Alex Ge, Piano, (b. 1995), NJ
Beethoven Concerto No. 4 in G major, Op. 58, mvt. 1
Tiffany Kim, Violin, (b. 1995), VA
Mendelssohn Concerto in E minor, Op. 64, mvt. 1
Richard He, Piano, (b. 1995), NC
Tchaikovsky Concerto No. 1 in B-flat minor, Op. 23, mvt. 3
Marc Fishman, Piano, (b. 1995), NY
Rachmaninov Concerto No. 2 in C minor, Op.18, mvt. 1
Zoe Curran, Violin, (b. 1994), CA
Mendelssohn Concerto in E minor, Op. 64, mvt. 1
Stephanie Leontiev, Piano, (b.1994), MD
Grieg Concerto in A minor, Op. 16, mvt. 1
Mimi Jung, Violin, (b. 1994), CA
Tchaikovsky Concerto in D major, Op. 35, mvts. 1, 2 and 3
Sarah Lowenstein, Viola, (b. 1986), MD
Bloch Suite (1919, New York), mvts. 1,2,3, and 4
Honorable Mentions
Yuan He, Piano, (b. 1997), NJ
Clara Schumann Concerto in A minor, Op. 7,mvt. 1
Erica Chemtob, Violin, (b. 1996), FL
Beethoven Romance in F major, Op. 50
Katherine Kim, Piano, (b. 1995), NJ
Bach Concerto No. 1 in D minor, BWV. 1052, mvt. 1
Felix Jarrar, Piano, (b. 1995), CT
Mozart Concerto in E-flat major, mvts. 1, 2and 3
Sun Song, Violin, (b. 1995), South Korea
Mendelssohn Concerto in E minor, Op. 64, mvt. 2 and 3
Tae Eun Ahn, Flute, (b. 1993), CT
Chaminade Concertino in D major, Op. 107
