RCM Students Take Five of the Top Seven Prizes at the Canadian Chopin Piano Competition
RCM Students Take Five of the Top Seven Prizes at the Canadian Chopin Piano Competition
Published on September 4, 2019
Royal Conservatory students of The Phil and Eli Taylor Performance Academy for Young Artists took First Place in both the Senior and Junior Divisions at last week’s fifth Canadian Chopin Piano Competition.
Catherine He took the top prize in the Junior Division while Lingfei (Stephan) Xie won the Senior Division. Additionally, of the seven prizes awarded overall, five were won by Royal Conservatory students at the Taylor Academy and The Glenn Gould School including Eric Guo (pictured) who not only took second place in the Senior Division, but also won prizes for Best Mazurka and Best Concerto. The full list of Royal Conservatory winners is below.
“We are extremely proud of the training and support we provide to our students, which has nurtured some of Canada’s most talented young artists,” said Dr. Peter Simon, Michael and Sonja Koerner President & CEO at the The Royal Conservatory.
“Nevertheless, there are many gifted students across Canada, so to have so many top prize winners come from a single institution is truly exceptional.”
The top prize winners in the Senior Division win a trip to Warsaw to compete next Fall at the 18th International Fryderyk Chopin Piano Competition — one of the most prestigious piano competitions in the world. At the previous event, Royal Conservatory alumnus, 16 year-old Tony Yike Yang became the youngest prize winner in the history of the competition.
“The continued success of our students at all levels of competition underscores how The Royal Conservatory of Music remains one of the finest institutions for developing exceptional artists,” noted Dr. Simon.
For more information about The Royal Conservatory’s exceptional teaching by dedicated faculty to nurture gifted young talent, visit the Training section of our site.
Winners from The Royal Conservatory of the fifth Canadian Chopin Piano Competition
JUNIOR DIVISION
1st prize – Catherine He, Taylor Academy, student of Lang Ning Liu
3rd prize – Jason Cheng, Taylor Academy, student of Michael Berkovsky
Most Promising Junior Competitor – Huy Dang, Taylor Academy, student of Michael Berkovsky
SENIOR DIVISION
1st prize – Lingfei (Stephan) Xie, Taylor Academy alumnus, student of Michael Berkovsky
2nd prize – Eric Guo, Taylor Academy, student of Li Wang
3rd prize (tie) – Agne Radzeviciute, Glenn Gould School, student of John Perry
Additionally, Eric also won the prizes for “Best Performance of Mazurka” and “Best Performance of Concerto”.
Photography by Michael Yao