PRIZEWINNERS 2025
Program 2025Pieces to be performed are selected by the judges. Rulings by judges cannot be contested.
Group I
First Prize: Opal Garg
Student of Joan Forsyth
– Sonata in C Major, Hob. XVI/35, I: Allegro con brio | F.J.Schubert
– Children’s Carnival, Op. 25, No. 6 Harlequin | A. Beach
Second Prize: Francesca Asmar
Student of Tomoko Uchino
– Sonatina in C Major, Op. 55, No. 1, II: Vivace | K. Kuhlau
Third Prize: Julian Magnus
Student of Eileen Buck
– Le Tic-Toc-Choc ou Les Maillotins | F. Couperin
Honorable Mention: Claire Benson
Student of Marko Stuparevic
– Sonata No. 20 in G Major, Op. 49, No. 2, I: Allegro ma non troppo | L.V. Beethoven
Group II
First Prize: Elena Wang
Student of Carmel Lowenthal
– Rondo Capriccioso, Op. 14 | F. Mendelssohn
Second Prize: Hannah Chandarlapaty
Student of Eileen Buck
– Prelude and Fugue No. 5 in D Major, BWV 874 | J.S. Bach
– Etude Op. 10, No. 4 | F. Chopin
Third Prize: Alexander Jovanovic
Student of Irina Nuzova
– Prelude and Fugue No. 24 in B Minor, BWV 893 | J.S. Bach
Honorable Mentions: Jeremy Bird and Surui Fang
Students of Ingrid Clarfield and Snow Wilson
Jeremy Bird – Impromptu No. 3 in G-flat Minor, Op. 90 | F. Schubert
Surui Fang – Rhapsodie | M. Eckstein
Group III/
First Prize: Nolan Granros
Student of Eileen Buck
– Ballade No. 1 in G minor, Op. 23 | F. Chopin
Second Prize: Chloe Tseng
Student of Eileen Buck
– Ballade No. 2 in F minor, Op. 38 | F. Chopin
Third Prize: Sophia Fulton
Student of Golda Tatz
– Madchens Wunsch, S. 480 | F. Liszt
Honorable Mentions: Dennis Ji and Leo Sommerheil
Students of Ingrid Clarfield and Tatjana Rankovich
Dennis Ji – Transcendental Etude No. 12 | F. Liszt
Leo Sommerheil – Impromptu No. 2, D. 899 | F. Schubert
Group IV
First Prize: Sergey Yanovsky
Student of Svitlana Fiorito
– Dumka in C Minor, Op. 59 | P. Tchaikovsky
Second Prize: Jason Zielinski
Student of Renee Guerrero
– Prelude in F Minor, Op. 23, No. 5 | S. Rachmaninoff
Third Prize: Sebastian Utomo
Student of Svitlana Fiorito
– Partita No. 6 in E Minore, BWV 830, I. Toccata | J.S. Bach
Honorable Mention: Somerset Seidenberg
Student of Golda Tatz
– Elegie, Op. 3, No. 1 in E-flat Minor | S. Rachmaninoff
Student of Enriqueta Somarriba
Student of Eileen Buck
PAST PRIZEWINNERS
Pieces to be performed are selected by the judges. Rulings by judges cannot be contested.
PRIZEWINNERS 2024
Group I
First Prize – Hazel Ghazarian Skaggs Award
J.S. Bach: Invention No. 4 in D Minor, BWV 775
Maya Nedelchev, student of Claudia Knafo
Second Prize – Pauline Styler Award
(in honor of Gloria Hieger and Lillian MacManus)
Ludwig van Beethoven: Bagatelle in E-flat Major, Op. 33, No. 1
Alex Shih, student of Ingrid Clarfield
Third Prize – Lester B. Major Award
Frédéric Chopin: Waltz Op. 69, No. 1
Mila Bax, student of Eileen Buck
Honorable Mentions
J.S. Bach: Praeludium BWV 999
Aahaan Banerjee Das, student of Pedro Zenteno
Group II
First Prize – Hazel Ghazarian Skaggs Award
G.F. Handel: IV: Air and Variations from Suite No. 5 in E Major, HWV 430, The Harmonious Blacksmith
Elizabeth Levine, student of Yukimi Song
Second Prize – Pauline Styler Award
(in honor of Gloria Hieger and Lillian MacManus)
Ludwig van Beethoven: Sonata No. 5 in C minor, Op. 10, No. 1 I. Allegro molto e con brio
Serina Kobayashi, student of Santiago Lomelin
Third Prize – Adele Velo Award
Sergei Rachmaninoff: Étude-tableau Op. 33, No. 8 in G minor
Lillian Ji, student of Ingrid Clarfield
Honorable Mentions
J.S. Bach Italian Concerto in F major, BWV 971, I. Allegro
Isaiah Shin, student of Adrienne Kim
Béla Bartók: Romanian Folk Dances
Surui Fang, student of Snow Wilson
Valerie Capers: Portraits in Jazz: Canción de La Habana, Bossa Brazilia
Anna Sophia Hyczko, student of Enriqueta Somarriba
Group III
First Prize – Hazel Ghazarian Skaggs Award
Margaret Bonds: Troubled Water
Zachary Chang, student of Snow Wilson
Second Prize – Pauline Styler Award
(in honor of Gloria Hieger and Lillian MacManus)
Maurice Ravel: Sonatine III. Anime
Tony Bello, student of Ingrid Clarfield
Third Prize – Vera Wills Award
F. Chopin: Grande Valse Brillante in E-flat major, Op. 18
Sophia Fulton, student of Golda Tatz
Honorable Mention
F. Chopin: Nocturne in C minor, Op. 48, No. 1
Christopher Ramos, student of Carmel Lowenthal
Liszt: Concert Etude No. 2, S. 144 La Leggierezza
Nolan Granros, student of Eileen Buck
Brahms: Rhapsody in B minor, Op. 79, No. 1
Raphael Sutiono, student of Elena Belli
PRIZEWINNERS 2023
Group I
First Prize – Hazel Ghazarian Skaggs Award
Kevin Li
Student of Golda Tatz
Second Prize – Pauline Styler Award
(in honor of Gloria Hieger and Lillian MacManus)
Sylvia Hwan
Student of Eugenia Betman
Third Prize – Lester B. Major Award
Scarlett Zhang
Student of Margarita Rovenskaya
Honorable Mentions
Surui Fang
Student of Snow Wilson
Group II
First Prize – Hazel Ghazarian Skaggs Award
Lauren Kang
Student of Lora Tchekoratova
Second Prize – Pauline Styler Award
(in honor of Gloria Hieger and Lillian MacManus)
Averie Wu
Student of Ingrid Clarfield
Third Prize – Adele Velo Award
Elizabeth Levine
Student of Yukimi Song
Honorable Mentions
Alice Maria Sorochan
Student of Golda Tatz
Group III
First Prize – Hazel Ghazarian Skaggs Award
Kayla Kaushansky
Student of Rimma Agami
Second Prize – Pauline Styler Award
(in honor of Gloria Hieger and Lillian MacManus)
Christopher Ramos
Student of Carmel Lowenthal
Third Prize – Vera Wills Award
Owen Smith
Student of Golda Tatz
Honorable Mention
Teddy Liu
Student of Marina Obukovsky
Hannah Zou
Student of Ingrid Clarfield
Zachary Chang
Student of Snow Wilson
Group IV
First Prize – Hazel Ghazarian Skaggs Award
Avery Cotton
Student of Svitlana Fiorito
Second Prize – Pauline Styler Award
(in honor of Gloria Hieger and Lillian MacManus)
Benjamin Wien
Student of Julian Martin
Third Prize – Beverly Shea Award
Evan Lin
Student of Ingrid Clarfield
Honorable Mention
Ziyang Nancy Wang
Student of Golda Tatz
Arthur You
Student of Li-Chen Hwang
Kevin Jin
Student of Gloria Chu
Regina Rubinoff Living Composer Award
Sylvia Hwan
Student of Eugenia Betman
Dorothy and Sidney Morrow Baroque Composition Award
Benjamin Wien
Student of Julian Martin
20th/21st American Prize
Hannah Zou
Student of Ingrid Clarfield
Group IV
First Prize – Hazel Ghazarian Skaggs Award
Chopin: Scherzo No. 3 in C-sharp minor, Op. 39
Effie Li, student of Ingrid Clarfield
Second Prize – Pauline Styler Award
(in honor of Gloria Hieger and Lillian MacManus)
Dmitri Kabalevsky: Rondo, Op. 59
Sarah Li, student of Tomoko Harada
Third Prize – Beverly Shea Award
R. Schumann: Schumann Faschingsshwank Aus Wien Op. 26, Allegro
Jordan Manasse, student of Marina Obukovsky
Honorable Mention
Beethoven: Piano Sonata No. 2 in A major, Op. 2, No. 2
Whitney Lin, student of Golda Tatz
D. Scarlatti: Sonata in D minor, K. 1
Vivi Zeng, student of Esma Pasic-Filipovic
Balakirev: Islamey, Op. 18
Yun-Hsuan Chiang, student of Hung-Kuan Chen
Regina Rubinoff Living Composer Award
Anna Hyczko
Dorothy and Sidney Morrow Baroque Composition Award
Elizabeth Levine
20th/21st American Prize
Zachary Chang
PRIZEWINNERS 2022
Group I
First Prize – Hazel Ghazarian Skaggs Award
Lilian Ji
Second Prize – Pauline Styler Award
(in honor of Gloria Hieger and Lillian MacManus)
Elizabeth Levine
Third Prize – Lester B. Major Award
Not Awarded
Honorable Mentions
Hannah Zheng
Liam Zalben
Regina Rubinoff Living Composer Award
Karuna Aikawa
Group II
First Prize – Hazel Ghazarian Skaggs Award
Maggie Miao
Second Prize – Pauline Styler Award
(in honor of Gloria Hieger and Lillian MacManus)
Isabella Tse
Third Prize – Adele Velo Award
Averie Wu
Honorable Mentions
Eric Feng
Olivia Hu
Dorothy and Sidney Morrow Baroque Composition Award
Not Awarded
Group III
First Prize – Hazel Ghazarian Skaggs Award
Daniel Haiduc
Second Prize – Pauline Styler Award
(in honor of Gloria Hieger and Lillian MacManus)
Kayla Kaushansky
Third Prize – Vera Wills Award
Caleb Sharkey
Honorable Mention
Benjamin Wien
Katharine Luo
Regina Rubinoff 20th/21st-Century American Composer Award
Serena Li
Dorothy and Sidney Morrow Baroque Composition Award
Caleb Sharkey
Group IV
First Prize – Hazel Ghazarian Skaggs Award
Alyssa Xu
Second Prize – Pauline Styler Award
(in honor of Gloria Hieger and Lillian MacManus)
Arthur You
Third Prize – Beverly Shea Award
Nupur Ballal
Honorable Mention
Not Awarded
PRIZEWINNERS 2020
Group I
First Prize – Hazel Ghazarian Skaggs Award
Brooklyn Kim
student of Isabel Keleti
Second Prize – Pauline Styler Award
Nolan Granros
student of Eileen Buck
Third Prize – Lester B. Major Award
Not Awarded
Regina Rubinoff Living Composer Award
Lauren Kang
student of Walter Aparicio
Group II
First Prize – Hazel Ghazarian Skaggs Award
Sarah Chen
student of Ingrid Clarfield
Second Prize – Pauline Styler Award
Eric Feng
student of Gloria Chu
Third Prize – Adele Velo Award
Taksh Gupta
student of Ingrid Clarfield
Honorable Mentions
Max Slonim
student of Genia Betman
Dorothy and Sidney Morrow Baroque Composition Award
Eric Feng
student of Gloria Chu
Group III
First Prize – Hazel Ghazarian Skaggs Award
Ben Wien
student of Marija Ilic
Second Prize – Pauline Styler Award
Amber Wang
student of Ingrid Clarfield
Third Prize – Vera Wills Award
Alyssa Xu
student of Ingrid Clarfield
Honorable Mention
Kevin Jin
student of Gloria Chu
Regina Rubinoff 20th/21st-Century American Composer Award
Amber Wang
student of Ingrid Clarfield
Dorothy and Sidney Morrow Baroque Composition Award
Sarah Ouyang
student of Gloria Chu
Group IV
First Prize – Hazel Ghazarian Skaggs Award
Vincent Jiang
student of Gloria Chu
Second Prize – Pauline Styler Award
Ava Turner
student of Edith Sullivan
Third Prize – Beverly Shea Award
Albert Zhou
student of Wayne Weng
Honorable Mention
Jennifer Liu
student of Ingrid Clarfield