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CLEVELAND INTERNATIONAL PIANO COMPETITION FOR IMMEDIATE RELEASE: February 20, 2015
This year, CIPC Young Artists has received an overwhelming response from an exceptional field of candidates for the first international expansion of the competition. Six continents are represented, with applicants from countries as wide ranging as South Africa, China, Mexico, and Australia. The 2015 competition will be held from May 12-21, with events at Baldwin Wallace University and the Cleveland Museum of Art’s Gartner Auditorium. CIPC Young Artists will partner with the Canton Symphony Orchestra for the final round, which will be held Thursday, May 21, 2015 in Gartner Auditorium. Maestro Gerhardt Zimmermann will conduct. The semi-final and final rounds will also stream live on CIPC’s homepage. A jury of distinguished artists and teachers from many different international backgrounds, including South Korea, Serbia/Croatia and China, has been selected to judge the 25 contestants. CIPC Young Artists is also pleased to welcome to the jury 2011 Cleveland International Piano Competition Mixon First Prize winner Alexander Schimpf. As part of the institute portion of the event, CIPC Young Artists will offer master classes for contestants, as well as selected Northeast Ohio piano students. The classes will be taught by competition jury members at Baldwin Wallace University’s Conservatory of Music. In addition to contestant performances, CIPC Young Artists will feature concert performances by four very special guest artists including Vassily Primakov (1999 Cleveland International Piano Competition medalist), Mariam Batsashvili (winner of the 2014 International Franz Liszt Piano Competition), Sean Chen (winner of the American Pianists Association 2013 Christel DeHaan Classical Fellowship) and Alexander Schimpf. This unique combination of competition and institute is part of CIPC’s dedication to educating young artists and developing their passion for classical piano. A comprehensive listing of CIPC Young Artists’ exciting array of events and activities is located on their website. Contestants will participate in two age groups: Juniors (age 12 to 15) and Seniors (age 16 to 18). All candidates will perform two rounds before the first jury vote. Six candidates from each age group will advance to the semi-final round; three candidates from each group will move on to the final round. As room and board is complimentary for all contestants, a wonderful environment is provided for each of these young pianists to learn and grow. Additional details regarding the Young Artists competition rules and repertoire can be found here. PRIZES Senior Division Junior Division EVENT SCHEDULE Tuesday, May 12 Wednesday, May 13 First Round Performances – 1:00 pm & 7:00 pm Thursday, May 14 First Round Performances – 1:00 pm & 7:00 pm Friday, May 15 First Round Performances – 1:00 pm Second Round Performances – 7:00 pm Saturday, May 16 Guest Artist Recital – 7:00 pm Sunday, May 17 Guest Artist Recital – 7:00 pm Monday, May 18 Semi-Final Round Performances – 1:00 pm & 7:00 pm Tuesday, May 19 Semi-Final Round Performances – 1:00 pm & 7:00 pm Wednesday, May 20 Guest Artist Recital – 7:00 pm Thursday, May 21 Final Round Performances – 8:00 pm THE JURYPaul Schenly, Chairman, USA Mr. Schenly is Professor and Artist in Residence at the Cleveland Institute of Music, where he was chairman of the piano department for over 25 years. He has served on the juries of several national and international competitions and his students have won national and international prizes. Mr. Schenly also serves as the Artistic Director of the Cleveland International Piano Competition and is the Founder/Director of the summer festival “Pianofest in the Hamptons.” Kyung Sook Lee, South Korea Ms. Lee also is a devoted and respected music educator. She was appointed as the first dean of the College of Music at the Korea National University of Arts when the conservatory was founded by the Korean Government in 1993. She was also dean of the College of Music, Yonsei University, as well as a director of the Seoul Arts Center. Currently, she is a professor emeritus at the College of Music, Yonsei University, Musical Director of the chamber group “Curtis and Friends” and a member of the National Academy of Arts, the Republic of Korea. Marina Lomazov, Ukraine/USA Ms. Lomazov is Professor of Piano at the University of South Carolina where she is Founder and Artistic Director of the Southeastern Piano Festival. She has served on the jury of several international competitions and is a panelist for the National Foundation for the Advancement of the Arts, the organization that nominates Presidential Scholars in the Arts. Dorian Leljak, Serbia/Croatia Dr. Leljak is Professor of Piano at the Academy of Arts in Novi Sad, Artistic Director of the International Isidor Bajic Piano Competition, and President of the World Piano Teachers Association, among other appointments. He has given master classes and lectures around the world and is a member of the jury at many international piano competitions including the Top of the World Piano Competition Tromsø (Norway), Parnassos Competition (Monterrey, Mexico), Scriabin International Piano Competition in Grosseto (Italy), and EWON Cheonan Competition (South Korea).
He has performed in recital throughout Germany as well as in France (Auditorium du Louvre and Salle Cortot in Paris), Italy, Austria, Switzerland, Poland, England, and Russia, and several times in South America. He made his debut appearance at Carnegie Hall in December 2011 and has been performing in the USA frequently since then; he was invited to play recitals in Cleveland, Indianapolis, Boston, Chicago, and Washington D.C., among others, and received engagements as soloist by numerous symphony orchestras throughout the country. Sean Schulze, USA/South Africa A prize winner of several competitions, he has an active performance career, appearing as a concerto soloist, recitalist, and chamber musician throughout the U.S., South Africa, Mexico, Ecuador, and Brazil. Sean Schulze’s students continue to win prizes regularly in competitions throughout Ohio and the United States, including first prizes in the MTNA National Performance Competition. In 2008, Mr. Schulze founded and continues to direct Summer Sonata, an intensive two-week program of lessons and master classes for talented pianists aged 10-18, which takes place annually on the CIM campus. Lei Weng, China A dedicated educator, Dr. Weng is the Keyboard Area Head and Associate Professor of Piano at the University of Northern Colorado, where he teaches talented students from around the world. In 2014 he was recognized as UNC’s “College of Performing and Visual Arts Scholar of the Year.” He is frequently invited as guest professor by such prestigious conservatories in Asia as Central Conservatory of Music and China Conservatory in Beijing, and Taipei National University of Education and National Kaohsiung Normal University in Taiwan. ABOUT THE CLEVELAND INTERNATIONAL PIANO COMPETITION “The participation of the Cleveland Orchestra puts the Cleveland competition galaxies away from the rest of the world’s 600 or so piano competitions.” ABOUT THE CANTON SYMPHONY ORCHESTRA Now in its 77th Season, the Canton Symphony Orchestra is one of the most highly respected small-budget symphony orchestras in the United States. With musical leadership from nationally recognized conductor Gerhardt Zimmermann – now in his 34th year as Music Director – the CSO is ranked by the region’s leading musicians as second only to the Cleveland Orchestra in this part of the state. ABOUT GERHARDT ZIMMERMANN Maestro Zimmermann is in his 34th year as Music Director and Conductor of the Canton Symphony Orchestra. Zimmermann’s energetic and vibrant performances have drawn invitations to appear on the podium with the Cleveland, Chicago, National, Pittsburgh, Atlanta, New Jersey, Syracuse, Rochester and San Antonio Orchestras. Other guest appearances include the Warsaw Philharmonic, the Orchestre Symphonique de Paris, the Toronto Symphony, the Calgary Philharmonic, Louisiana Philharmonic Orchestra, Chicago’s Grant Park and the Colorado Philharmonic. As comfortable with opera as on the concert stage, the Maestro has conducted staged works of Mozart, Verdi, Strauss Jr., Puccini and Gershwin and made his debut with the Cleveland Opera in February 2006. During the 2011-2012 season, he returned as guest conductor of the Tulsa Symphony Orchestra and the Louisiana Philharmonic Orchestra. # # # |
NEW YORK, NY – Presented by the prestigious Cleveland International Piano Competition, CIPC Young Artists Competition and Institute seeks to develop the performance capabilities of young piano s
Winner of the prestigious Avery Fisher Career Grant, pianist Paul Schenly has performed with many of the world’s leading conductors and orchestras. He has appeared in the Great Performers Series at Lincoln Center, and in acclaimed recitals at Carnegie Hall.
Kyung Sook Lee has played with numerous distinguished artists including Christian Ferras, Pierre Fournier, Eudice Shapiro, Aaron Rosand, Julius Baker, Dmitri Yablonsky, Paul Tortolie and Alto Noras. She also performed with many international orchestras including the Philadelphia Orchestra, L’orchestra de la Suisse Romande, Hong Kong Philharmonic Orchestra, and the Royal Philharmonic Orchestra.
Since winning second prize at the 1995 CIPC, Marina Lomazov has established herself as one of the most charismatic performers on the concert scene today. She has performed throughout North America, South America, China, England, France, Germany, Italy, Spain, Austria, Bulgaria, Ukraine, Russia, Japan, and across the U.S.
Dorian enjoys a successful career worldwide as a pianist and chamber musician, establishing collaborations with cellist Istvan Varga and pianist Ninoslav Zivkovic. He has won several international piano competitions, including the International Rachmaninov Competition in Belgrad and the Isidore Bajic Piano Memorial in Novi Sad, Serbia. 
Alexander Schimpf was the first prize winner at the 2011 Cleveland International Piano Competition. Since then Mr. Schimpf’s career has gained momentum with regular appearances at important music centers around the world such as the Vienna Konzerthaus, Berlin’s Konzerthaus, Carnegie Hall’s Zankel Hall in New York, the Marinsky Concert Hall in St. Petersburg, the Great Hall of “Alte Oper” in Frankfurt, and the Munich Philharmonic Hall. 
Sean Schulze is on the piano faculty of the Cleveland Institute of Music (CIM). He teaches applied piano to students at Case Western Reserve University, teaches piano pedagogy and piano literature to conservatory graduate and undergraduate students and serves as Chair of CIM’s nationally recognized Preparatory Piano Department.
Lei Weng enjoys a successful career, having performed at many prestigious venues around the world including Carnegie Hall, Merkin Concert Hall, and Steinway Hall in New York, the Phillips Collection in Washington, D.C., Beijing Concert Hall, Taichung National Symphony Hall and Kaohsiung Cultural Center in Taiwan, Banff Center in Canada, Campana Theater in Italy, the Tanglewood Music Festival, the TCU Cliburn Institute, and the Messiaen Festival.
