ROCHESTER, NY — After a week of fierce competition in three rounds of judged performances, first prize in the Eastman School of Music’s tenth annual Young Artists International Piano Competition was awarded after the final round on August 3 to 18-year-old Charlie Albright from Centralia, WA.
In the preliminary rounds, Albright was singled out as a “keyboard wizard” by the Democrat and Chronicle. Not only did he place first in the competition, but also won prizes for the best performance in a master class, best performance of a 20 th-century work, and the audience prize.
Albright’s first place status garnered him $3,000 in cash and an annual renewable scholarship of $20,000 to the Eastman School – upon satisfying all admission requirements – in addition to $1,500 in cash that he received for his other honors. “Albright … established his primacy immediately,” said the Democrat and Chronicle. “[He] looked like a scholar, but played like an angel.”
Second prize was awarded to Kenric Tam of Los Altos Hills, CA. He received a $2,000 cash prize and a $15,000 annual Eastman scholarship. Third prize went to the Viacheslav Kiselev of Russia. He received a $1,000 cash prize and a $10,000 annual Eastman scholarship. The three prizewinners were featured in concert on August 4 in the Eastman Theatre.
This year’s competition brought together 21 pre-screened 14-18 year olds from the United States, Canada, China, Russia, Korea, and Thailand. The jury was chaired by Paul Pollei, founder and artistic director of the Gina Bachauer International Piano Competition. Joining Pollei on the international jury were pianists Min Kim of Korea, Alan Chow of the United States, Mirian Conti of Argentina, and Boris Kraljevic of Montenegro. The competition is directed by Douglas Humpherys, Associate Professor of Piano at the Eastman School of Music.
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