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Students, Faculty + Alumni

YSM students advance in competitions

Sean Chen

Sean Chen ’14AD advances to semifinals of Cliburn Competition

Pianist Sean Chen advanced to the semifinal round of the Cliburn International Piano Competition. His recital in this round includes Ligeti: Étude No. 13, "L’escalier du diable:; Brahms: Variations on an Original Theme, op. 21, no. 1; Ravel: Valses nobles et sentimentales; Theofanidis: Birichino (the required piece commissioned for the competition); and Stravinsky: Trois movements du Pétrouchka. Chen will also perform the Brahms Piano Quintet with the Brentano String Quartet. Second-prize winner at the 2011 Seoul International Music Competition and Christel DeHaan Classical Fellow of the American Pianists Association, Sean Chen has performed with several orchestras, including the Indianapolis Chamber, Juilliard, New West Symphony, and Suwon Philharmonic. He has presented solo recitals in Albuquerque, Indianapolis, Los Angeles, Miami, New York, and Taipei, among other cities. Additional awards include top prize at the 2010 Gina Bachauer Piano Competition at Julliard, the 2010 Paul and Daisy Soros Fellowship, Best Performance of an American Work at the 2009 Cleveland International Piano Competition, Los Angeles Music Center’s Spotlight Award, and an NFAA ARTSweek award. Born in Florida, Mr. Chen grew up in Oak Park, California and now resides in New Haven, Connecticut, where he is pursuing his artist diploma at the Yale School of Music. When not at the piano, he enjoys tinkering with computers and composing.

Wonyoung Jung ’13MM advances to semifinal Round III in Michael Hill Violin Competition

In the Michael Hill International Violin Competition, held in New Zealand, Wongyoung Jung ’13MM was one of six competitors selected to advance to Round III of the semifinals. As a teenager, Wonyoung Jung won top prizes in many major competitions in South Korea. She graduated at the top of her class from Seoul National University, where she was a student of Young Uck Kim. Wonyoung performed as concertmaster of the Seoul National University Symphony Orchestra for four years, and gave concerts at the Kumho Art Hall and Hoam Art Hall, among other Korean venues. She recently graduated from the Yale School of Music, where she studied with Ani Kavafian.

Suliman Tekalli

Suliman Tekalli 15AD reaches finals of Sendai Competition

Incoming Artist Diploma student Suliman Tekalli is one of the six finalists of the Fifth Sendai International Music Competition. The finals take place June 7-8 in Sendai, Japan. Suliman Tekalli has appeared as a chamber musician, recitalist, and soloist in concerts throughout the U.S., Canada, Central America, and Europe. He made his radio debut on NPR's "From the Top" radio show in 2000, and appeared as a soloist with the Orlando Philharmonic performing the Sibelius Violin Concerto in 2004. Since then, he has appeared with orchestras around the United States. Suliman has won first prize at the Blount National String Competition, top prize at the 2010 Lipizer International Violin Competition (Italy) and at the 2009 Szeryng International Violin Competition (Mexico), and was a quarter-finalist in the 2012 Queen Elisabeth Competition. He attended The Juilliard School and Schwob School of Music for his undergraduate studies, and recently finished his master’s degree at the Cleveland Institute of Music, studying with Joel Smirnoff. This fall he will begin his studies at the Yale School of Music with Hyo Kang.