Fifteenth Annual

WINNERS CONCERT

DePaul Concert Hall800 W Belden Ave

Chicago

Sunday, March 25, 2018, 3:00pm

DEPAUL JUNIOR DIVISIONCONCERTO FESTIVALFOR YOUNG PERFORMERS

Oistrakh Symphony Of Chicagounder the direction of Mina Zikri

with

FIFTEENTH ANNUAL DEPAUL JUNIOR DIVISION CONCERTO FESTIVAL FOR YOUNG PERFORMERS

WINNERS

Karen Cai piano Olga UlitskyNoah Kim piano Yumy Lee KimRebekah Kim violin Desirée RuhstratFreya Pang piano Sueanne MetzRiko Pang violin Betty Haag-KuhnkeJoshua Park piano Sueanne MetzSofia Radovic viola Desirée RuhstratElla Saputra viola Desirée RuhstratLinda Wang violin Hye-Sun Lee

HONORABLE MENTIONwith distinction

Jayden Kim piano Yumy Lee Kim

HONORABLE MENTION

Jasmine Horton violin Gloria HortonJohn Lee viola Injoo ChoiCecilia O’Malley violin Julie BickelClaire Rong piano Sueanne MetzAki Santibanez violin Miki YuasaAnnalise Song violin Betty Haag-KuhnkeAihua Sprecher piano Kathleen LahiffEric Wang piano Soo Young LeeBrayden Wu viola Vannia Phillips

For more information about this and other Community Music Division events, contact the CMD office at 773-325-7262 or visit http://music.depaul.edu/cmd

Violin IVictoria MoreiraNaomi CulpAzusa TashiroMadeline CapistranAhmed Atef

Violin IIIrina Fatykhova Stefanie PielokBarbora ValiukviciuteJacob Murphy

ViolaRebecca GuNoel RubioJia Zeng

CelloFrancisco MalespinZack Sears

BassJessica WolfeMax Beckman

FluteInsung BaikSteve Yepez

OboeAllison RyeJeremy Curtis

ClarinetAntonio Garrasi Nora Shaffer

BassoonMolly MurphyJacob Darrow

HornMatt BronsteinAshley Wessel

TrumpetAdrian SpeyrerNathan Frye

TromboneStephanie LebensPrapat Prateepphleepon

TimpaniSimon Gómez

PercussionAndrew Cierny

OISTRAKH SYMPHONY OF CHICAGOMina Zikri, Conductor

The Oistrakh Symphony of Chicago was founded in 2005. The orchestra draws young professionals and recent graduates from major music programs in the area, in particular the DePaul University School of Music in Chicago, with whom it has a strong professional relationship. The Oistrakh Symphony frequently performs symphonic and chamber orchestra concerts, bringing in well-known featured soloists. The mission of the Oistrakh Symphony of Chicago is to offer audiences and musicians exposure to a broad classical repertoire performed at the highest level.

As founder, music director, and conductor of the Oistrakh Symphony of Chicago, Mina Zikri uses his considerable talents to forge relationships with artists and musical organizations throughout the world, all in the name of developing new audiences for classical music. As assistant to Daniel Barenboim with the West-Eastern Divan Orchestra, he was the backstage and assistant conductor for Wagner’s Tristan and Isolde on a tour that took the orchestra to Europe and South America performing at the Salzburg Festival in Austria, the Lucerne Festival in Switzerland, and at Buenos Aires’ legendary Teatro Colón. He returns each season to his native Egypt to guest-conduct the National Symphony. At a time when even some of the greatest orchestras in the United States are falling under the immense pressures of financial and cultural uncertainty, Zikri believes that the future of symphony orchestras can be, should be, and must be different from what everyone seems to expect. As a member of the faculty of DePaul University Community Music Division, his many career distinctions include being named one of the twelve finalists in the 2007 Gustav Mahler International Conducting Competition, where he was chosen from 223 candidates from 40 countries. He was awarded a fellowship to the American Academy of Conducting in Aspen, Colorado and holds a Bachelor’s, Master’s, and Performance Certificate in violin from DePaul University.

15TH ANNUAL DEPAUL JUNIOR DIVISION CONCERTO FESTIVAL FOR YOUNG PERFORMERSSunday, March 25, 2018 - 3:00pm - DePaul University - Concert Hall

BRIEF INTERMISSION

PROGRAM

Concerto in A Minor, BWV 1041.....................................J.S. Bach I. Allegro moderato

Riko Pang, violin

Concerto in A Minor, RV 356, Op. 3, No. 6......................A. Vivaldi III. Presto

Rebekah Kim, violin

Concerto in G Major, TWV 51:G9..............................G. Telemann II. Allegro

Ella Saputra, viola

Concerto in G Major, TWV 51:G9..............................G. Telemann IV. Presto

Sofia Radovic, viola

Concerto No. 1 in A Minor..........................................J.B. Accolay Allegro moderato

Linda Wang, violin

Concertino (Divertimento) in C Major, Hob. XIV:4.........F.J. Haydn I. Allegro

Joshua Park, piano

Concerto in F Major, Hob. XVIII:3.................................F.J. Haydn III. Presto

Noah Kim, piano

Concerto in D Major, Hob. XVIII:11...............................F.J. Haydn III. Rondo all’Ungarese

Karen Cai, piano

Concerto in D Major, Op. 50...................................D. Kabalevsky I. Allegro moderato

Freya Pang, piano

FIFTEENTH ANNUAL DEPAUL JUNIOR DIVISION CONCERTO FESTIVAL

FOR YOUNG PERFORMERS WINNERS CONCERT March 25, 2018

MEET THE PERFORMERS

Karen Cai, age 12, began her piano studies at the age of five with Mrs. Olga Ulitsky. She has been a prize winner at numerous competitions including the Northwest Suburban Music Teachers Association Sonata-Sonatina Festival, NWSMTA Awards Competition, Granquist Geneva Competition, Illinois State Music Teachers Association Competition, and the Chicago National Youth Competition for Piano Duos with her older sister Kristen. She also participated in “Introductions” on 98.7 WFMT classical radio station. In addition to her piano studies, Karen plays flute and practices rhythmic gymnastics. She enjoys reading, crafting, and going to church.

Noah Kim, age 11, studies piano at the Music Institute of Chicago (MIC) with Dr. Yumy Kim, where he also participates in chamber music classes. His accolades in piano performance include being a prize winner at the North Shore Music Teachers Association and Chicago Area Music Teachers Association Sonata-Sonatina Festivals, Chicago National Youth Competition for Piano Duos, Sejong Cultural Society Music Competition, American Protégé International Competition for piano duo, DePaul Concerto Festival for Young Performers, and a Merit Scholar of MIC. Noah has participated in masterclasses led by

John O’Conor, Jeffery Biegel, Alan Chow, Christopher Harding, and Esther and Sun-A Park. Noah also enjoys drawing, reading, writing, and playing violin in his school orchestra. His awards and recognitions outside of piano include the silver medal at the Pan America Tae Kwon Do sparring tournament, a restaurant review essay featured in the Buca diBeppo headquarter’s newsletter, bookmark design contest winner at Cook Memorial Library, and the Music Achievement Award at Hawthorn School.

Rebekah Kim, age 8, started her violin studies at the age of five. She has diligently increased and improved her proficiency in violin under the tutelage of Desirée Ruhstrat for three years. She has participated in and won numerous competitions including the Sejong Cultural Society Music Competition, the Granquist Geneva Competition, and the DePaul Concerto Festival for Young Performers. Her dedication to the violin has cultivated strong technical abilities, allowing her to successfully compete in events with a wide age range of participants. In addition to playing the violin, Rebekah also enjoys playing the piano.

Freya Pang, age 8, is a second grader at Concord Elementary School in Darien, Illinois. Freya started studying piano with Sueanne Metz at four years of age and has won numerous competitions since. In 2014 at the age of four, Freya was the third place winner of the Music Festival in Honor of Confucius (MFHC) Piano Competition in Chicago. She later performed at Carnegie Hall as a first place winner of the American Fine Arts Festival, and was an Outstanding prize winner of the Granquist Geneva Competition. She was also the second place winner of the Los Angeles Young Musician’s International Piano Competition and a gold medalist in the Chicago Area Music Teachers Association (CAMTA) Sonata-Sonatina Festival. In 2015, Freya won first place in the Hawaii Aloha International

Piano Competition, the New Star International Piano Competition, the American Protégé International Piano and Strings Competition, and the Northwest Suburban Music Teachers Association Piano Competition. The next year, Freya also won first place in the Hartford Chopin International Piano Competition and the Carmel Klavier International Piano Competition. She also received an honorable mention at the Walgreens Concerto Competition and the DePaul Concerto Festival. In 2017, Freya won first place in the MFHC Piano Competition and the Carmel Klavier International Piano Competition in the concerto category. Earlier this year, Freya again won the gold medal in the CAMTA Sonata-Sonatina Festival. In addition to piano, Freya loves swimming, dancing, and math. She swims with the Hornet Swim Team and is a company dancer with the DLD Dance Center in Downers Grove. She is also an active member of the Oak Brook math team.

Riko Pang, age 8, has been studying with Betty Haag-Kuhnke at the Betty Haag Academy of Music since she was almost four years old. At six, she was selected to perform at Carnegie Hall with Magical Strings of Youth, a violin ensemble. With this group, she traveled to Lisbon, Portugal performing a series of concerts for the Lisbon Mayor and U.S diplomats. In 2017, Riko was a first prize winner in the Primary Division at the Sejong Cultural Society Music Competition. Last summer, she passed two rounds of auditions and qualified for the finals in the All Japan Junior Classical Music Competition held in Tokyo, Japan. She also participated in a master class conducted by John MacFarlane. Outside of music, Riko is an avid reader and enjoys all sports,

especially tennis. She currently trains at River Trails Tennis Center. During the fall, she participated in Barrington School District's 1/2-mile race and was the fastest second grade runner. Riko is fluent in three languages: Japanese, English, and Mandarin.

Joshua Park, age 7, is from Hinsdale, IL and studies piano with Sueanne Metz. He has been a prize winner in numerous competitions, and at the age of six he was selected to perform at Carnegie Hall in New York. Joshua has claimed first place at the Granquist Geneva Competition and the Sejong Cultural Society Music Competition. In 2016 he earned a gold medal at the Chicago Area Music Teachers Association Sonata-Sonatina Festival, as well as the North Shore Music Teachers Association Sonata-Sonatina Festival. In 2017, he was also a prize winner at the Music Festival in Honor of Confucius, the Hartford Chopin International Competition in the Junior Category, and the Carmel Klavier International Competition in the Solo Elementary Division. Joshua loves playing the piano and enjoys sharing his music with everyone. In addition to playing the piano, he enjoys swimming and reading books.

Sofia Eva Radovic, 12 years old, began her music education in violin and piano at the age of six and is currently studying violin and viola under the tutelage of Desirée Ruhstrat. Sofia previously studied violin at the Wheaton College Community School of the Arts with Julie Bickel while performing with CSA’s Vivaldi Strings ensemble. She also studied violin performance under Hannah Barton. Sofia is a member of the Westminster Christian School string ensemble where she began her musical exploration under the direction of Andrew Anderson, and currently under the direction of Stephen Reichelt. Sofia has performed with the Camerata Chicago Academy Orchestra under the direction of

Drostan Hall. Sofia currently performs with the Youth Symphony of DuPage in both Concert and Symphony orchestras playing cello and violin, respectively. Sofia also performs with the OPUS Naperville chamber ensembles and regularly competes in violin, piano, viola, and cello throughout the Chicagoland area. In 2015, Sofia played her first solo concerto performance with the Fox Valley Philharmonic Orchestra at the age of nine. In 2016, she was invited to solo with the Wheaton College Symphony Orchestra. She was the 2017 winner in the DePaul Concerto Festival for Young Performers open division, performing with the Oistrakh Symphony of Chicago. In February 2017, Sofia was invited to perform with the internationally renowned violinist Stefan Milenkovich at a charity event for the Lake Forest Symphony. Most recently, she was the 2018 Youth Symphony of DuPage Concerto competition winner for the YSDP Symphony Orchestra. In addition to her music, Sofia enjoys tennis, swimming, bike riding, ice skating, knitting, and spending time with her friends and family.

Ella Saputra, age 13, is a seventh grade student at Margaret Mead Junior High School. She began her musical studies at the age of four on violin, and recently added viola as her second instrument. Ella currently studies violin and viola with Desirée Ruhstrat. As a violinist, Ella has received prizes and awards from the Society of American Musicians (2018), Walgreens Concerto Competition (2017), Sejong Cultural Society Music Competition (2015 and 2012), as well as the Music Festival in Honor of Confucius (2013). Most recently, Ella made her solo orchestral debut with the Midwest Young Artists Concert Orchestra as the overall junior division winner of the 2017 Walgreens Concerto Competition.

In her free time, Ella likes to play with her dog and hang out with her friends. Ella resides in Schaumburg with her sister and parents.

Linda Wang, age 13, started her violin studies when she was four years old. She currently studies violin under the tutelage of Dr. Hye-Sun Lee at the Music Institute of Chicago. She has won numerous competitions, including the Sejong Cultural Society Music Competition, the Music Festival in Honor of Confucius, Society of American Musicians, American Music Institute, and Granquist Geneva Competition. She was also a featured violin soloist at the Young Steinway Concert Series. In April, Linda will make her first international debut in Vienna, Austria. In addition to violin, Linda also studies piano with Brenda Huang. Outside of music, Linda enjoys studying science and is a member of her school’s Science Olympiad team.