Pianist Emily Jeeho Park is the winner of the 2019 Young Artist Concerto Competition, the Bainbridge Symphony Orchestra recently announced.
Emily, 16, a junior at Skyline High School in Sammamish, claimed the title with a stirring performance of Sergei Prokofiev’s Piano Concerto No. 3 in C Major, Op. 26 (1st movement), according to the judges.
She reportedly began her piano studies at the age of 6 and has been studying under Dr. Sasha Starcevich since the age of 8, and she made her orchestral debut as a soloist with the Orquesta Filharmónica de la Universidad de Alicante, in Spain, at age 13.
Emily has been a top prize winner in many competitions, including the Solo and Concerto divisions of the Eastside Music Teachers Association Scholarship Competition, the Chopin Northwest Competition, the Washington State Solo and Ensemble Contest, the Music Teacher National Association Competitions, and the Seattle Young Artists Music Festival.
She was also awarded third prize at the 2017 ENKOR International Music Competition and more recently, Emily performed as a soloist with the Seattle Youth Symphony at Benaroya Hall as the winner of the 2018-2019 SYSO’s concerto competition.
Two other young musicians were awarded honors by the Bainbridge judges, as well.
Renee Ruiyi Qin (harp) was awarded second place for her performance of George Frideric Handel’s Harp Concerto in B-Flat Major, Op. 4 No. 6 HWV 294.
Also, the judges issued an honorable mention award to Yvette Kraft (violin) for her performance of Karl Goldmark’s Violin Concerto in A minor (1st movement).
Renee is a junior at Sentinel Secondary School. She studies harp under University of British Columbia professor, and retired Vancouver Symphony Orchestra principal harpist, Elizabeth Volpé Bligh.
Renee is the principal harpist in the Vancouver Youth Symphony Orchestra and the Lions Gate Youth Orchestra, and in 2018 she performed “Symphonie Fantastique” by Hector Berlioz along with the Vancouver Symphony Orchestra at the Orpheum Theatre.
She also performed as a guest harpist with the University of British Columbia Symphony Orchestra at the Chan Center, and won first prize in the Canadian Music Competition in 2018, recieving a scholarship from the West Coast Harp Society.
Yvette, 16, made her debut with the Spokane Symphony at age 11. Since then, she has won or distinguished herself in multiple competitions and summer camps. This past summer she attended Center Stage Strings in Michigan and the Liberec International Violin Academy in the Czech Republic.
She currently studies with Simon James in Seattle.
BSO Music Director Mario Alejandro Torres congratulated all the participants in the 2019 contest, saying, “It was a great treat to hear all of the contenders. Maestro Pablo Rus, who kindly joined us as judge, and I were very impressed at the high level of musicality of each performer, and settling on the winner was no easy task.”
Emily will join the BSO for their spring concert “Rebellion!” on April 13 and April 14 to perform Edvard Grieg’s Piano Concerto in A minor, Op. 16.
Tickets and performance details are available online at www.bainbridgeperformingarts.org, by phone at 206-842-8569 or in person at BPA (200 Madison Ave. North). BPA Box Office hours are 1 to 4 p.m. Wednesday through Friday, and one hour prior to each performance.
