A highly select group of young pianists will perform in the final round of the Claudette Sorel Piano Competition on Saturday, Nov. 3, beginning at noon, at Rosch Recital Hall.
The pool of 30 talented applicants – the largest ever in the competition’s three-year history – represent 12 states and three foreign countries. Each finalist will give a 15-minute recital. The repertoire choice is left to the participant’s discretion but should demonstrate an idea, a passion or a theme.
The 12 finalists are: Sandro Gegechkori, age 18 (from Tibilisi, Georgia, located at the crossroads of Western Asia and Eastern Europe); Emily Wang, age 15 (Woodbury); Samuel Maddox, age 15 (El Paso, Texas); Colin Choi, age 17 (Northbrook, Ill.); Stephanie Petinaux, age 16 (Cranberry Township, Pa.); Kayla Shen, age 16 (San Ramon, Calif.); Jason Lin, age 18 (Plano, Texas); Christian Douglas, age 17 (New York City); Kelsey Lee, age 17 (Summit, N.J.); Lukasz Yoder, age 18 (Los Angeles, Calif.); Evan Hu, age 16 (Rockville, Md.); and Avik Sarkar, age 17 (Brookline, Mass.).
All will perform in the final round, which is free and open to the public, except Mr. Lin and Ms. Shen, who were unable to secure travel arrangements. Opening remarks will be given by Judy Cope, executive director of The Sorel Organization.
First prize is $2,500 cash; an additional $1,250 cash award will be presented at the discretion of the judges.
School of Music faculty members Eliran Avni, Mary Cobb, Fr. Sean Duggan, Phyllis East and Dr. Anne Kissel served as judges and viewed video recordings of all submissions to narrow the field down to the 12 finalists.
The final round, expected to last three hours, will be live streamed.
The Claudette Sorel Piano Competition, open to all pianists ages 15 to 18, is named for pianist and SUNY Distinguished Professor Claudette Sorel, who taught at Fredonia, and is supported by a foundation she founded. The Sorel Organization intends to create opportunities for women in composition, conducting, piano, voice and film scoring and to keep musical excellence alive while expanding the boundaries for women in music.
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