Winners have been announced for separate competitions in Texas and Japan. On June 2, harpist Megan Levin won first place in the Houston Symphony League’s annual Ima Hogg Competition; the Rice University Shepherd School of Music graduate will receive $5,000 and a solo performance at the Houston Symphony’s July 15 concert at Jones Hall. Silver prize of $2,500 and a June 23 performance with the Houston Symphony went to marimbist WeiChen Lin; bronze prize ($1,000) went to violinist Laura Park; and fourth place ($500) went to pianist Andrew Staupe, who also won an audience-choice award of $250. Chinese violist Wenting Kang is winner of the Tokyo International Viola Competition, held from May 26 to June 3 at Kioi Hall in Tokyo. Kang, a master of music candidate at New England Conservatory in Boston, won a prize of 1 million Japanese yen (approximately $12,700) and an invitation to perform at Switzerland’s Verbier Festival in 2013. Kang also will receive a viola made and donated by Robert Blaszauer of Budapest, Hungary. Second through fifth prizes ranging from 100,000 to 600,000 japanese yen went to Barbara Buntrock (Germany), Kimi Makino (Japan), Adrien Boisseau (France), and Helene Clement (France). The Tokyo International Viola Competition is held every three years as part of the Viola Space festival founded in 1992 by violist Nobuko Imai.
Posted June 13, 2012
