2022 Crain-Maling Foundation Chicago Symphony Orchestra Young Artists Competition Finals PIANO Presented by the League of the Chicago Symphony Orchestra Association and the Negaunee Music Institute
program Saturday, March 19, 2022 at 12:30
Civic Orchestra of Chicago Andrew Grams CONDUCTOR FINALISTS
Kimiko Darcy PIANO Shivshankar Prasad Kevin Zhou PIANO Noah Kim PIANO
PIANO
WELCOME
William Ward President of the League of the Chicago Symphony Orchestra Association PERFORMANCE
liszt
Piano Concerto No. 1 in E-flat Major Allegro maestoso Quasi adagio Allegretto vivace—Allegro animato Allegro marziale animato KIMIKO DARCY
grieg
Piano Concerto in A Minor, Op. 16 Allegro molto moderato SHIVSHANK AR PR ASAD
prokofiev
Piano Concerto No. 3 in C Major, Op. 26 Andante—Allegro KE VIN ZHOU
saint-saëns
Piano Concerto No. 2 in G Minor, Op. 22 Andante sostenuto NOAH KIM
INTERVIEW WITH FINALISTS
Robbie Ellis WFMT Producer and Presenter PRESENTATION OF AWARDS
Elizabeth Stein Chair of Judge Coordination 2
finalists Kimiko Darcy
PIANO
Kimiko Darcy attends the Latin School of Chicago and studies piano under Brenda Huang. From a young age, Kimiko has performed piano competitively. Her awards include first place at the 2021 MTNA Illinois State Competition, Senior Division; first place at the 2021 United States International Music Competition; second place at the sixth Krystian Tkaczewski International Piano Competition in 2021; first place at the 2018 Walgreens National Concerto Competition as Open Junior Division and Overall Junior Division winner; first place in the 2018 Baltimore International Piano Competition, Junior Division; in 2017 and 2018, first place at the Society of American Musicians Competition; winner of the 2016 Texas State Young Concerto Competition; winner of the 2015 DePaul University Concerto Competition; and first place in the 2015 Emilio del Rosario Concerto Competition, Elementary Division. Kimiko has also performed on Chicago’s WFMT’s Introductions and is a scholarship recipient for 2019–20 and 2020–21 from the Chopin Foundation of the United States Scholarship Program for Young Pianists. In 2021, Kimiko and her sister, Eriko, produced and performed “Play for Justice!,” a YouTube livestream concert to raise funds for social justice causes. Kimiko’s nonprofit fundraising efforts include recitals in Japan; Lesa, Italy; Chicago; and Huletts Landing, New York. The proceeds of her charitable performances support the victims of domestic violence and Chicago’s Uptown neighborhood. Kimiko is a recipient of the 2021 Asian American Coalition of Chicago Youth Who Excel Award. In addition, Kimiko is a head of the Latin School Initiative for Ethics. She also runs for the Latin School’s track and field team and is a team captain of the cross-country team.
Shivshankar Prasad
PIANO
Shivshankar Prasad made his professional debut in 2021 as a soloist with the Elmhurst Symphony Orchestra under the direction of Stephen Alltop. As a winner in the recent DePaul Concerto Festival for Young Performers, he performed with the Oistrakh Symphony of Chicago in February 2022. The recipient of numerous recognitions at competitions throughout the region, Shivshankar holds top prizes from the Robert Stanger Young Artists Concerto Competition, the Sejong Music Competition, the Illinois State Music Teachers Association Competition, the Northwest Suburban Music Teachers Association Awards Competition, the Illinois Music Association Competition, and the Society of American Musicians Competition. A student of Soyoung Kee, Shivshankar is a high school junior at Conant High School. Previous piano teachers include Aprill Acaya and Miho Nakagawa. Shivshankar regularly performs with Magic of Music, a student-led volunteer organization that performs for residents of assisted-living facilities. When he is not at the piano, Shivshankar enjoys learning Carnatic (Indian classical) violin and spending time with his friends and family.
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FINALISTS
Kevin Zhou
PIANO
Kevin Zhou started playing piano at the age of six and achieved the highest level of the Illinois State Music Teachers Association Music Examination in Piano when he was thirteen years old. Kevin has been classically trained, and he has won many medals from various piano competitions, such as second place in the Piano Primary from the Society of American Musicians in 2018, top piano solo performer of the Illinois Grade School Music Association Solo and Ensemble Contest in 2019, gold medal from the Chicago Area Sonata-Sonatina Festival in 2019, winner of the Walgreens Concerto Competition Open Junior Division in 2020, an honorable mention with distinction at the DePaul Concerto Festival in 2021, the 2021 alternate winner of Music Teachers National Association (Junior Performance), the Gold Medal from the 2021 Musicale Fall Festival, and the Young Virtuosi Prize from the sixth Future Stars International Piano Competition in 2021. Kevin is currently a ninth-grade student at Stevenson High School in Lincolnshire, Illinois. In addition to piano, he also likes playing soccer and badminton, among many other sports.
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Noah Kim
PIANO
Noah Kim, fifteen, is a sophomore at Vernon Hills High School and studies piano at the Academy of the Music Institute of Chicago with Marta Aznavoorian. In 2020, Noah performed Mendelssohn’s Piano Concerto no. 1 in G minor with the Oistrakh Symphony of Chicago as the winner of the DePaul Concerto Festival. He is a first-place winner of numerous other competitions including the Sejong Music Competitions of 2018 and 2020, the Illinois State Music Teachers Association in 2019, the 2019 ClaraSchumann International Piano Competition, the Chicago Area Music Teachers Association’s Roberta Savler Piano Contest in 2018, and Walgreens National Concerto Competition 2019. In March 2020, Noah was featured on WFMT’s Introductions. Most recently, Noah won second prize at the 2022 David D. Dubois Piano Competition. Noah has performed in master classes with John O’Conor, Alan Chow, Christopher Harding, Jon Kimura Parker, Sylvia Wang, and Marian Hahn. In addition to piano, Noah plays violin in his school’s orchestra. He also participates in his school’s math team and the Future Business Leaders of America organization.
profiles Andrew Grams
CONDUCTOR
With a distinctive combination of intensity, enthusiasm, and technical clarity, American conductor Andrew Grams has steadily built a reputation for his dynamic concerts, audience rapport, and long-term orchestra building. The winner of 2015 Conductor of the Year honors from the Illinois Council of Orchestras, Grams has led ensembles throughout the United States, including the Chicago and National symphony orchestras; the Detroit, St. Louis, Cincinnati, Baltimore, Dallas, and Houston symphonies; and the Philadelphia Orchestra. Grams became music director of the Elgin Symphony Orchestra after an international search in 2013, and recently concluded his tenure there after eight seasons. His charismatic conducting and easy accessibility made him a favorite of Elgin audiences. A frequent traveler, Grams has worked extensively with orchestras abroad, including the symphony orchestras of Toronto, Montreal, and Vancouver; the Orchestre National de France; Hong Kong Philharmonic; BBC Symphony Orchestra in London; the symphony orchestras of Sydney, Melbourne, and Adelaide, Australia; the New Zealand Symphony Orchestra; the Barcelona Symphony Orchestra; and Het Residentie Orchestra in The Hague, Netherlands. He has led multiple performances of the New York City Ballet presentation of George Balanchine’s The Nutcracker and the first performances of a new production of The Nutcracker for the Norwegian National Ballet. Also an educator, Grams has worked with orchestras at institutions such as the Curtis Institute of Music, the Cleveland Institute of Music, Indiana University, Roosevelt University, the National Orchestral Institute at the University of Maryland, and the Amsterdam Conservatory.
P H OTOS © BY M AS ATAK A S UE M ITSU, T Y LER C ORE
Born in Severn, Maryland, Grams began studying the violin when he was eight years old. In 1999, he received a conducting degree from the Curtis Institute of Music, where he studied with Otto-Werner Mueller. He was selected to spend the summer of 2003 studying with David Zinman, Murry Sidlin, and Michael Stern at the American Academy of Conducting at Aspen; he returned to that program in 2004. Grams served as assistant conductor of the Cleveland Orchestra from 2004 to 2007, under Music Director Franz Welser-Möst, and has since returned for several engagements. An accomplished violinist, Grams was a member of the New York City Ballet Orchestra from 1998 to 2004, serving as acting associate principal second violin in 2002 and 2004. Additionally, he has performed with ensembles such as the Orpheus Chamber Orchestra, Orchestra of St. Luke’s, Brooklyn Philharmonic, and the New Jersey Symphony.
Robbie Ellis WFMT Producer and Presenter Robbie Ellis is a broadcaster, composer, music director, and comedy song maker. He works at WFMT as the host on Sunday afternoons and as the producer and presenter of Introductions, a weekly show that profiles local precollege musicians. He started in classical radio at RNZ Concert in Wellington, New Zealand. In addition, Ellis has worked as an event host for the International Music Foundation, Cedille Records, and the Northbrook Symphony Orchestra, and has been a teaching artist with Chicago Opera Theater, the Chicago Symphony Orchestra, and the Second City, with which he has also toured on land and sea as a music director. robbieellis.net
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PROFILES
Civic Orchestra of Chicago Since 1919, the Civic Orchestra of Chicago has been one of the nation’s premier orchestral training programs for emerging professionals. Benefiting from a unique alliance with the world-renowned Chicago Symphony Orchestra, Civic members refine their skills under the guidance of musicians of the CSO, Zell Music
Director Riccardo Muti and Principal Conductor Ken-David Masur, as well as numerous guest artists who visit Symphony Center each season. The Civic Orchestra is a signature program of the Negaunee Music Institute at the CSO. The Negaunee Music Institute shares the extraordinary musical resources of the CSO, creating connections to music for individuals and communities in Chicago and across the world.
Civic Orchestra of Chicago
Ken-David Masur Principal Conductor
The Robert Kohl and Clark Pellett Principal Conductor Chair
violins Tabitha Oh Principal Hsuan Chen Dylan Marshall Feldpausch* Kina Ono Kyoko Inagawa Liya Ma Nelson Mendoza* Matthew Weinberg Joe DeAngelo Diane Yang Shinhye Dong Emily Nardo Holly Wagner Jonah Kartman Subin Shin Principal Rannveig Marta Sarc Kristian Brusubardis Grace Walker Christopher Sungjoo Kang Valentina Guillen Menesello Laura Schafer Grace Walker Robert Herbst Hee Yeon Kim* Crystal Qi Heewoo Seo
viol as Benjamin Wagner Principal Amanda Kellman Teddy Schenkman Pedro Mendez Larissa Mapua Sofia Nikas Seth Van Embden Megan Yeung Taisiya Sokolova Kelly Bartek cellos Haley Slaugh Principal Miles Link Philip Bergman Charlotte Ullman Lindsey Sharpe* Francisco Lopez Malespin* Abigail Monroe J Holzen basses Wesley A. Jones Principal Nate Beaver Ben Foerster Caleb Edwards Andrew French Olivia Reyes flutes Katarina Ignatovich Alyssa Primeau* Min Ha Kim Piccolo Min Ha Kim oboes James Jihhyn Kim Laura Yawney
* Civic Orchestra Fellow
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cl arinets Irina Chang Antonio Garassi bassoons Mackenzie Brauns* Edin Agamenoni horns Jacob Medina Abby Black* Nelson Yovera Perez Scott Sanders Michael Stevens trumpets John Wanger Michael Leavens trombones Felix Regalado Hugo Saavedra* Zhen Lei timpani Tomas Leivestad percussion John Dawson Sam Johnson-Vrooman librarian Anna Thompson
honorable mentions Caleb Kim PIANO Joseph Gallwas PIANO Zarin Mehta PIANO Dustin Zhao PIANO
judges PRELIMINARY ROUND: JANUARY 23, 2022
Michael Mizrahi Lawrence University Daniel Schlosberg University of Notre Dame Lisa Yui Manhattan School of Music FINAL ROUND: MARCH 19, 2022
Caroline Hong Ohio State University School of Music Roberto Plano Indiana University Jacobs School of Music Peter Takacs Oberlin College and Conservatory
former winners of the young artists competition 1999 Stephanie Jeong 2000 Tereza Lee
2010 Marcelina Suchocka
VIOLIN
2011 Johannes Gray
PIANO
2001 Gregory B. Walker-Oliver
MARIMBA
VIOLIN
2013 Torin Bakke
2003 Rachel Kuodo
PIANO
2014 Gallia Kastner
2004 Yi Wei
2005 Susie Kim
2006 Christine Yoon
PIANO FLUTE
2018 Yerin Yang
2008 Gabriel Cabezas
CELLO
2019 Rosie Wang
PIANO
PIANO MARIMBA
2017 Maya Anjali Buchanan
2007 Matthew Wright 2009 Adam Kim
VIOLIN
2016 Gregory Phifer
VIOLIN
PIANO
CL ARINE T
2015 Kimberly Han
MARIMBA
CELLO
2012 Kyle Jannak-Huang
2002 Lydia S. Hong
MARIMBA
VIOLIN
PIANO FLUTE
2020 Isabella Brown
VIOLIN
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special thanks
We are grateful to the Crain-Maling Foundation as our title sponsor of the Chicago Symphony Orchestra Young Artists Competition. Special thanks goes to Dr. Michael S. Maling, Chair & CEO, for his enduring support and continued generosity. Founded in 2007, the Crain-Maling Foundation supports innovation in education
and spiritual development, sponsorship of cultural events and advances in medical research. Dr. Michael Maling Chair and CEO Mrs. Marissa Iancu Co-President and Secretary Mrs. Elise Williams Co-President and Treasurer Special thanks:
history of the crain-maling foundation chicago symphony orchestra young artists competition Beginning in 1920, young performers were selected by Frederick Stock, the Chicago Symphony Orchestra’s second music director and founder of the Civic Orchestra, to appear as soloists with the Orchestra. Violinist Anita Malkin was the first youth soloist. In 1967, the Louis Sudler Foundation established annual awards to be given at a competition sponsored by The Women’s Association of the CSOA. The young performers competed for prizes and the opportunity to perform with the Chicago Symphony Orchestra. In 1975, the competition was divided into two categories: a senior division and a junior division (for ages fifteen years and younger). The name was changed in 1985 to the Illinois Young Performers Competition. These competitions were televised and sponsored by WTTW public television and Illinois Bell. The first televised competition was held May 8, 1985. After the 1993–94 season, the competition was discontinued. c rain-maling foundation cso young artists c ompetition commit tee William Ward President of the League of the CSOA Earle Cromer Competition Co-Chair Christine Uhlig Competition Co-Chair Nancy Friedman Camp Scholarship Chair & Vice President of Education Elizabeth Stein Chair of Judge Coordination
Competitions were re-established during the 1998–99 season and renamed the Youth Auditions, and have been supported by Beatrice G. Crain and Dr. Michael S. Maling since that time. They were presented by The Women’s Association of the CSOA, which has since been reorganized as the League of the CSOA. The first auditions were held for string players between the ages of twelve and fourteen. The next year, the auditions were offered for woodwinds, brass, and percussion, which opened the competition to young musicians representing every instrument in the orchestra. During the 2016–17 season, the CSO Youth Auditions were re-named the Crain-Maling Foundation Chicago Symphony Orchestra Young Artists Competition. The Crain-Maling Foundation Chicago Symphony Orchestra Young Artists Competition continues to be offered annually on a three-year instrumentation cycle, featuring strings, woodwinds/brass/percussion, and piano. negaunee music institute at the chicago symphony orchestra Jonathan McCormick Director, Education & the Negaunee Music Institute Antonio Padilla Denis Interim Manager, Civic Orchestra of Chicago Rachael Cohen Programs Assistant Anna Thompson Librarian, Civic Orchestra of Chicago
league o f the chicago symphony orchestra association The mission of the League is to promote appreciation of symphony music, to encourage a commitment to music education, and to raise funds for the Chicago Symphony Orchestra.