COMPETITION PRIZES

First Prize $10,000 Mary and Mike Briggs/Joan and Charlie Dattelbaum

Return performance with the HHSO during 2023-2024 season Other engagements, subject to arrangements with presenters

Second Prize $5,000 Mary Ann and Tarrant Putnam

Third Prize $3,000 Diana Riggle

2 Finalists $1,000 Laura and Bret Jacobowitz

$1,000 Joan and Bob Koenig

Sascha Gorodnitzki

Memorial Prize $1,000 Sascha Gorodnitzki Foundation

In 2014, the Sascha Gorodnitzki Foundation endowed a new prize for the Hilton Head International Piano competition. This prize is a judges’ discretionary award for which all non-finalist competitors may be considered. Sascha Gorodnitzki was born in Kiev, Ukraine. Upon graduating from The Juilliard School with highest honors, he joined the faculty of The Juilliard Summer School, and was later appointed to the piano faculty at The Juilliard School where he served as Chairman of the Piano Department for many years until his death in 1986. Those who worked with him included Garrick Ohlsson and Albert and Miyoko Lotto. He made his debut with the New York Philharmonic and toured the US, Canada and South America, appearing with Fritz Reiner, Leopold Stokowski and Pierre Monteux. He has been recognized as one of the finest pianists and piano teachers in the world in his time. In funding this prize, the Sascha Gorodnitzki Foundation is recognizing the prestige of the HHIPC and its commitment to helping young pianists develop their careers.

The Peter Takács Classical Sonata Prize $1,000 Professor Peter Takács

The winner of this prize will be deemed by the Competition jury to have given the best performance of a Classical sonata (Mozart, Haydn, Beethoven) during the first two rounds of the competition. First awarded in 2017, the prize is funded by Peter Takács, Professor at the Oberlin Conservatory since 1976. Dr. Takács has been a member of the HHIPC jury several times, including serving as Jury Chair. He has recorded the complete sonatas of Beethoven and performed them around the world. Says Takács, “I have always felt that the music of the great Classical composers of the 18th century form the basis of all the piano music that followed. This is repertoire that remains fresh, startling, and revelatory. By funding this prize, I hope to encourage young pianists to explore and embrace this style that remains so relevant today.”

Riko Ando

COUNTRY – Japan

AGE – 15

HOST FAMILY – Barbara Sorkin

Riko Ando is a 9th grader at Branham High School in San Jose, California. Born in Japan, she moved to the United States with her family in 2019. She has been playing the piano since the age of five.

Riko is currently studying piano performance with Hang Li at the San Francisco Conservatory of Music, Pre-College Division. Before moving to the United States, she studied under Eiko Nagano in Japan.

Riko has won awards in numerous competitions including the Grand Prize in the ENKOR International Competition (2022), first prize in the Marilyn Mindell Piano Competition Junior Division (2022), first prize in the United States Open Music Competition junior showcase category, second prize in the Pacific Musical Society & Foundation Annual Competition 14-17 age group (2021), first prize in the Teachers’ Association of California (MTAC) Piano Concerto Solo Competition in the 13-15 age group (2020), and second prize in the 72nd All Japan Student Music Concours in the Kitakyushu primary school category (2018).

Apart from solo performance, Riko is also an avid chamber musician. During the summer of 2022, she participated in the Koret Young Performers Concerts at Music@Menlo. In 2020, she was nominated as a student of the Piano Academy founded by Sony Computer Science Laboratories, Inc. Riko has participated in master classes with acclaimed pianists including Dina Yoffe and Ruth Slenczynska.

In her spare time, Riko enjoys watching musicals and ballet.

ROUND I

Repertoire

Mozart Sonata No. 18 in D Major, K. 576

Liszt Transcendental Etude No. 12, Chasse-neige, in B-flat minor, S. 139

Ravel Miroirs: IV. Alborada del gracioso

ROUND II

Bach Prelude and Fugue No. 8 in E-flat minor, BWV 853/WTC 1

Chopin Scherzo No. 2 in B-flat minor, Op. 31

Prokofiev Sonata No. 3 in A minor, Op. 28

Kapustin Eight Concert Etudes: No. 3, Toccatina, in E minor, Op. 40

ROUND III

Grieg Concerto in A minor, Op. 16

David Choi

COUNTRY – United States/South Korea

AGE – 15

HOST FAMILY – Cynthia and George Gorski-Popiel

A 9th grader at the Stanford Online High School in Redwood City, CA, David started piano lessons at age five. He made his solo debut at the Weill Recital Hall, Carnegie Hall in New York at age six as the Grand Prix winner of the 13th International Youth Piano Competition of the Chopin Society of Texas. A student at the Colburn Music Academy, David currently studies with HyeJin Kim. Prior to that, he studied with Dr. Alex McDonald from 2017 to 2021. Recently, David has received many accolades, such as first prize in the 2022 Piano Star International Competition, second prize and Best Baroque prize in the 2022 Spotlight International Piano Competition, first prize in the 2022 Colburn Piano Seminar Competition, and second prize in the 2022 Edith Knox Performance Competition. He was also the Gold Medalist in the 2021 Vancouver Symphony Orchestra Young Artist Competition, where he made his orchestral debut with the Vancouver Symphony Orchestra under Maestro Salvador Brotons in January 2022.

David was also the Junior National winner of the 2021 MTNA Competition and placed first in the 2021 Texas Music Teachers Association Piano Competition, the 2021 Vernell Gregg Young Artists Competition, the 2020 Memphis International Piano Festival and Competition, the 2019 Collin County Young Artists Competition, the 2019 University of Texas Arlington Keyboard Competition, and the 2019 Texas A&M Commerce Youth Piano Competition.

Over the summers, David has attended music camps such as the Texas State International Piano Festival, the Southeastern Piano Festival, and the Colburn Piano Seminar.

Besides playing piano, David enjoys playing basketball, video games, and the violin.

ROUND I

Repertoire

Handel Suite in F Major, HWV 427, No. 2

Scriabin Sonata Fantaisie in G-sharp minor, Op. 19, No. 2

Prokofiev Etude in D minor, Op. 2, No. 1

ROUND II

Haydn Sonata in C Major, Hob. XVI/50

Chopin Ballade in G minor, Op. 23, No. 1 Vine Resolve

ROUND III

Saint-Saëns Concerto No. 2 in G minor, Op. 22