NATHANIEL ZHANG

from 2023 HHIPC Program

KYLE YEUNG

COUNTRY – United States

AGE – 15

HOST FAMILY – Laura and Bret Jacobowitz

Nathaniel Zhang is a student at Folsom High School in Folsom, California. He started learning piano at the age of five. He is currently studying with Dr. Sasha Starcevich and he previously studied with Tien Hsieh.

Nathaniel performed in Carnegie Hall at the age of eight and had his first solo recital at ten. He made his orchestral debut with the Florence Conservatory Orchestra at Music Fest Perugia, Italy. He performed with the Philharmonia Northwest in 2022, and he will perform with the Seattle Symphony and Auburn Symphony in the 2022-2023 season as the Grand Prize Winner of their Young Artist competitions.

Nathaniel has won accolades at numerous piano competitions. He won first prize at the 2018-2019 National MTNA Junior Performance Competition where he also received the Chopin Award, and the Waring International Junior Solo Competition and Junior Concerto Competition. In 2021, Nathaniel participated in the Gina Bachauer International Junior Piano Competition. He won second prize and the Young Jury Award at the Arthur Fraser International Piano Competition, fifth prize in the Young Artist category of the International-e-Piano Junior Competition, and second prize at the San Jose International Piano Competition.

Nathaniel loves sharing music with people of all ages and enjoys public performance. He has played piano for first graders in an elementary school, and his story was featured on ABC’s World News Tonight with David Muir in the segment “America Strong.”

Nathaniel loves watching sports and is a die hard fan of the Sacramento Kings.

ROUND I

Repertoire

Bach Prelude and Fugue No. 20 in A minor, BWV 865/WTC I

Mozart

Stephen Hough

ROUND II

Sonata No. 9 in D Major, K. 311

Fanfare Toccata in C Major

Chopin Etudes, Op. 10

ROUND III

Chopin Concerto No. 1 in E minor, Op. 11

Philina Zhang

COUNTRY – United States

AGE – 16

HOST FAMILY – Ingrid and Craig Boatwright

Philina Zhang started learning piano when she was three, and studies with Irina Morozova at Special Music School in New York City.

Philina has won numerous prizes in international piano competitions, most recently first prizes at both the 13th International Piano Competition in Memory of Vladimir Horowitz and at the third Ricard Viñes International Piano Competition. Other accolades include first prize at the 2021 Thousand Islands International Piano Competition for Young People, International Lev Vlassenko Competition, New York State Music Teachers’ National Association Music Competition, Villahermosa 16th International FestivalCompetition, and Grand Prix at the New York Solo Concert Competition. She has also been awarded top prizes at the Chopin Piano Competition in Hartford, Kaufman International Piano Competition, Steinway & Sons Piano Competition, Paris Music Competition, International Virtuoso Competition, and Marbella Music Competition among others.

Philina was one of six young pianists chosen from around the world to participate in the 2022 Gina Bachauer Piano Festival Students Concert and was also invited to the XI International Tchaikovsky Junior competition. She has performed at National Bohemian Hall, Carnegie Hall, Steinway Hall, and Merkin Hall in NYC, in addition to concert venues in Spain, Italy, France, China, and the Czech Republic. Her performances have been broadcast on WQXR radio and she is a “From the Top” fellow. Philina is a recipient of the Chopin Foundation scholarship, and she has had master classes with Douglas Humpherys, Peter Takács, Orli Shaham, Boris Slutsky, Olga Kern, and Peter Dugan. A prolific composer as well, she currently studies composition with Ira Taxin at the Juilliard School Precollege, and has composed numerous piano solos, chamber works, and art songs.

Repertoire

ROUND I

Tchaikovsky/Gryaznov Waltz of the Flowers

Bach Prelude and Fugue No. 10 in E minor, BWV 879/WTC II

Liszt

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

Didorenko Commotion (2020)

ROUND II

Mozart

Sonata No. 18 in D Major, K. 576

Schubert/Liszt Ave Maria

Brahms

ROUND III

Variations on a Theme by Paganini. Op. 35/Book II

Schumann Concerto in A minor, Op. 54

Chengyao Zhou

COUNTRY – People’s Republic of China

AGE –15

HOST FAMILY – Linda and Dave Dreisbach

Chengyao Zhou was born in Zhejiang, China and started studying piano at age three. At age nine she entered the Shanghai Conservatory of Music to further her studies, and in 2018, at age 11, she moved to the United States to study with Dr. Ernest Barreta at Juilliard’s Pre-College program as a piano major student.

In 2019, she won first prize at the Grand Metropolitan International Piano Competition and performed at Carnegie Hall in the winner’s concert. A few months later, she was named the alternate winner in the Juilliard Pre-College Prokofiev Piano Concerto No. 3 Competition. In 2020, she won first prize at the Manhattan International Music Competition and performed again at Carnegie Hall in the winner’s concert. In 2021, she won the Juilliard Pre-College Beethoven Piano Concerto No. 3 Competition and performed with Juilliard’s Pre-College Symphony. In 2022, she was the winner of the Nordmann and Bachauer Piano Scholarship Competition at Juilliard Pre-College, winning the Bachauer Prize. In 2019, she attended the Oxford University International Piano Festival in the United Kingdom. That year, she also attended the Adamant Music Festival in Adamant, Vermont, and Musica Mundi in Waterloo, Belgium. Chengyao has attended master classes taught by Menahem Pressler and Gary Graffman. In 2020, she performed a solo recital for the Druzdoff Society’s “Impromptu! Classical Music Recital Series” in Stamford, Connecticut.

In addition to her passion for piano, Chengyao is a bit obsessive about math, a bit addicted to the Harry Potter books, and loves to spend time reading, playing basketball, and taking photographs.

ROUND I