Hong Cheng and Joie Tu Kuo
(PHILADELPHIA, PA) -- The prestigious Philadelphia International Music Festival awarded over $20,000 in scholarships and performance opportunities to nine young musicians who took the top spots in PIMF's semi-annual Online Concerto Competition. The list includes Hong Cheng and Joie Tu Kuo - two artists from New Jersey.
Hong Cheng, 17, of Edison, NJ, was awarded Second Prize and a scholarship valued at $750 to PIMF’s intensive classical music training program for his performance of Clarinet Concerto No. 2 Op. 74, 3rd Movement by Carl Maria von Weber, a piece the John P. Stevens High School senior chose for what he calls its “lyrical, technical, and musical sections that can wow the audience with all sorts of interludes and runs.”
Joie Tu Kuo, 15, of Bridgewater, NJ took Third Prize in her division and a scholarship valued at $450 to PIMF for her rendition of the Dvorak Cello Concerto in B minor, 1st Movement. The Bridgewater-Raritan High School sophomore cited “the contrasting characters in the piece, which I feel are both challenging but also rewarding to execute. In addition, I listened to Dvorak since I was young and always looked forward to being able to finally play it myself one day. It is so iconic in the cello repertoire and it's very famous!”
Hong Cheng is also highly accomplished on piano and violin, but plans to pursue a double major in college in clarinet and psychology, with hopes of conducting an ensemble in the future. Joie Kuo plays piano as well but focuses on cello as a student in the Juilliard Pre-College Program, with plans to explore more work in chamber music.
Musicians in four age groups from 6 to 19 years of age submitted videos for PIMF’s competition from all over the world.
Adjudicators include Marc Rovetti, Assistant Concertmaster, The Philadelphia Orchestra; John Koen, Cello, The Philadelphia Orchestra; Ernesto Tovar Torres, Horn, The Philadelphia Orchestra; and Yuxi Wang, director of Keyboard Studies at The Curtis Institute.
Young musicians interested in working with principal players and other members of the world-renowned Philadelphia Orchestra may still find a summer music home at The Philadelphia International Music Camp and Festival this year – PIMF’s upcoming session July 15-28, 2023 has openings for all instruments in the Young Artists Orchestra (Ages 11-13) and Junior Orchestra (Ages 8 -10), with openings for select instruments in the Senior Orchestra Program (Ages 14 - 19).
The Philadelphia International Music Festival (PIMF) is a resident summer music program directed by Kimberly Fisher, Principal Second Violin of The Philadelphia Orchestra, offering student musicians from around the world the unique opportunity of spending up to four weeks immersed in music education and performance training with members of the world-renowned Philadelphia Orchestra.
PIMF offers summer camp programs both online AND live on Philadelphia’s prestigious Main Line. Since March 2020, PIMF’s online platform has expanded its training programs year-round with Master Classes taught by principal players and other members of The Philadelphia Orchestra.
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