June 4, 2017 SEASON FINALE Concert

“A Concerto Extravaganza”

Featuring
10th Young Artists Concerto Competition Winners

LiYuan Byrne, age 14, piano
Simon Ho-Yin Cheng, age 12, violin
Coco Mi, age 16, violin
Kaylee Wang, age 16, flute

Program
Smetana “The Moldau”
Grieg Piano Concerto in A Minor
Saint-Saens Introduction and Rondo Capriccioso
Sibelius Violin Concerto in D Minor
Mozart Flute Concerto No. 2 in D Major

Return to 2016-17 Season

Pianist LiYuan Byrne, age 14, won her first Gold Prize and had her début performance on the stage of Carnegie Hall at age five. LiYuan is a student of Chiu-Tze Lin. Her former teachers include Michael Thomopoulis, Olga Alino, Linda Xia and Mila Barts. She has been a top prize winner at many regional and international competitions, including 1st Prize in the NJ Music Teachers Association Young Musicians Competition; 1st Prize in the VI Chopin International Piano Competition in Hartford, CT; Gold Prize in the Young Pianist Competition of the New Jersey Concerto Competition; and Honorable Mention (3rd place) in the Junior Solo Piano Competition of the NJ Music National Teachers Association. She has performed at prestigious venues including the Weill Recital Hall of Carnegie Hall, Merkin Concert Hall at the Kaufman Center in New York City, and the New Jersey Performing Arts Center. Acadamically, LiYuan has won a merit scholarship for her upcoming four years of high school study. She is the treasurer of the Student Council at Our Lady of the Lake School, and a member of the National Junior Honor Society. LiYuan loves biking, running, swimming, jewelry making, and cooking.

Twelve-year-old violinist Simon Ho-Yin Cheng is a seventh grader at the Grover Middle School in West Windsor, New Jersey. He has been studying the violin under his father’s tutelage since he was six. He is currently enrolled in the Pre-College Division of the Juilliard School of Music studying with Elizabeth Chang. Simon received a perfect score playing a Level VI String Solo at NYSSMA in 2012. He has performed as a soloist with the Binghamton Youth Symphony at 8 years old, and won the Gold Prize in International Virtuoso Competition at 10 years old.

Violinist Coco Mi, age 16, is a junior at Princeton High School. Coco started playing the violin when she was five. She is in her third year at the Manhattan School of Music Pre-College Program, where she studies with Elizabeth Faidley. Coco is the recipient of the Carl Owen Memorial Scholarship, and is associate concertmaster of the MSM Philharmonic Orchestra. She was also the concertmaster of the MSM Symphony Orchestra. Coco has won awards in numerous competitions, including Grand Prize inthe Washington Heights Chamber Orchestra Concerto Competition and First Prize in the Vivo International Music Competition. Coco has performed in prestigious venues such as Weill Recital Hall at Carnegie Hall, Bruno Walter Auditorium at Lincoln Center, and Merkin Concert Hall. Coco has also appeared in master classes with well-known violinists such as Jennifer Koh, Stefan Jackiw, Peter Winograd, and Sarah Chang. Coco is the leader of a community service program called “Music Therapy,” which focuses on musical activities with special needs students from her school.

Flutist Kaylee Wang, age 16, is from Marlboro, New Jersey. She is a junior at High Technology High School. A student in the Juilliard Pre-College Division as a pupil of Bradley Garner and Demarre McGill, Kaylee has also studied flute with Joseph Lu and had won numerous awards and honors under his guidance. Kaylee was one of eight finalists inthe National Flute Association High School Soloist Competition, and has garnered numerous first prizes in the New Jersey Music Teachers Association Woodwind Competition. She has also been a national finalist in the Music Teachers National Association Junior Woodwind Competition. Kaylee is an officer of the Vivace Chamber Ensemble, a student-run volunteer group that performs regularly at various senior and community centers. Kaylee has also played the piano for 9 years.