Registration for the 2023 Chopin Festival is now open! Teachers must register their students online. Please visit the Chopin Festival page for more details and to access the registration form. Login is required to access the registration form.
Category Archives: Branch News
2023 Bach Festival AMB Results
Thank you for participating in the 2023 Bach Festival. Here are the results for the AMB Festival:
1st Place #4 Viktor Shen
2nd Place #2 Yeema Liu
3rd Place #5 Cooper Kistler
Honorable Mention – #5 Sophia Wang
Teachers must log into the scjbf.org website to view the CWA results.
2023 Duo Registration now open!
Registration for the 2023 Piano Duo Festival is now open! Teachers must register their students online. Please visit the Piano Duo Festival page for more details and to access the registration form. Login is required to access the registration form.
2023 Concerto Results & Acknowledgement
Congratulations to all competitors and teachers in this year’s MTACSD Concerto Competition. All students performed beautifully and expressively and hopefully feel rewarded for their hard work. I want to give special thanks to the following who made this event possible:
Robert Catalano and Greene Music, Sun Yung Cho, Hernan Constantino, Karen Follingstad, Susanna Han, Inessa Litvin, Gaiana Mndoian, Cho-Hyun Park, Viktor Shekhtman, Pasha Tseitlin, and Lori Bastien Vickers! I also want to thank Jay Jay Lim for allowing us to use the Greene Music Education Center for teachers to pick up the judges comment sheets later this week!
We are excited that this year all 6 division first-place winners will be performing with the Mira Costa College Symphony Orchestra, Oceanside, under the direction of Mr. Branden Muresan.
Dates and performances are:
Friday-Saturday, March 17-18, 2023, 7:30 pm
Soloists
Amy Zhang (Mozart Concerto No.23 in A Major, K.488, Mvt III)
Richard Lee (Beethoven Concerto No. 3 in C minor, Mvt I)
Andrew Zhang (Rachmaninoff Concerto No. 2 in C minor, Mvt I)
Friday-Saturday, May 19-20, 2023, 7:30 pm
Soloists
Daniel Torrero (Weber Concerto in F Major, Op.75, Mvt I)
Beichen Li (Mendelssohn Violin Concerto in E Minor, Mvt I)
Ethan Zhou (Paganini Violin Concerto, No.1 Op.6, Mvt I)
Tickets and other information available at https://miracostatheatre.universitytickets.com/w/default.aspx?cid=168
Dr. Kay Etheridge, Chair
MTACSD Concerto Competition
2023 MTACSD CONCERTO COMPETITION RESULTS
DIVISION I (Piano through 11 yrs)
First Place – Amy Zhang
Second Place – Aiden Park
Third Place – Blake Hawkinson
Honorable Mentions – Clara Stone, Alex Hawkinson
DIVISION II (Piano 12-14 yrs)
First Place – Richard Lee
Second Place – Aaron Ye
Third Place – Daniel Park
Honorable Mention – Kanon Endo
DIVISION III (Piano 15-18 yrs)
First Place – Andrew Zhang
Second Place – Huizi Zhong
Third Place – Robin Moon
Honorable Mention – Eric Li
DIVISION IV (Winds)
First Place – Daniel Torrero (bassoon)
Second Place – Lauren Suh (flute)
Third Place – Daniel Tran (bassoon)
DIVISION V (Strings through 13 yrs)
First Place – Beichen Li (violin)
Second Place – Helen Wang (cello)
Third Place – Jasmine Chan (violin)
Honorable Mention – Benjamin Luo (violin)
DIVISION VI (Strings 14-18 yrs)
First Place – Ethan Zhou (violin)
Second Place – Hannah Lee (violin)
Third Place (tie) – Brianna Baek (violin), Caden Jiang (violin)
Honorable Mention – Alvin Wang (viola)
2023 Popular Music Festival Acknowledgement
Congratulations to all participants who performed in the Popular Music Festival this weekend! Thank you to all participating teachers, who prepared their students for this first in-person Popular Music event since the start of the pandemic. The three recitals were held at the beautiful Cuyamaca College Theatre and provided a marvelous auditory display of the talents of the participants. We enjoyed listening to jazz, pop, boogie, rag, movie and video game music as well as works by favorite contemporary composers. The selections included improvised music and original arrangements by teachers and students. We even had a performance on electric guitar, a singer accompanying herself on piano, and a pianist performing to a Latin percussion track.
Dr. Taylor Smith of Cuyamaca College and Yuko Maruyama served as judges. Thank you to all the volunteers who helped out throughout the day: Irina Bessonova, Kathy Kim, Yuko Maruyama, Leslie Olson, Carol Ong-Chen, and Chutaphin Yeager
Participating studios: Eunji Bae, Irina Bessonova, Jim Guerin, Yoonhee Huh, Kathy Kim, Philip Lim, Yu Carole Liu, Yuko Maruyama, Leslie Olson, Carol Ong-Chen, Anna Stal, and Chutaphin Yeager
We hope to see you again next year!
2022 State VOCE Results for San Diego Branch
The 2022 MTAC State VOCE Competition was held online via video submission on March 15th. Students became eligible to participate in State VOCE by being selected as “finalists” at the Southern or Northern California Regional VOCE. Congratulations to all our branch students who competed!
Representing three (3) teachers, a special congratulations goes to these San Diego Branch students who received awards at the 2022 State VOCE Competition!
Junior Solo Strings
Elisha Kim, violin – 3rd Place
Senior Solo Winds
Daniel Tran, bassoon – 2nd Place
Senior Solo Voice
Flora Yuan, soprano – 1st Alternate
Intermediate Ensemble
“BC Duo” – Honorable Mention
Caleb Liu, bassoon & Bryce Liu, piano
NEW VOCE FORMAT
The MTAC VOCE Competition format changed beginning January 2022, with the first round, formerly a branch competition, now a regional competition, Northern and Southern California. Two (2) changes in the judging format were:
1) At Regional VOCE, numerous “finalists” in each division were selected to move on to State VOCE. All regional contestants became either a finalist or non-finalist. No awards for 1st Place Winner, 1st Alternate, 2nd, 3rd, or Honorable Mention were chosen.
(In 2022 only: all regional “finalists” were labeled “1st Place” in their VOCE portals even though no regional winners were chosen).
2) At Regional VOCE, all contestants were heard by only one (1) judge, with a separate judge assigned to each instrument—not division—but instrument: a different judge for violins than cellos, flutes than reeds, wind ensembles than string ensembles, etc. Each judge selected finalists for their specific instrument, voice, or ensembles.
The State VOCE judging format remained unchanged, with the traditional panel of two (2) judges per division selecting 1st Place Winner, 1st Alternate, 2nd, 3rd, and Honorable Mentions.
Re-using the regional video was prohibited, and a newly recorded video was required for the state competition.
The non-competitive option remained available.
There are 10 VOCE divisions. VOCE stands for Voice, Orchestral Instruments, and Chamber Ensembles.
2022 Regional VOCE Results for San Diego Branch
The 2022 MTAC Southern CA Regional VOCE competition was held online via video submission on January 10th. ALL students who competed at regionals are to be commended for such hard work and dedication!
Thank you to the nine (9) San Diego Branch teachers who entered students in VOCE 2022: Ruslan Biryukov, Dawn Renee Calvo, Chia-Ling Chien, Hernan Constantino, Alexander Palamidis, Rachel Eunhee Park, Pasha Tseitlin, Danette White, and Elena Yarritu.
Congratulations to these fourteen (14) San Diego Branch students who were selected as “finalists” at the 2022 Southern CA Regional VOCE!
Junior Solo Strings
Elisha Kim, violin
Jasmine Chan, violin
Intermediate Solo Strings
Cynthia Huang, cello
Tyler Xiao, cello
Senior Solo Strings
Samraj Khurana, violin
Intermediate Solo Winds
Serena Liu, flute
Senior Solo Winds
Xili He, flute
Daniel Tran, bassoon
Senior Solo Voice
Flora Yuan, soprano
Intermediate Ensemble
“BC Duo” – Caleb Liu, bassoon & Bryce Liu, piano
“Stairway Trio” – Ethan Zhou, violin; Helen Wang, cello; Kanon Endo, piano
Regional VOCE “finalists” are eligible to move on to the State VOCE competition.
NEW VOCE FORMAT
The MTAC VOCE Competition format changed beginning January 2022, with the first round, formerly a branch competition, now a regional competition, Northern and Southern California. Two (2) changes in the judging format were:
1) At Regional VOCE, numerous “finalists” in each division were selected to move on to State VOCE. All regional contestants became either a finalist or non-finalist. No awards for 1st Place Winner, 1st Alternate, 2nd, 3rd, or Honorable Mention were chosen.
(In 2022 only: all regional “finalists” were labeled “1st Place” in their VOCE portals even though no regional winners were chosen).
2) At Regional VOCE, all contestants were heard by only one (1) judge, with a separate judge assigned to each instrument—not division—but instrument: a different judge for violins than cellos, flutes than reeds, wind ensembles than string ensembles, etc. Each judge selected finalists for their specific instrument, voice, or ensembles.
The State VOCE judging format remained unchanged, with the traditional panel of two (2) judges per division selecting 1st Place Winner, 1st Alternate, 2nd, 3rd, and Honorable Mentions.
Re-using the regional video was prohibited, and a newly recorded video was required for the state competition.
The non-competitive option remained available.
There are 10 VOCE divisions. VOCE stands for Voice, Orchestral Instruments, and Chamber Ensembles.
2023 Concerto Registration now open!
Registration for the 2023 Concerto Competition is now open! Teachers must register their students online. Please visit the Concerto Competition page for more details and to access the registration form. Login is required to access the registration form.
2023 Popular Registration now open!
Registration for the 2023 Popular Music Festival is now open! Teachers must register their students online. Please visit the Popular Music Festival page for more details and to access the registration form. Login is required to access the registration form.
2022 Sonata Results & Acknowledgement
November 12, 2022, was a gorgeous and exciting day at Point Loma Nazarene University where the Sonata Contest in Memory of Jane Smisor Bastien, was held. It was a joy to hear and see so many of our students! We had 295 entrants this year.
I want to thank our incredible team of volunteers! First and foremost, thank you to MTAC member, Dr. Victor Labenske for co-sponsoring our event and helping us to secure Point Loma Nazarene University as our facility. Thank you to Brian Goral and Chutaphin Yeager for organizing our lovely breakfast and lunch. Thank you to Dr. Mitzi Kolar, our wise adviser on all MTAC procedures. Thank you to our branch president Yuko Maruyama for helping us communicate with our teachers and student families. To our other MTAC member volunteers: Sarah Victor, Karlin Labenske, Miriam Cole, Eleanor Hum, Xiao-Yan Sui, Magdi Bornemisza, Hua Wang, Isabelle Roux, Dan Yu, Carole Liu Yu, and Ting Ting Zhang, thank you so much for your time.
Other volunteers: Riley Vickers, Lindsey Heinrich, Brittney Heinrich, Patty Rudolph, Hector Hum, Helena Trinh, Annalise Chang, Tiffany Hsiao, Jeffrey Yang, Francisco Mamon, Anne Pitaya, Chelsea Clements, and to the several Point Loma Nazarene music students who volunteered: we thank you so much for your time.
To my husband, Eric, thank you for your time, patience, and technical expertise to help organize the event.
We are very grateful to our highly esteemed judges for the day: Dr. Sanaz Rezai (Los Angeles), Joanne Stohs (Northern San Diego), Mark Mendez (Montebello), Teri Watson (Fullerton), Dr. Rob Watson (Fullerton), La Vaun Beyer (Orange County), Ardes Abad (Bellflower), Crystal Rivette (Azusa) and Madeline Miller (Valencia). We thank them for their time, dedication, and musical expertise.
We hope to see everyone again next year!
Sincerely,
Lori Bastien Vickers, Chairperson
2022 SONATA CONTEST RESULTS
| Group 1A-Bastien, A First Sonatina, I | Group 1B-Bastien, Silver Sonatina, I |
| 1st Place – Selena Liu | 1st Place – Nayi Liu |
| 2nd Place – Tie: Dylan Zhang, Allison Cai | 2nd Place – George Chang |
| 3rd Place – Indy Jun-Yong-Ni | 3rd Place – Claire Yang |
| Group 2A-Bastien, Sapphire Blue, I | Group 2B-Gillock, Sonatina in G, I |
| 1st Place – Victor Shen | 1st Place – Lucas Zhang |
| 2nd Place – Elise Fu | 2nd Place – Ruitong Xia |
| 3rd Place – Evangeline Felker | 3rd Place – Tie: Jovanny Fernandez, Sophia Wang |
| Group 3A-Bastien, Sunset Sonatina, III | Group 3B-Gillock, Sonatina, II |
| 1st Place – William Fu | 1st Place – Clarie Chen |
| 2nd Place – Daren Ren | 2nd Place – Zihan Ni |
| 3rd Place – Zi Xiang Lin | 3rd Place – Tara Liu |
| Group 4A-Mier, Starry Night Sonatina, III | Group 4B-Alexander, Sonatina in F, III |
| 1st Place – Tie: Amanda Tseng, Kadmus Ma | 1st Place – Nathan Chou |
| 2nd Place – Angela Cai | 2nd Place – Christopher Whitacre |
| 3rd Place – Maggie Pacleb | 3rd Place – Jovan Lim |
| Group 5A-Benda, Sonatina in A minor | Group 5B-Clementi, Sonatina in F, Op. 36, No. 4, I |
| 1st Place – Celine Karyodisa | 1st Place – Elena Chen |
| 2nd Place – Coye Miao | 2nd Place – Chi-ching Chan |
| 3rd Place – Henry Sun | 3rd Place – Tie: Aiden Park, Yvonne Gao |
| Group 6A-Lynes, Sonatina No. 2 in G, III | Group 6B-Olson, Sonatina in Colors, Red, IV |
| 1st Place – Ruiya Xia | 1st Place – Claire Lim |
| 2nd Place – Terrence Zhou | 2nd Place – Mako Diana Nakao |
| 3rd Place – Seojin Lee | 3rd Place – Amy Fang |
| Group 7-Agay, Sonatina No. 3, I | Group 8-Khachaturian, Sonatina (1959) for Piano, I |
| 1st Place – Amy Zhang | 1st Place – Kanon Endo |
| 2nd Place – Andrew Jonathan Lee | 2nd Place – Darren Hack |
| 3rd Place – Alethia Li | 3rd Place – Fiona Zhang |
| Group 9-Mozart, Sonata in Bb Major, K. 570, III | Group 10-Beethoven, Sonata in C minor, Op. 10, No. 1, I |
| 1st Place – James Rong | 1st Place – Amber Zhang |
| 2nd Place – Tie: Sara Sariowan, Tyler Chang | 2nd Place – Bryce Liu |
| 3rd Place – Izel Garcia-Hale | 3rd Place – Sarah Deng |
| Group 11-Beethoven, Sonata in G, Op. 14, No. 2, III | |
| 1st Place – Tie: Edison Choy, Daniel Park, Edward Kim | |
| 2nd Place – Margaret Fan | |
| 3rd Place – Adam Gates |