Registration for the 2024 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.
The event day information has been posted on the Sonata Contest page. Please follow the link to view the information.
Registration for the 2024 Sonata Contest is now open! Teachers must register their students online. Please visit the Sonata Contest page for more details and to access the registration form. Login is required to access the registration form.
Thank you for participating in the 2024 H. B. Goodlin Scholarship Competition! We had 114 students from 49 teaching studios competing in five divisions. The auditions were adjudicated by 9 Preliminary Round judges and 6 Finals judges. After the Preliminary Round Audition in a video submission format, 34 Finalists participated in the in-person Finals Audition at Cuyamaca College Theatre and at the Foothills United Methodist Church on Saturday, May 18.
The Instrumental Division Finals auditions were held at the Cuyamaca College Theatre and the Keyboard Division Finals auditions were held at two locations throughout the day. Afterwards, the students and teachers were treated to the piano master class given by Dr. Dmitry Rachmanov, where two selected finalists received instruction on their Goodlin competition pieces.
Thank you to the San Diego Foundation, the William E. Schmidt Foundation and other generous donors for their continued support for this event. Thank you to Cuyamaca College and the Foothills United Methodist Church for hosting the Saturday Finals Competition in their beautiful buildings.
I would like to acknowledge the participating studios for their work in educating our music students in San Diego County: Rowena Asuncion, Yulia Atoyan, Ruslan Biryukov, Dana Burnett, Jessie Chang, Chiyuan Chen, Chia-Ling Chien, Anna Cho, Sun Yung Cho, Emi Clements, Hernan Constantino, Maria Crystalia, Zishan Ding, Karen Follingstad, David Garrett, Eleanor Hum, Emily Hung, Ji-Won Lee, Sunny Lee, Shanshan Li, Shuang Li, April Lin, Inessa Litvin, Yu Carole Liu, Rinna Livshin, Pamela Martchev, Alex Mirolyan, Anders Nelson, Brendan Nguyen, Thuy Nguyen, Alexander Palamidis, Cho-Hyun Park, Wesley Precourt, Frank Renk, Sean Reusch, Leslie Robb, Anna Savvas, Yvonne Shanks, Ory Shihor, Gill Tsai, Irina Tseitlin, Michael Tseitlin, Pasha Tseitlin, Anna Vasilyeva, Sophie Webber, Angela Wu, Elena Yarritu, Dan Yu, and Jia Sheng Zhou.
I would like to thank the current and the past members of the MTAC San Diego Board of Directors, and the members of the H. B. Goodlin Foundation Board. Special thanks to Dr. J. Mitzi Kolar, Jaclyn Summers and Lea Schmidt-Rogers for their perpetual support and guidance for the Goodlin Competition.
Thank you to the 2024 Goodlin Competition Finals Volunteers: Sun Yung Cho, Brian Goral, Ashten Jensen, Ed Litvin, Yu Carole Liu, Marj Osgood, Michele Resnick, Leslie Robb, Larry Rogers, Lea Schmidt-Rogers, Anna Savvas, Risa Schapiro, Xiao-yan Sui, Jaclyn Summers, Elena Yarritu, Chutaphin Yeager, and Dan Yu.
We were privileged to have these distinguished judges for this year’s competition: Isaac Allen, Dr. Wan-Chin Chang, Dr. Ching-Ming Cheng, Dr. Tina Chong, Dr. Andrea Gareffa, Dr. Eloise Kim, Dr. Michael Krikorian, Gail Lew, Pam Monroe, Keith Popejoy, Dr. Dmitry Rachmanov, Dr. Taylor Smith, Mark Teplitsky, Philip Tyler, and Teri Watson.
The results are posted below. We hope to see you again next year!
| Division | Ranking | ID | Name | Award | |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Division I Keyboard | 1st Place | 12 | Chloe K. Wang | $500 | |
| 2nd Place | 15 | Angela Cai | $200 | ||
| 3rd Place | 18 | Elena Chen | $100 | ||
| HM | 17 | Chloe Chen | $50 | Masterclass Participant | |
| HM | 16 | Nathan Teng | $50 | ||
| HM | 14 | Jack Y Park | $50 | ||
| HM | 13 | Iris Huiyan Li | $50 | ||
| HM | 11 | Yuhan Jackson | $50 | ||
| Division II Keyboard | 1st Place | 21 | Chloe Li | $1,000 | |
| 2nd Place | 23 | Amy Zhang | $500 | ||
| 3rd Place | 24 | Steven Chen | $200 | ||
| HM | 22 | Lucas Chen | $75 | ||
| HM | 27 | Isabella Yang | $75 | ||
| HM | 26 | William Cheng | $75 | ||
| HM | 28 | Rien Chen | $75 | ||
| HM | 25 | James Rong | $75 | ||
| HM | 19 | Aska Enomoto | $75 | ||
| HM | 20 | Terrence Zhou | $75 | ||
| Division III Keyboard | 1st Place | 30 | Bradley Carpiuc | $3,000 | Chet & June Schmidt Award |
| 2nd Place | 29 | Adora Xiao | $1,000 | ||
| 3rd Place | 34 | Ye-Eun Hong | $500 | ||
| HM | 33 | Sara Sariowan | $100 | ||
| HM | 31 | Huizi Zhong | $100 | Masterclass Participant | |
| HM | 32 | Joanna Xu | $100 | ||
| Junior Instrumental | 1st Place | 1 | Beichen Li | $1,000 | |
| 2nd Place | 3 | Donghyuk Heo | $500 | ||
| 3rd Place | 2 | Tracie Liu | $200 | ||
| Senior Instrumental | 1st Place | 7 | Brianna Baek | $3,000 | Chet & June Schmidt Award |
| 2nd Place | 8 | Saejoon Hong | $1,000 | ||
| 3rd Place | 9 | Carmela Harkins | $500 | ||
| HM | 10 | Caitlin Wang | $100 | ||
| HM | 6 | Julian Wu | $100 | ||
| HM | 5 | Ethan Zhou | $100 | ||
| HM | 4 | Benjamin Luo | $100 |
We had 83 pianists who performed beautifully at the 6th Annual Chopin Festival on April 27, 2024.
Here are the winners:
Division I
Emily Chen, 1st Place
Kai Yi, 2nd Place
Landon Han, 3rd Place
Darren Hack, Honorable Mention
Jayden Wang, Honorable Mention
Euan Lee, Honorable Mention
Daren Ren, Honorable Mention
Division II
Emma Ericson, 1st Place
Astrea Archibald, 2nd Place
Ray Fu, 3rd Place
Aaron Ye, Honorable Mention
Nuri Jang, Honorable Mention
Division III
Khai West, 1st Place
Saya Schmitigal, 2nd Place
Clarie Chen, 3rd Place
Cody Land, Honorable Mention
Sarah Deng, Honorable Mention
Nathan Teng, Honorable Mention
Seoyeon Lee, Honorable Mention
Division IV
Amy Zhang, 1st Place
Henry Sun, 2nd Place
Eric Feng, 3rd Place
Terrence Zhou, Honorable Mention
Division V
Caleb Tang, 1st Place
Ye Eun Hong, 2nd Place
Victoria Chen, 3rd Place
Hayden Crocker, Honorable Mention
Melinda Wang, Honorable Mention
Congratulations to all the winners and their teachers: Irina Bendetsky, Jessie Chang, Sun Yung Cho, Karen Follingstad, Berta Godkin, Mitzi Kolar, Inessa Litvin, Yu Carole Liu, Rinna Livshin, Cho-Hyun Park, Anna Savvas, Viktor Shekhtman, Chetan Tierra, Anna Stal, Gill Tsai, Ting Ting Zhang, Jia Sheng Zhou
We look forward to seeing you next year!
Jessie Chang
MTACSD Chopin Festival Chair
The 2024 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 seven (7) teachers, a special congratulations goes to these San Diego Branch students who received awards at the 2024 State VOCE Competition!
Intermediate Solo Strings
Alvin Wang, viola – 3rd Place
Ethan Zhou, violin – Honorable Mention
Senior Solo Strings
Brianna Baek, violin – 1st Place Alternate
Intermediate Solo Winds
Rashmi Chelliserry, flute – 3rd Place
Senior Solo Winds
Daniel Torrero, bassoon – 1st Place Alternate
Intermediate Solo Voice
Evonne Fangao, soprano –1st Place
Intermediate Instrumental Ensemble
“California Institute of Music Trio” – 2nd Place
Caitlin Wang, violin; Alvin Wang, viola; Huizi Zhong, piano
“Trio Calzino” – Honorable Mention
Mila Keres, violin; Sophia Slott, cello; Bradley Carpiuc, piano
There are 11 VOCE divisions. VOCE stands for “Voice, Orchestral Instruments, and Chamber Ensembles.”
On Saturday, April 6th, the 2024 Piano Duo Festival was held at the Greene Music Recital Hall. 31 teams from 16 studios were presented in three successful recitals. These student teams performed in four competitive categories and in one non-competitive category. Thanks to the following studios for their participation: Anna Stal, Carol Ong-Chen, April Lin, Isabelle Roux, Yulia Atoyan, Eunice Ahn, Galina Talis, Vivian Wu, Yuko Maruyama, Yun-Yin Wu, Anna Vasilyeva, Lori Vickers, Luba Ugorski, Kathy Kim, Johee Lee, and Irina Bessonova. Also, big thank-you to our volunteer teachers Vivian Wu, Carol Ong-Chen, and Yuko Maruyama for helping the event run smoothly. Our judges, Steve Baker and Joanne Stohs, were very impressed with the level of playing and want to congratulate all teachers and students. See you next year!
2024 DUO FESTIVAL WINNERS
I: Ages 5 – 9
1st – Clarie Chen & Daren Ren
2nd – Nishant Mantravadi & Blake Chuang
3rd – Jimin Lai & Andrew Ong
HM – Alice Lai & Sherri Zhou
HM – Lexie Yang & Justin Chang
II: Ages 10 – 12
1st – Maximilian Zeng & Lyla Zeng
2nd – Blake Hawkinson & Alex Hawkinson
3rd – Yen-Cheng Wu & Vincent Wu
HM – Evangeline Felker & Caleb Felker
HM – O-New Kim & Julie Jeong
III: Ages 13 – 15
1st – Claire Li & Avery Li
2nd – Charity Chen & Yen-Cheng Wu
3rd – Alexander Jaden Smith & Vladimir Bayanduryan
IV: Ages 16 – HS
1st – Tony Qu & Hsueh-Heng Lu
2nd – Peiran Liang & Charity Chen
3rd – Eunseo Lim & Cala Ko
HM – Maya Hanoch & Leah Wylie
HM – Ellie Chen & Evan Chen
HM – Caitlin Wang & Alvin Wang
HM – Christopher Lee & Daniel Kwon
HM – Emma Shi & Jack Shi
HM – Rudy Zhang & Michael Zhang
HM – Sonya Yasuda & Kyla Ho
The 2024 MTAC Southern CA Regional VOCE competition was held online via video submission on January 12th. ALL students who competed at regionals are to be commended for such hard work and dedication!
Congratulations to these nineteen (19) San Diego Branch students who were selected as “finalists” at the 2024 Southern CA Regional VOCE!
Junior Solo Strings
Victoria Kim, violin
Intermediate Solo Strings
Jasmine Chan, violin
Tracie Liu, violin
Alvin Wang, viola
Caitlin Wang, violin
Julian Wu, cello
Kayley Xu, violin
Ethan Zhou, violin
Senior Solo Strings
Brianna Baek, violin
Intermediate Solo Winds
Rashmi Chelliserry, flute
Senior Solo Winds
Daniel Torrero, bassoon
Intermediate Solo Voice
Evonne Fangao, soprano
Olivia Xia, soprano
Intermediate Instrumental Ensemble
“California Institute of Music Trio”
Caitlin Wang, violin; Alvin Wang, viola; Huizi Zhong, piano
Intermediate Instrumental Ensemble
“Trio Calzino”
Mila Keres, violin; Sophia Slott, cello; Bradley Carpiuc, piano
Intermediate Instrumental Ensemble
“Viva Trio”
Ethan Zhou, violin; Helen Wang, cello; Melinda Wang, piano
Regional VOCE “finalists” were eligible to move on to the State VOCE competition held online March 15.
There are 11 VOCE divisions. VOCE stands for “Voice, Orchestral Instruments, and Chamber Ensembles.”
DIVISION I (Piano through 11 yrs)
First Place – Kadmus Ma
Second Place – Ray Fu
Third Place – (TIE) Astrea Archibald and Janelle Chen
Honorable Mentions – Alexis Lee, Clara Stone, Julia Yu
DIVISION II (Piano 12-14 yrs)
First Place – James Rong
Second Place – Seoyeon Lee
Third Place – Aaron Ye
Honorable Mentions – Jayson Bordges and Benjamin Huang
DIVISION III (Piano 15-18 yrs)
First Place – Ethan Song
Second Place – Khai West
Third Place – You Wu
Honorable Mentions – Hayden Crocker and Nathan Dai
DIVISION IV (Winds)
First Place – Harper Xu (flute)
Second Place – Maggie Liang (flute)
Third Place – Edward Pacal (bassoon)
Honorable Mentions – Rashmi Chelliserry (flute) and Beckham Kunkler (bassoon)
DIVISION V (Strings through 13 yrs)
First Place – Elisha Kim (violin)
Second Place – Clarie Chen (violin)
Third Place – Tracie Liu (violin)
Honorable Mentions – Emel Cubukcu (violin) and Victoria Kim (violin)
DIVISION VI (Strings 14-18 yrs)
First Place – Anthony Kim (violin)
Second Place – Lucas Lee (violin)
Third Place – Brianna Baek (violin)
Honorable Mention – Caitlin Wang (violin)
PIANO ADJUDICATORS: Dr. Wan-Chin Chang, Dr. Kookhee Hong, Dr. Stephen Pierce
WINDS ADJUDICATORS: Pam Martchev (flute), Teri Perrin (flute), Valentin Martchev (bassoon)
STRINGS ADJUDICATORS: Angela Choong, Dr. Wan-Chin Chang, Yoomin Seo.
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 Greene Music (Robert Catalano, Jaime Pecorella, Ken Schoenwetter) for allowing us to use the Recital Hall for 2 full days, even opening the store several hours earlier so we could finish in two days.
We are excited that this year all 6 division first-place winners will be performing with the Mira Costa College – Oceanside Symphony Orchestra, under the direction of Mr. Brandon Muresan.
Dates and performances are:
Friday-Saturday, March 15-16, 2024, 7:30 pm
Soloists:
Ethan Song (Saint-Saëns Piano Concerto No. 2, MVT III)
Elisha Kim (Vieuxtemps Violin Concerto No. 5, MVT I)
Anthony Kim (Sibelius Violin Concerto in D Minor, MVT I)
Friday-Saturday, May 17-18, 2024, 7:30 pm
Soloists:
Kadmus Ma (Shostakovich Piano Concerto Op. 102 No. 2, MVT II)
James Rong (Mozart Piano Concerto in G Major, K.453, MVT I)
Harper Xu (Morlacchi The Swiss Shepherd for flute and orchestra)
I am very grateful to the following teachers who either helped by donating food for the judges, donated their time to assist me at the competition, or both: Dana Burnett, Jessie Chang, Berta Godkin, Chris Kim, Carol Seefeldt, Pasha Tseitlin, Lori Vickers, Danette White, Elena Yarritu, and Dan Yu. 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.
Congratulations again to ALL contestants and ALL participating teachers! Hope to see you next year!
This past Saturday, a smorgasbord of movie themes, ragtime, Broadway songs, video game music, jazz tunes and even an original composition, filled the Cuyamaca College Theatre. This was due to the Annual Popular Music Festival which featured students of various levels in three recitals. Aside from pianists, there were budding jazz singers as well as a violinist making this event even more special. Congratulations to all participating students who shared their music with us, and a big thank-you to all the teachers, families and friends who braved the rain to come and support these young performers.
Judges Yuko Maruyama and Steve Baker wrote comments and suggestions which will be sent by email to the students’ teachers. The students were rewarded with individual certificates and a medal at the end of each recital.
Event co-chairs Chutaphin Yeager and Miriam Cole, along with Yuko Maruyama would like to extend their gratitude to the teachers who helped out: Irina Bessanova, Lea Schmidt-Rogers and Anna Savvas. Your help was very valuable.
The 2024 Popular Music Festival Participating Studios were: Irina Bessonova, Jim Guerin, Vanessa Lee, Yu Carole Liu, Floyd Lo, Yuko Maruyama, Carol Ong-Chen, Anna Savvas, Lea Schmidt-Rogers, Anna Stal, Chetan Tierra, and Mei Yin
We hope to see you all again next year!
