Congratulations to all the participants of the 2019 Chopin Festival! Here are the results from our adjudicated event.
| 1st Place | 2nd Place | 3rd Place | |
|---|---|---|---|
| Waltz or Mazurka | Yilin Zhu | Eric Thomas | Victoria Chen |
| Nocturne or Impromptu | Jason Chen | Luke Qiao | Gabrielle Sanchez |
| Etude | Stephanie Ling | Benjamin Fitzpatrick | Saeji Hong |
| Polonaise or Scherzo | Bradley Carpiuc | Laura Yu | Sunny Xiao |
| Ballade or Sonata | Claire Lewis | Aaron Chizhik | Zisheng Shang |
The registration for the 2019 Helen B. Goodlin Competition is now open. The event guidelines and the online registration form are available here: https://mtacsd.org/goodlin-competition-guidelines/
| 2019 Complete Works Bach Festival Winners | ||
|---|---|---|
| Isabella Buenaflor | Claire Lewis | Andrew Sun |
| Emma Cao | Chloe Li | Eric Thomas |
| Rien Chen | Emma Li | Kayden Wang |
| Steven Chen | Eric Li | Eric Whang |
| Frederick Chien | Sabrina Li | Adora Xiao |
| Aaron Chizhik | Katherine Lin | Ella Xing |
| Yeonwoo Chu | Stephanie Ling | Jonathan Xue |
| Jonathan Cong | Ally Negulescu | Veronica Yu |
| Grace Deng | Sydney Nguyen | Keanu Zeller |
| Benjamin Fitzpatrick | Caroline Renas | Andrew Zhang |
| Kai Goodsell | Gabrielle Sanchez | Dorien Zhang |
| Ajay Krishnan | Kyle Shi | Rudy Zhang |
| Celine Lau | Ethan Song | Aidan Zhao |
| Richard Lee | Edmund Sumpena | |
Winners for the Anna Magdalena Bach Program are as follows:
1st Place – Amy Zhang
2nd Place – Leona Cai
3rd Place – Alic Stanko
Honorable Mention – Selena Chang
Honorable Mention – Angela Han
Honorable Mention – Ivy Vo
Dear MTACSD Members,
Congratulations to each and everyone for a successful production of the Certificate of Merit. Teachers, students, parents and volunteers alike braved the rains and the new venues and the demanding schedule. Thank you for your hard work, flexibility and patience.
I especially would like to ask everyone to extend their appreciation to the super hard-working CM crew headed by our incredible CM Branch Chair, Eleanor Hum:
Jamie Lin: Co-chair and Piano Scheduling Coordinator
Michelle Rumley: Winds and String Coordinator; Site Coordinator-MBMA; State CM Chair
Hanan Jammal-Ouchi: Teachers’ Work Scheduler and Tammy Lee, her Assistant
Lee Galloway: Evaluator Coordinator; Site Coordinator-Cuyamaca College
Jaclyn Summers and Brian Goral: Hospitality Coordinators
Mitzi Kolar: Data Entry Room Head
Dawn Yocom, Sachiko Reiners and Philip “Jay Jay” Lim: Grading Room Heads
Kathy Shoemaker and Dragana Matic: Theory Testing Heads
Chutaphin Yeager and Yuko Maruyama: Site Logistics
In addition, we couldn’t have done it without all the volunteer runners who escorted our students safely to and from their evaluations. Also, I know there are other hard-working teachers not mentioned here but I will leave those names for Eleanor to acknowledge in person.
This year, Cuyamaca College and the Mission Bay Montessori Academy both welcomed us to their locations for our CM evaluations. The performance evaluations and theory testing, spread over 8 days, were a challenge to our team from the organizational standpoint. However, we are very appreciative of both schools’ support for our program, and we are assessing how to improve next year’s CM plans. We hope to make productive changes for the better.
I suggest that everyone take a short “time out” and congratulate yourself for a job well done before you embark on the next events: Bach, Chopin and Goodlin.
Thank you again for your cooperation, patience and understanding.
Sincerely,
Miriam Cole
President
MTAC San Diego
Thank you for participating in the 2019 Piano Duo Festival! The event was held on Saturday, February 23 at Greene Music. Students, teachers and families enjoyed the beautiful piano duet music performed by 14 teams in 6 different age-division categories. The Duo Festival chair Dan Yu made all pre-event arrangements and organized the schedule, and on the event day, my MTAC colleague Carol Ong-Chen was an indispensable help to run the two recitals back to back. Thank you to students, parents, and all participating teachers for making it a successful event. The following studios were represented: Eunice Ahn, Eunji Bae, Lee Galloway, Yu Carole Liu, Victor Labenske, Carol Ong-Chen, Galina Talis, and Anna Vasilyeva. Special thanks to our adjudicators Steve Baker and Sanaz Rezai.
Here are the results and photos from the event. Congratulations to all participants. We hope you join us again next year.
| 2019 Piano Duo Festival Results | ||
|---|---|---|
| Category I: Ages 5 - 9 | First Place | Grace Xu & Sarah Deng |
| Second Place | Allison Doung & Katelyn Doung | |
| Third Place | Mia Davis & Jace Phillips | |
| Category II: Ages 10 - 12 | First Place | Wei-Shi Lai & Peiran Liang |
| Second Place | Anya Davis & Kailey Philips | |
| Third Place | Iris Cheng & Leah Nacher | |
| Category III: Ages 13 - 15 | First Place | Ruei-Chi Lai & Davina Zhu |
| Second Place | Stephen Zhu & Hsiang-Kuang Zhuang | |
| Third Place | Paul Suarez & John Suarez | |
| Category IV: Ages 16 - High School | First Place | Jessica Mar & Jenny Mar |
| Category V: College | First Place | Aurora Grzybek & Evan Lin |
Congratulations to all the participants in this year’s Concerto Competition!
I want to give a special thank you to Sarah Victor, who was my assistant both days, Dana Burnett for preparing the warm-up schedules both days, Lori Vickers, Sun Yung Cho, Alexander Mirolyan, Stacey Liao and Michael Tseitlin for providing pastries and fruit for judges. I also want to thank USD’s Department of Music for generously sponsoring this event!
I would also like to express my gratitude to our panel of judges this year:
PIANO: Wan-Chin Chang, Gema Garcia, Mark Gutierrez
WINDS: Beth Ross Buckley, Pamela Vliek Martchev, James Romeo
STRINGS: Elizabeth Brown, Paivikki Nykter, Philip Tyler
Here are the results and photos. Winners performances with orchestra will be announced very soon.
| DIVISION I: piano through 11 yrs. | |
| 1st place | Youchae B. – Haydn: Concerto in D Major, 1st mvt. |
| 2nd place (alternate) | Tyler C. |
| 3rd place | Saejoon H. |
| DIVISION II: piano 12-14 yrs. | |
| 1st place | Ally N. – Saint-Saens: Concerto No. 2 in G minor, 1st mvt. |
| 2nd place (alternate) | Stephanie L. |
| 3rd place | Justin L. |
| Honorable Mentions: | Margaret F. and Christine Z. |
| DIVISION III: 15-18 yrs. | |
| 1st place | Alexis W. – Mozart: Concerto No. 27 in Bb Major, K. 595, 3rd mvt. |
| 2nd place (alternate) | Zachary L. |
| 3rd place | Saeji H. |
| DIVISION IV: Winds | |
| 1st place | Isabelle J. – Griffes: Poem |
| 2nd place (alternate) | Helen Z. |
| 3rd place | Jennie C. |
| Honorable Mentions: | Athena T. |
| DIVISION V: Strings through 13 yrs. | |
| 1st place | Dasha Z. – Vivaldi: Concerto in G Minor, RV 317 |
| 2nd place (alternate) | Caden J. |
| 3rd place (tie) | Ellie L. and Lucas L. |
| Honorable Mentions: | Isabel K. |
| DIVISION VI: Strings 14-18 yrs. | |
| 1st place | Nathan S. – Sibelius: Violin Concerto in D Minor, 1st mvt. |
| 2nd place (alternate) | Pearl d. |
| 3rd place | Susan L. |
| Honorable Mentions: | Jacey L., Lucy G., Josiah d., Andrew Y., Evan Z. |
Members may login to view the results with full names below:
There were 41 entries in the 2019 Branch VOCE Competition held at Point Loma Community Presbyterian Church on January 5. So numerous were the entries, that the competition was split into two concurrent events: strings and ensembles in the sanctuary, with winds and voice in the chapel.
Congratulations to all participating students for such wonderful performances! You are to be truly commended for your training, preparation, and fortitude.
Thank you to all students, parents, church personnel, co-chairs, volunteers, teachers, accompanists, and judges for your invaluable contributions toward a successful VOCE!
Co-Chairs:
Hernan Constantino, Danette White, and Yuko Maruyama
Volunteers:
Ruslan Biryukov, Miriam Cole, Peter Dayeh, Brian Goral, Sunah Park Jong, Pasha Tseitlin, and Dan Yu
Studios Represented:
Ruslan Biryukov, Glen Campbell, Hernan Constantino, Peter Dayeh, Wei Feng, Sunah Park Jong, Alexander Palamidis, Pasha Tseitlin, Danette White, and Elena Yarritu
Accompanists:
Yulia Atoyan, Dana Burnett, Miriam Cole, Katherine Dvoskin, Yoonhee Huh, Bradley Pettit, Danette White, and Dan Yu
Judges:
Strings & Ensembles: Missy Lukin and Chia-Ling Chien
Winds & Voice: James Romeo and Leyla Zamora
Voice: Dan Ratelle
1st Place Branch Winners are eligible to compete at the State VOCE in Orange County on April 7, and we wish you well! 1st Place Alternates may compete at the State VOCE when Branch Winners cannot.
RESULTS
Junior Strings:
1st Place – Elijah D, cello
2nd Place – Jessie S, violin
3rd Place – Benjamin L, violin
Honorable Mention – Caitlin W, violin
Intermediate Strings:
1st Place – Pearl Anne D, viola
2nd Place – Eric Z, violin
3rd Place – Ethan Z, cello
Honorable Mention – Stacy W, violin
Senior Strings:
1st Place – Nathan S, violin
1st Place Alternate – Luzy G, violin
2nd Place – Evan Z, violin
3rd Place Tie – Darren J, cello
3rd Place Tie – Jacey Y, violin
Intermediate Winds:
1st Place – Nithin C, flute & piccolo
1st Place Alternate – Anna L, flute
2nd Place – Gary L, clarinet
3rd Place – Ramona T, flute
Honorable Mention – Richard L, flute
Senior Winds:
1st Place – Zackery E, bassoon
1st Place Alternate – Dillon H, flute
Intermediate Voice:
1st Place – Flora Y, soprano
Intermediate Ensemble:
1st Place – The String Beans
Evan Z, violin; Wei-Shan H, violin; James R, viola; Dylan R, cello
2nd Place – The LHF Trio
Kevin H, violin; Sunny F, cello; Leo L, piano
3rd Place – San Diego Youth Cello Quartet
Darren J, cello; Andrew Y, cello; Ethan Z, cello; Daniel C, cello
Honorable Mention – De la Motte String Quartet
Josiah D, violin; Naomi D, violin; Pearl D, viola; Elijah D, cello
Please login to view the results with full names below.
Dear MTACSD Members,
At about this time, many are wrapping up presents, if they have not done it yet. It is also the time of wrapping up 2018 and bracing for another year which holds promises and challenges. We hope that in the year 2019, you will be motivated and equipped to encourage and inspire your students. There are many events that your students could be prepared for, aside from Certificate of Merit. Playathon, Piano Duo Festival and the Southern California Junior Bach Festival are coming soon, and the Concerto Competition deadline is on January 7.
It is our hope that your students will continue to grow in their confidence in your teaching and encouragement.
Have a great holiday season and a wonderful New Year!
Sincerely,
Miriam Cole
President
MTAC San Diego
There were 265 participants in the 2018 Sonata Contest and I am so grateful for all of those who helped to make this a successful day. First, a very big thank you to MTAC members: Mitzi Kolar, Chutaphin Yeager, Miriam Cole, Jacki Summers, Brian Goral, Lynn Sundfor-McPherson, Magdi Bornemisza, Stuart Thurston, Dan Yu, Sarah Victor, Angelina Hardy, Yuko Maruyama and Hua Wang for their help on the day of the contest and in the preparations for the event.
Thank you to the following volunteers whose help was invaluable: Abby Vickers, David Rudolph, Priscilla Ling, Chelsea Clements, Kevin Korevaar Patty Rudolph, Nancy McClintock, Evan and Austin Killeen, Aurora Gryzbek Renee Chang, Paul Otterson, Han-Min Kim, Jonathan Backues and Leslie Lucas.
Another big thank you to Eric Vickers for his computer technical expertise, and for his encouragement and support with running this event!
Finally, none of this would be possible without the constant help of Dr. Mitzi Kolar and Chutaphin Yeager who worked tirelessly on this and previous years’ contests. Thanks also to San Diego State University for their generous hospitality allowing us to use their facility.
The judges for this year were: Sharon Townsend-Roth (Glendale), Rob and Teri Watson (Fullerton), Matilda Rudolph (Vista), Sanaz Rezai (Los Angeles), Mark Mendez (Montebello), Laurie Meinhold (Aliso Viejo), Jo Ellen Vandruff (Orange) and Erika Ramos (Redlands).
Happy Holidays to all of you and we hope to see you next year.
Please login to view the 2018 Sonata Results below:
Thank you for participating in the 2018 Popular Music Festival! We had 15 teachers enter 51 students who performed in recitals on November 3, 2018 at Grossmont College. The four recitals were filled with delightful music ranging from pop and rock to jazz, blues and ragtime.
The 3pm Jazz Improvisation Workshop was led by Yuko Maruyama, and the accompanists were Doug Walker on bass and Matthew Taylor on drums. Students Andrew D., Skylar L., Risa S., Eric T., Michael W., and teacher Claudia Smetona explored improvisation on blues and funk, Latin rhythms, and some jazz standards.
Studios Represented: Irina Bessonova, Miriam Cole, Kathy Kim, Amy Lee, Philip Lim, Brenda Martin, Yuko Maruyama, Leslie Olson, Carol Ong-Chen, Anna Savvas, Claudia Smetona, Anna Stal, Galina Talis, Irina Williams, and Dan Yu
A big thank-you to all the teachers, students and friends who came out and volunteered their time to make this event possible:
Irina Bessonova, Miriam Cole, Kathy Kim, Yuko Maruyama, Leslie Olson, Carol Ong-Chen, Anna Savvas, Risa Schapiro, Claudia Smetona, Irina Williams, Chutaphin Yeager and Dan Yu
