Contact: Sue Medford
Info@pianoarts.org • 414-962-3055

www.pianoarts.org • www.facebook

ACCLAIMED WISCONSIN CONCERT PIANISTS PERFORM
& JUDGE in the WISCONSIN YOUTH PIANO COMPETITION

Milwaukee, Wisc. (June 5, 2025) Acclaimed Wisconsin concert pianists – Elena Abend, Michael Rector, and Diana Shapiro, along with their lifelong duo partners – will set the stage for the Wisconsin Youth Piano Competition with the concert, "Creative Partners" on June 13 at 7:00 pm. These artists will also judge the competitors on June 15 and 16. All events, concert and competition will be held at the Wisconsin Conservatory of Music.

Championing the spirit of collaborative performance, Ms. Abend, alongside clarinetist Orlando Pimentel as the Elision Duo will perform selections from their "Music of the Americas" program. Dr. Rector and his wife, pianist Sylvia Hong, will honor another famous couple, performing a work that Felix Mendelssohn wrote for Clara and Robert Schumann. Diana Shapiro and piano partner Stanislava Varshavski will perform sketches of Russian life composed by Valery Gavrilin for his opera, Anyuta.

Biographical information about the Artists

Elision Duo, Rector-Hong Duo, Varshavski-Shapiro Duo. Prior to their performances, Stefanie Jacob will interview the artists.

The 2025 Competitors
Pianists in the competition are 10 to 16 years old and are from Wisconsin. Their passion is piano performance and love of the classics. They were selected to compete by a jury that reviewed audio submissions, choosing six semifinalists to advance to the June competition. They are:

· Grace Bergey (age 10, Mequon) Teacher: Margarita Kontorovsky. Performing the first movement of Haydn's Concerto No. 11 in D major, Hoboken XVIII: 11

· Paul He (age 15, Pewaukee) Teacher: Tatyana Smith. Performing the first movement of Beethoven's Concerto No. 3 in C minor, Opus 37

· Serena Hernke (age 14, Madison) Teacher: ShuChing Chuang. Performing the first movement of Mozart's Concerto No. 12 in A major, Köchel 414

· Jiyun Shi (age 16, Pewaukee) Teacher: Jeannie Yu. Performing the first movement of Beethoven's Concerto No. 2 in B-flat major, Opus 19

· Eliot Yin Wu (age 12, New Berlin) Teacher: Stefanie Jacob. Performing the first movement of Mozart's Concerto No. 12 in A major, Köchel 414

· Bryant Yu (age 15, Waunakee) Teacher: ShuChing Chuang. Performing the first movement of Mendelssohn's Capriccio brilliant, Opus 22

These six will be immersed in four days of performances and training opportunities, including performing with professional pianists, and classes covering such topics as how to speak to an audience and how to collaborate with a conductor of an orchestra.

On Sunday, June 15 at 1:00 pm each contestant will speak about a concerto movement and perform it with a second pianist for an audience and the jury panel. From this group, the jury will advance three to the finals. On Monday, June 16 at 3:00 pm, the finalists will perform their piano concerto movements with an Milwaukee Symphony quintet and MSO Assistant Conductor Ryan Tani.

· First Place: $1,000 and the opportunity to perform with the MSO for a Youth Concert Series

· Second Place: $750

· Third Place: $500

The Wisconsin Youth Piano Competition developed out of the PianoArts North American Piano Competition and the Milwaukee Symphony Orchestra’s Stars of Tomorrow auditions for Wisconsin string, woodwind, brass and percussion musicians. This competition identifies and supports musical excellence in piano performance among Wisconsin’s youth.

The panel for the audio auditions included: Benjamin Hopkins, D.M.A., Concert Pianist; Teresa Drews, Director of Education at the Wisconsin Conservatory of Music; and Lam Wong, D.M.A., Bienen School of Music at Northwestern University.

The jury panel for the June competition are: Elena Abend, Piano Chair at the Peck School of the Arts at UW-Milwaukee; Michael Rector, D.M.A., Piano Chair at UW-Green Bay; and Diana Shapiro, D.M.A., Piano Chair at UW-Whitewater.

The Wisconsin Youth Piano Competition is co-presented by PianoArts and the Milwaukee Symphony Orchestra. The Competition is supported through the Milwaukee Symphony Orchestra's JoAnne Krause Education Endowment Fund.

XXX