A 17 year old virtuoso from Silver Springs, Maryland has won the top prize in the Eastman Young Artists International Piano Competition.
Brian Le was awarded the prize on Saturday after performing the first movement Allegro maestoso of Chopin’s Concerto No. 1 in E Minor with the Rochester Philharmonic Orchestra under conductor Neil Varon.
As the top winner in the event for talented 15-to-18-year-old pianists, held at the Eastman School of Music of the University of Rochester, Le was awarded the Gold Medal, a cash prize of $10,000, and a New York City Debut Concert on the DiMenna Center Piano Concert Series.
The second-place winner of the Silver Medal and $5,000 cash prize was Yaowen Mei, 18, of Wuhan, China. MishaGalant, 17, of San Ramon, Calif., was awarded third prize, a Bronze Medal and $3,000. The remaining two finalists, Tommy Jing Yu Leo, 15, of London, England, United Kingdom, and Evelyn Mo, 16, of Oak, Hill, Va., each received a $1,000 cash award.
Galant also received the Audience Prize, which carried an award of $1,000. The Early Music Prize, also a $1,000 award, went to Vanessa Haynes, 18, of Oak Ridge, N.J.
This year, 22 competitors from eight countries took part in the Eastman Young Artists International Piano Competition
