TCU piano students take top honors in international competitions

Fort Worth, TX

10/31/2006

Two TCU piano students, studying under the School of Music’s legendary piano professor Tamás Ungár, have captured top prizes in recent international competitions.

Alexey Koltakov of the Ukraine and Australia won the $15,000 first prize in the Ninth San Antonio International Piano Competition last week. Only 12 performers were invited to compete, following stringent screenings, and only three finalists were selected. Koltakov was the sixth prize winner in the 2001 Van Cliburn International Piano Competition and is currently enrolled in TCU’s Artist Diploma program.

Yuan Jie of Guanchou, China, received the fourth prize in the China International Concerto Competition, held Oct. 18-29 in Shenzhen, near Hong Kong.  There were 34 pianists from 20 countries, required to perform solo repertoire and three different concertos with orchestra. The international jury unanimously voted Jie’s performance of the Chopin Concerto No. 2 as the highlight of the event. He is studying for a bachelor of music degree at TCU.

For more information, contact Dr. Ungár at 817-257-7456.


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Sandy Record
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