Princeton Festival Piano Competition Winners Named

PRINCETON, NJ — The Princeton Festival recently announced the winners of the 15th annual piano competition. Eight winners in seven classes plus an overall top performer was selected by a distinguished team of adjudicators.

The competition was held online and drew 245 entries from young artists in 25 U.S. states and 32 countries. The winners were selected from among 23 finalists in seven performance classes.

Two winners were from Delaware and the top performer was from New York, the Festival said. All winners received a cash prize, ranging from $100 to $1,000, and a certificate from the Festival.

Here’s the list of winners, listed by class:

• Elementary (6-9 years old): Louis Gao, Charlotte, NC
• Intermediate (10-12): Valentina Ramos, Greenville, DE
• Junior (13-15): Yeuk Yu Chiu, Newark, DE
• Senior (16-18): Elizabeth Yang, Belle Mead, NJ
• Emerging Open (25 and under): Janet Phang, New York, NY
• Experienced Open (26 and Older): Junwen Liang, State College, PA
• Four-Hand (25 and under: Angel Wang, Joyce Wang, Cottonwood Heights, UT

Janet Phang, the winner of the Emerging Open class, also received the Richard Tang Yuk prize, for the top overall performer in the competition.

“All of the young musicians who entered the competition this year played with such skill and artistry that our adjudicators had a hard time selecting the finalists, let alone the winners,” Gregory Geehern, Acting Artistic Director of the Princeton Festival, said in a media statement. “They are an inspiration to aspiring pianists everywhere, and were a joy to listen to.”

This year’s adjudicators were Andrew Brownell, concert pianist and member of the faculty member of the Butler School of Music at the University of Texas at Austin; Eunhae Grace Yun, a piano pedagogue and music educator; and J.Y. Song, a Steinway Artist known for her distinctive programming and skilled pedagogue at leading conservatories.

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