Winners Announcement

Strings Division | Junior Division – 1st Prize Winner

8-year-old Hannah Tam is currently a student of St. Paul’s Co-education College Primary School. She has a strong aesthetic sense of classical music, joined the Hong Kong Academy for Performing Arts (HKAPA) junior music program when she was 5 years old and received training from Mr. Chan Kwok Wai. She is now receiving training from Professor Michael Ma, Head of Strings Department, HKAPA.

She was the champion of violin section (solo) of Inter-school Music Competition in 2011. At age 6, she won the 1st runners-up in Concerto (below 12-year-old group) at the Hong Kong Schools Music Festival. She also won several 1st prizes and Gold Awards in various open competitions and music festivals, including the 2012 First Japan-Hong Kong International Music Competition and the 2011 China Youth Art Festival. She was honourably invited to perform in Tokyo, Japan in 2013. She passed Grade 8 ABRSM exam with distinction in 2013.

Strings Division | Young Artists Division – 1st Prize Winner

Jeremy Hao is a scholarship recipient for his Bachelor of Music Degree at the Mannes College The New School of Music in New York City, currently studying violin performance with Professor Sally Thomas. Previously, Jeremy studied at Wells Cathedral School in the UK as a specialist violinist with Ms Catherine Lord since 2009. During his time at Wells, Jeremy was awarded Full Scholarship and had solo performances with the Wells Cathedral School Symphony Orchestra as a prize winner of the Concerto Competition. Jeremy has taken part in many Orchestra and Ensemble concerts in the US, Europe and China. Also, It was a privileged opportunity working with maestro conductors such as David Hayes and Christopher Adey. As the first prize winner of the Young Artist Division (Strings) of HKGNA Music Competition 2014, Jeremy will perform at the Carnegie Hall and continue to pursue his music career in New York.

Sun began learning piano at the age of 5. He has received numerous awards, including 1st runner-up at the 4th Toyama Asian Youth Music Competition 2008, 1st runner-up at the 19th Fuzhou Secondary and Primary Schools Piano Competition 2009, 1st prize at the 20th Fuzhou Secondary and Primary Schools Piano Competition 2010, Merit in the 5th Steinway National Youth Piano Competition 2010, to name a few. Sun began study in Lang Lang Music World in 2012, performed with Lang Lang in the same year and received scholarship of merit in the same year. In 2013, Sun attended the Lang Lang Master Class in UK and performed in the student concert there. Sun is now attending HKAPA Junior Music Programme under the guidance of Prof. Eleanor Wong.

Piano Division | Senior Division – 1st Prize Winner

Valerie Wai Yuen Wong has been a junior music student since 2004. She is a student of Prof. Eleanor Wong, Artist-in-residence of the Hong Kong Academy for Performing Arts. She has won numerous prizes in Hong Kong and overseas, including the 2nd Prize in the International Piano Competition for Young Musicians, Enschede, the Netherlands 2012 with Press Award and Audience Award; the 3rd Prize in the 1st Korea International Competition for Young Pianists.

In 2011, she won the 1st Prize and Professional Grand Prize at the 75th Steinway & Sons International Youth Piano Competition and performed at “The International Steinway Art Festival 2012” held in Hamburg, Germany, representing China. She was also awarded the 1st Prize at the 65th Llangollen International Musical Eisteddfod in Wales UK and the 5th Asian Youth Music Competition in Hong Kong and 2nd Prize in Beijing Zhou Guang Ren Young Pianist Award.

In addition to holding recitals in Beijing and Hamburg, she has collaborated twice with the Hong Kong Children’s Symphony Orchestra and the Hong Kong Pan Asia Symphony Orchestra as a sololist. She performed the “Magic Piano & The Chopin Shorts” at the 42nd Hong Kong Arts Festival. She has also performed in the piano master classes with Gary Graffman, Sequeria Costa, Francois Chaplin, Alexander Braginsky, Joyce Yang, Fernando Garcia Torres and Lang Lang. In 2013, Wong was awarded the Certificate of Commendation by the Hong Kong SAR Government for her outstanding achievements in the promotion of international arts and culture activities.

Piano Division | Jury Special Prize Winner

Wong Sze Yuen is 16 years old and began his piano studies at an early age. He studied with Huang Tian-Dong at the Xinghai Conservatory of Music. In 2008, he enrolled at the Junior School of The Hong Kong Academy for Performing Arts and studied with Wang Nan and since 2010, with Professor Gabriel Kwok.
Wong Sze Yuen has won many prizes in competitions including gold medal of the Grade 9 in the 1st National Piano Grading excellent players Showcase Competition; first prize of the Amateur Class , group C in the 75th Steinway & Sons International Youth Piano Competition (2011) ; third prize of the Open Class in 17th Hong Kong – Asia Piano Open Competition in 2012 ; second prize and classic sonata prize of The 1st Korea International Competition for Young Pianists .

Piano Division | Young Artists Division – 1st Prize Winner

Yue Zhang began studied piano at 7 years old. In 2004, he was accepted by Shenzhen Arts School. At present, he is pursuing his bachelor degree in HKAPA with full scholarship tutoring by Gabriel Kwok.

He has won Third Prize at the 1st Wenhua National Piano Competition in Xiamen and Silver prize (General Category) at the 14th International Piano Competition in Asia, Yamaha Music Scholarship and HKSAR Government The Talent Development Scholarship.

He has performed in Shenzhen Concert Hall and Shenzhen Poly Theatre and appeared as soloist with the Shenzhen Symphony Orchestra, Xiamen Symphony Orchestra and Hong Kong Pan Asia Symphony Orchestra. He was invited to give a solo recital in Shantou University. Recently he was invited to make his debut concert in Italy, and the concert was broadcasted to cities in Europe by classical music channel radio 3 Rai. He has participated in master classes of Dan Zhaoyi, Jerome Lowenthal, Boris Berman and Anton Kuerti.