Welcome to the Bravura Philharmonic Orchestra!
2025 Young Artists Concerto Competition
Dear Students, Parents and Teachers,
Thank you so much for participating in the 2025 Bravura Philharmonic Young Artists Concerto Competition! We have 81 contestants this year, representing 12 states across the USA, Hong Kong and South Korea. Our wonderfully talented participants include 29 who are auditioning “live” and 52 via video recordings. There are 17 pianists, 33 violinists, 5 violists, 16 cellists, 3 clarinetists, 2 flutists, and one each on oboe, trumpet, marimba, tuba, and horn.
Today, our adjudicators will listen to the 29 in-person performances, having previously viewed the video recordings. The competition is open to the public. Recording the contestants is encouraged, as this provides an excellent educational opportunity for them. However, the recording of performers other than your own participant is not permitted.
The adjudicators will choose a maximum of four Gold Medal winners to perform their concertos at a concert featuring them with the Bravura Philharmonic Orchestra on Sunday, June 1, 2025. In addition, the judges will select a winner from contestants residing in Middlesex or Mercer Counties - the local community where the Bravura Philharmonic Orchestra is based.
In recognition of the extremely high level of so many of the competitors, the judges will also declare silver and bronze medal winners to acknowledge their dedication and fabulous performances. As the Bravura Philharmonic Orchestra has also been engaged to perform at additional concert venues, some silver and bronze winners may be invited to be appear with the orchestra on these occasions.
We will post the winners at the end of the day on the Bravura Philharmonic Orchestra website: www.bravuraphil.org. Being able to compete at such a high level is a tremendous accomplishment, so we would like to express our gratitude to you, your teachers, parents, and your accompanists. We applaud each and every one of you!
Ellen Fisher-Deerberg,
Competition Director
Winners of the 2025 Bravura Philharmonic Young Artists Concerto Competition
Gold
Ellie Liu, age 9, Violin | Saint-Saëns: Introduction and Rondo Capriccioso, Op. 28
Wilson Liu, age 10, Piano | Mozart: Concerto No. 20 in D minor, K466
Oliver Mar, age 14, Cello | Tchaikovsky: Variations on a Rococo Theme, Op. 33
Leila Warren, age 15, Violin | Sibelius: Violin Concerto in D minor, Op. 47
Silver
Melody Jian, age 12, Violin | Bruch: Concerto No. 1 in G minor, Op. 26
Irene Lee, age 16, Oboe | Kalliwoda: Oboe Concerto
Alexander Liu, age 13, Piano | Mozart: Concerto No. 21
Hannah Moon, age 16, Violin | Wieniawski: Fantasia on Themes from 'Faust', Op. 20
Bronze
Amy Chu, age 13, Piano | Mozart: Concerto No. 20
Yoojun Curtis Lee, age 12, Violin | Paganini: Violin Concerto No. 1
Alice Hu, age 14, Violin | Vieuxtemps: Violin Concerto No. 5
Angela Kim, age 17, Cello | Elgar: Cello Concerto in E Minor, Op. 85
Max Lu, age 10, Cello | Saint-Saëns: Concerto No. 1 in A minor, Op. 33
Benjamin Luo, age 16, Piano | Rachmaninoff: Piano Concerto No. 3 in D minor, Op. 30
Hana Tsai, age 16, Violin | Barber: Violin Concerto, Op. 14
Local Community Winner
Amy Chu, age 13, Piano | Mozart: Concerto No. 20
JUDGES FOR THE 2025 CONCERTO COMPETITION
A Bach Prize Winner from the Johann Sebastian Bach Competition in Leipzig, Germany, pianist Dr. Eric Fung has performed in international festivals and concert series, including the Israel Festival in Jerusalem, European Piano Forum in Berlin (Germany), the Puigcerda Music Festival (Spain), the Philadelphia Bach Festival, the Kamerman Piano Series in Pensacola (Florida), the Lancaster International Piano Festival, and the Hong Kong Arts Festival. The New York Times praised his pianism for being “refined, and elegant.” He was also described by the New York Concert Review as a pianist with a musical persona akin to Rudolph Serkin. The Hong Kong Economic Review called him “unique among the contemporary Chinese pianists, for the aesthetic of his music can be traced back to the study and passion for Bach’s works.” Dr. Fung holds degrees in piano performance (Bachelor of Music and Master of Music) and music theory pedagogy (Master of Arts) from the Eastman School of Music. He received his Doctor of Musical Arts from Juilliard School and is currently the Carmean Endowed Professor of Music (Piano Performance) at Lebanon Valley College in Pennsylvania. He is a Steinway Artist.
U.S.-born conductor Gavriel Heine was the first American to graduate from the Moscow Conservatory, where he earned his Bachelor of Music and Master of Music in Cello Performance. He received an Artist Diploma in conducting at the St. Petersburg Conservatory with the legendary professor Ilya Musin and received his Master of Music in Conducting from Indiana University, Bloomington. Heine was a resident conductor of the Mariinsky Theatre for 15 years, where he led over 850 performances, before resigning in April 2022 in protest over the war in Ukraine. While at the Mariinsky, he was the exclusive director of classics such as Swan Lake, Sleeping Beauty, The Nutcracker, Cinderella and Romeo and Juliet. He also led the Mariinsky company on 14 international tours to Asia, Europe and the United States. Heine has been Music Director of the Northern Lights Music Festival in Minnesota since 2011. He has conducted orchestras around the world, including those in Italy, Greece, Mexico, Croatia, Switzerland, and Russia. As an assistant conductor to Valery Gergiev Heine has led rehearsals with the Royal Concertgebouw Orchestra and Rotterdam Philharmonic Orchestra in The Netherlands. His upcoming performances this season include a symphonic concert with the Pacific Symphony at Festival Napa Valley, Prokofiev’s Cinderella at Los Angeles Ballet, and Le nozze di Figaro at the Northern Lights Music Festival.
Chiu-Tze Lin, music director and conductor of the award-winning Bravura Philharmonic Orchestra, is a versatile and multifaceted musician - conductor, pianist, and teacher. While serving as the conductor of the Manalapan Battleground Symphony, she received the Victor Grossinger Award for Innovative Programming. Ms. Lin was inducted into the Steinway Teachers Hall of Fame, when such honors were bestowed for the first time by the Steinway Company. She is also a Music Teachers National Association Foundation Fellow, a recognition given only to individuals who have made significant contributions to music education in the country. Ms. Lin was selected as a “Hottest Artist in New Jersey” in 2001 by the Asbury Park Press. As a concert pianist, Ms. Lin has been acclaimed by the New York Times for her “strong technique, a hearty tone that sounded big and unforced [which] provides the greatest musical pleasure.” She is a Steinway Artist who has performed in Asia, Europe, and across the United States. Ms. Lin has appeared as a touring soloist with the Chicago Symphony and was a soloist with the Cincinnati Symphony. Her recordings have been broadcast across the country. Ms. Lin directed the first international summer music festival sponsored by the Chinese Ministry of Culture. She conducted the Shanghai Musicians Chamber Orchestra in the Sino-American Cultural Exchange Concert. The performance was featured on CCTV, which transmits across China and around the world.