Participants selected for the Southeastern Piano Festival

The Southeastern Piano Festival at the University of South Carolina will welcome 20 of the nation’s most gifted young pianists to Columbia for a week of rigorous technical and performance training June 8 – 14.

The students will take master classes, attend concerts and interact with their mentors through panel discussions. This year’s students will interact with Russian virtuoso Olga Kern, winner of the 2001 Van Cliburn Competition and one of the world’s most renowned pianists. Kern will perform two concerts, instruct students and judge the final competition.

“This festival is different,” said Kern. “It has the whole package: concerts, master classes and a competition. This is the first time that I will fill the role of performer, teacher and judge at one event, and I am excited to share what I know with the students.”

The week will culminate with the Arthur Fraser International Piano Competition Friday, June 13. The students will compete for cash prizes, totaling more than $3,000, and the opportunity to perform with the South Carolina Philharmonic.

For more information about the Southeastern Piano Festival, visit http://sepf.music.sc.edu/index.html.

The participants are students in grades 8 – 12 (rising) from 12 different states. This year’s participants include the following:

Name – Hometown (grade)
Amy Anderson – Charlotte, N.C. (12)
Stephanie Aston – Bluffdale, Utah (8)
Joshua Brooks – Pittsboro, N.C. (11)
Naomi Causby – Columbia, S.C. (8)
Carolyn Colton – Bethesda, Md. (10)
Baron Fenwick – Todd, N.C. (8)
Joshua Greer – West Columbia, S.C. (12)
Jonathan Harper – Calhoun, Ga. (10)
Cwen Homa – Eagle, Mich. (10)
William Hueholt – Wilmington, N.C. (9)
Jiwon Lim – Charlotte, N.C. (11)
Roman Lin – Florence, S.C. (8)
Hanbo Liu – Fairfax, Va. (10)
Yupeng Liu – Charleston, S.C. (12)
Nathan Long – Plano, Texas (11)
Peter Mathys – Boulder, Colo. (9)
Daniel Overly – Greenville, S.C. (12)
Andrew Sohn – Gainesville, Fla. (11)
Ashley Thacker – Draper, Utah (10)
Gregory Wang – Johnson City, Tenn. (11)