2010 - Nicole Biggs
Nicole Biggs made her Carnegie Hall debut in the Weill Recital Hall in 2006. She has since performed in China, Italy, England and throughout the United States. Some of her recent solo performances include the Oklahoma Music Teacher's Association State Conference in Tulsa, the Oxford Philomusica Piano Festival in Oxford, England, and the Assembly Hall in historic Temple Square in Salt Lake City. She also performed the Tchaikovsky B-flat Piano Concerto with the Oklahoma City Philharmonic Orchestra in the Civic Center Music Hall. A winner in several international piano competitions, Nicole won prizes in the IBLA Grand Prize
International Piano Competition in Ragusa, Sicily, the Joyce Dutka Multi-Instrumental Competition, and the Bradshaw and Buono International Piano Competition in New York. She has degrees in piano performance from the Cleveland Institute of Music and the University of North Texas. Her teachers include Antonio Pompa-Baldi, Emmanuella Friscioni, Steven Harlos and Dr. Jeongwon Ham
2009 - Marcin Parys
Won 6th prize at "J.S. Bach" International Piano Competition in Gorzów Wielkopolski 1993. He graduated from the Paderewski Academy School of Music in Poznan, as a student of Prof. Waldemar Andrzejewski, and then became a student of Prof. Amy Cheng as a graduate student at Oklahoma City University.
As a result of winning the Young Artists Competition in 2009, Parys was featured
in recitals and as a soloist with orchestra in Israel in 2010. He was also featured
as a soloist during the 2010 OK MOZART International Festival in Oklahoma.
Parys was a finalist at the 2009 Naftzger Young Artists Auditions and Music Awards Competition, held at Wichita State University, Kansas, in 2009. He was also one of the 25 young artists selected worldwide to participate in the Piano Texas International Academy and Festival, held at TCU in Fort Worth, Texas
2008 - Ewa Plonka
Ewa Plonka began to play the piano at the age of seven. A graduate of the Ignacy Jan
Paderewski Academy of Music in her native Poland, she is currently pursuing a graduate
degree at Oklahoma City University. She also earned a degree from the Academy of Music
in Pozna, Poland and participated in master classes by W. Hautzig (USA), Wiera Nossina
(Russia), Tellef Yuva (Norway), M. Barboro (Italy), and Daniel Blumenthal (Brussels).
This young and vibrant artist has performed numerous concerts throughout Poland, the
CzechRepublic, France, Italy, Germany, Norway, and the United States. Her concerto performances with the Opole Philharmonic Orchestra and the Pozna Philharmonic Orchestra received standing ovations and rave reviews.
Plonka won the Young Artists Competition in 2008 and was featured in recitals and as a soloist with orchestra in Israel in 2009. She also was featured as a soloist during the 2009 OK MOZART International Festival in Oklahoma. In addition, Plonka won the second prize of The Associazione Fryderyk Chopin International Competition in 2004 in Rome. In 2005 she won the opportunity to represent Poland as part of an exchange program with Norway and studied with Telef Yuva for an extended period of time. She won the OMTA Piano Competition in 2007 and the Oklahoma City University Concerto Competition in 2008.
2007 - Anna Starzec
A student of Prof. Amy I-Lin Cheng, head of the piano program at the Wanda L. Bass School of Music at Oklahoma City University, Anna Starzec started her musical education at the age of seven in Poland and graduated in 2006 from the I.J.Paderewski Academy of Music. She came to the U.S. in August that year to study at Oklahoma City University on a full scholarship and being also a recipient of the Burton Mc Casland Funding Support from the Wanda L.Bass School of Music.
During her first academic year in Oklahoma (2006-07), she won the 1st prize of the Oklahoma Music Teachers Association Graduate Level Piano Competition, and the 2nd prize of the Oklahoma Community Orchestra Young Artists Competition. She has performed the first movement of the Ravel Piano Concerto in G-Major with the orchestra on their final concert of the season on April, 2007. Most recently she was selected a winner for the the Oklahoma City University Concerto Competition and performed with the OCU Symphony during the 2007-2008 season. She was among the 25 pianists in the Senior Division to compete at the Kingsville Competition in Texas and among a few pianists selected from around the world to participate in the 2007 Piano Texas International Academy and Festival.
As the winner of the Oklahoma Israel Exchange Young Artists Competition, Anna Starzec was presented in a 10 day concert tour of Israel in May of 2008 and a concert recital at the 2008 OK MOZART International Festival.
2006 - Jiyoung Chung
Ms. Jiyoung Chung became the first winner of the Young Artists Competition, a project of OKIE: the Oklahoma Israel Exchange in partnership with the OK Mozart International Festival (OKM) in June of 2006. At the close of the competition, she was presented in a short public performance at the OK Mozart International Festival and immediately won the admiration of the audience. In February of 2007 she completed a concert tour of Israel arranged by OKIE and became known as Oklahoma's cultural ambassador to Israel. Her solo recitals in Tel Aviv and Tiberias garnered standing ovations and she will be giving her final competition sponsored performance on June 10 as part of the 2007 OK Mozart International Festival.
Prior to wining the 2006 Young Artists Competition, she had won numerous other piano competitions such as the Donna Tuner Smith Piano Competition, University of Oklahoma Concerto Competition, 13th Kumho Young Artists Series Audition, Korean National University of Arts Concerto Competition, Han-Kook Piano Competition, Cho-Sun Piano Competition, and the Ewha-Kyunghyang Piano Competition.
After completing her bachelor of music degree, she came to the United States with a full scholarship at the University of Northern Iowa to begin to study with Dr. Jeongwon Ham. She graduated with a master of music in piano performance. While studying performance, she also became interested in piano pedagogy. In 2002, she entered the prestigious doctoral program at the University of Oklahoma also with a full scholarship. Her teacher moved to the University of Oklahoma in the same year and Ms. Chung has been studying with Dr. Ham since then.
Nicole Biggs made her Carnegie Hall debut in the Weill Recital Hall in 2006. She has since performed in China, Italy, England and throughout the United States. Some of her recent solo performances include the Oklahoma Music Teacher's Association State Conference in Tulsa, the Oxford Philomusica Piano Festival in Oxford, England, and the Assembly Hall in historic Temple Square in Salt Lake City. She also performed the Tchaikovsky B-flat Piano Concerto with the Oklahoma City Philharmonic Orchestra in the Civic Center Music Hall. A winner in several international piano competitions, Nicole won prizes in the IBLA Grand Prize
International Piano Competition in Ragusa, Sicily, the Joyce Dutka Multi-Instrumental Competition, and the Bradshaw and Buono International Piano Competition in New York. She has degrees in piano performance from the Cleveland Institute of Music and the University of North Texas. Her teachers include Antonio Pompa-Baldi, Emmanuella Friscioni, Steven Harlos and Dr. Jeongwon Ham
2009 - Marcin Parys
Won 6th prize at "J.S. Bach" International Piano Competition in Gorzów Wielkopolski 1993. He graduated from the Paderewski Academy School of Music in Poznan, as a student of Prof. Waldemar Andrzejewski, and then became a student of Prof. Amy Cheng as a graduate student at Oklahoma City University.
As a result of winning the Young Artists Competition in 2009, Parys was featured
in recitals and as a soloist with orchestra in Israel in 2010. He was also featured
as a soloist during the 2010 OK MOZART International Festival in Oklahoma.
Parys was a finalist at the 2009 Naftzger Young Artists Auditions and Music Awards Competition, held at Wichita State University, Kansas, in 2009. He was also one of the 25 young artists selected worldwide to participate in the Piano Texas International Academy and Festival, held at TCU in Fort Worth, Texas
2008 - Ewa Plonka
Ewa Plonka began to play the piano at the age of seven. A graduate of the Ignacy Jan
Paderewski Academy of Music in her native Poland, she is currently pursuing a graduate
degree at Oklahoma City University. She also earned a degree from the Academy of Music
in Pozna, Poland and participated in master classes by W. Hautzig (USA), Wiera Nossina
(Russia), Tellef Yuva (Norway), M. Barboro (Italy), and Daniel Blumenthal (Brussels).
This young and vibrant artist has performed numerous concerts throughout Poland, the
CzechRepublic, France, Italy, Germany, Norway, and the United States. Her concerto performances with the Opole Philharmonic Orchestra and the Pozna Philharmonic Orchestra received standing ovations and rave reviews.
Plonka won the Young Artists Competition in 2008 and was featured in recitals and as a soloist with orchestra in Israel in 2009. She also was featured as a soloist during the 2009 OK MOZART International Festival in Oklahoma. In addition, Plonka won the second prize of The Associazione Fryderyk Chopin International Competition in 2004 in Rome. In 2005 she won the opportunity to represent Poland as part of an exchange program with Norway and studied with Telef Yuva for an extended period of time. She won the OMTA Piano Competition in 2007 and the Oklahoma City University Concerto Competition in 2008.
2007 - Anna Starzec
A student of Prof. Amy I-Lin Cheng, head of the piano program at the Wanda L. Bass School of Music at Oklahoma City University, Anna Starzec started her musical education at the age of seven in Poland and graduated in 2006 from the I.J.Paderewski Academy of Music. She came to the U.S. in August that year to study at Oklahoma City University on a full scholarship and being also a recipient of the Burton Mc Casland Funding Support from the Wanda L.Bass School of Music.
During her first academic year in Oklahoma (2006-07), she won the 1st prize of the Oklahoma Music Teachers Association Graduate Level Piano Competition, and the 2nd prize of the Oklahoma Community Orchestra Young Artists Competition. She has performed the first movement of the Ravel Piano Concerto in G-Major with the orchestra on their final concert of the season on April, 2007. Most recently she was selected a winner for the the Oklahoma City University Concerto Competition and performed with the OCU Symphony during the 2007-2008 season. She was among the 25 pianists in the Senior Division to compete at the Kingsville Competition in Texas and among a few pianists selected from around the world to participate in the 2007 Piano Texas International Academy and Festival.
As the winner of the Oklahoma Israel Exchange Young Artists Competition, Anna Starzec was presented in a 10 day concert tour of Israel in May of 2008 and a concert recital at the 2008 OK MOZART International Festival.
2006 - Jiyoung Chung
Ms. Jiyoung Chung became the first winner of the Young Artists Competition, a project of OKIE: the Oklahoma Israel Exchange in partnership with the OK Mozart International Festival (OKM) in June of 2006. At the close of the competition, she was presented in a short public performance at the OK Mozart International Festival and immediately won the admiration of the audience. In February of 2007 she completed a concert tour of Israel arranged by OKIE and became known as Oklahoma's cultural ambassador to Israel. Her solo recitals in Tel Aviv and Tiberias garnered standing ovations and she will be giving her final competition sponsored performance on June 10 as part of the 2007 OK Mozart International Festival.
Prior to wining the 2006 Young Artists Competition, she had won numerous other piano competitions such as the Donna Tuner Smith Piano Competition, University of Oklahoma Concerto Competition, 13th Kumho Young Artists Series Audition, Korean National University of Arts Concerto Competition, Han-Kook Piano Competition, Cho-Sun Piano Competition, and the Ewha-Kyunghyang Piano Competition.
After completing her bachelor of music degree, she came to the United States with a full scholarship at the University of Northern Iowa to begin to study with Dr. Jeongwon Ham. She graduated with a master of music in piano performance. While studying performance, she also became interested in piano pedagogy. In 2002, she entered the prestigious doctoral program at the University of Oklahoma also with a full scholarship. Her teacher moved to the University of Oklahoma in the same year and Ms. Chung has been studying with Dr. Ham since then.