YAC 2006, 2007, 2008, 2009
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.

Ms. Chung was born in Korea and grew up in a musical family. At the age of five, Ms. Chung started
to take piano lessons from her mother. She made her debut with the internationally acclaimed Seoul
Philharmonic Orchestra of Korea when she was just 10 years old. She performed the Haydn Piano
Concerto and received a sensational ovation from the audience. Her musical education continued to
grow under her mother's careful guidance and she entered the Korean National University of Arts
(KNUA), the top Arts University in Korea. While studying at KNUA, she studied with many
distinguished teachers in Korea including Dr. Daejin Kim and Prof. Kyungsook Lee.

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.
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.

Daniel Blumenthal, Royal Flemish Conservatory in Brussels, wrote that Plonka is an engaging and impressive pianist with a vibrant
personality. This rising artist will be sure to thrill audiences.
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.

She has performed in Italy, Germany, Norway, Poland, and the United States.She was also invited
to participate in numerous music courses in Norway, Italy, U.S.and throughout Poland. She has
won the 3rd prize from the International Piano Competition of the Associazione F. Chopin in
Rome, and commendation of Distinction at the Ibla Grand Prize in Sicily, Italy. She received also
the Erazmus Sokrates Scholarship to study piano at the Hogskolen i Agder Univesity in Norway.

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.
According to Starzec, she was thrilled about winning the OKIE 2007
Young Artists Competition and the concert tour of Israel was a "fantastic
experience." She said that, “Coming to the United States was a great
opportunity. This is all a dream come true for me!”
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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.
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

2009 - Marcin Parys
Ehad 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.