ABOUT THE COMPETITIONS
The MTNA Performance Competitions offer an opportunity for advanced students. The competitions are offered at the Junior, Senior, Young Artist, and Chamber Music levels, and are open to any student who plays at the level of the required music. The state competitions are considered the primary educational level, with the division and national levels showcasing outstanding performances and honoring significant pedagogical achievement.
More information concerning guidelines and registration is available online at mtna.org
Registration is closed. The deadline was September 13, 2023 at 12:00, Noon Pacific Time.
The Washington State MTNA Student Performance Competition will occur November 10-12, 2023 at Central Washington University. Please contact WSMTA Vice President Amanda Harris, or the MTNA Competitions Chair, Julie Swienty.
Volunteer organizers at the 2023-2024 WA State MTNA Student Performance Competitions at CWU
2023 – 2024 WASHINGTON STATE
MTNA PERFORMANCE COMPETITION RESULTS
Congratulations to all the students who participated in the WA State MTNA Performance Competitions! WSMTA thanks you, your family, and your teachers for making it a successful competition weekend.
JUNIOR
JUNIOR PIANO
WINNER:
Emily Qi
(Student of Peter Mack, NCTM)
ALTERNATE:
David Gatien
(Student of Yoshikazu Nagai)
HONORABLE MENTIONS:
Linda Jiang
(Student of Barbara Miller)
Louis Liang
(Student of Joan Schoepflin, NCTM)
Alexander Vollmer
(Student of Allan Park)
JUNIOR STRING
WINNER:
Leyan Gao, violin
(Student of Simon James)
ALTERNATE:
Rito Imaoka, violin
(Student of Simon James)
HONORABLE MENTIONS:
Madelyn Huang, violin
(Student of Patrick Galvin)
Alex Chen, cello
(Student of Leslie Marckx)
Caileen Wan, violin
(Student of Patrick Galvin)
SENIOR
SENIOR PIANO
WINNER:
Nathan Zhao
(Student of Peter Mack, NCTM)
ALTERNATE:
Melanie Yutong Liu
(Student of Sasha Starcevich)
HONORABLE MENTIONS:
Yechong (Eric) Shan
(Student of Ivona Kaminska-Bowlby)
Marcus Yeung
(Student of Mark Salman)
Michelle Cao
(Student of Sasha Starcevich)
William Wang
(Student of Peter Mack, NCTM)
Eric Yuze Ma
(Student of Peter Mack, NCTM)
SENIOR PIANO DUET
WINNER:
Olivia Qi and Emily Qi
(Students of Peter Mack, NCTM)
ALTERNATE:
Avah Dawn Girges and Enzo Zhao
(Students of Oksana Ezhokina, NCTM)
SENIOR STRING
WINNER:
Seohyun Hwang, violin
(Student of Masao Kawasaki)
ALTERNATE:
Anderson Widjaja, string bass
(Student of Patrick Marckx)
HONORABLE MENTIONS:
Hana Gottesman, violin
(Student of Simon James)
Eliana Cobbs, violin
(Student of Carrie Rehkopf Michel)
Rachel Jung, violin
(Student of Simon James)
SENIOR VOICE
WINNER:
Qiwu Yin, tenor
(Student of Shan Han)
ALTERNATE:
Jiayu Huang, soprano
(Student of Shan Han)
HONORABLE MENTION:
Dianyi Yao, soprano
(Student of Shan Han)
SENIOR WOODWIND
WINNER:
Claire Meng, flute
(Student of Bonnie Blanchard)
ALTERNATE:
Yilin Zhang, flute
(Student of Rose Johnson)
HONORABLE MENTIONS:
Serena Gao, flute
(Student of Rose Johnson)
Ada Jin, flute
(Student of Bonnie Blanchard)
YOUNG ARTIST
YOUNG ARTIST BRASS
WINNER:
Connor Grant Schwarz, horn
(Student of Jeffrey Snedeker)
ALTERNATE:
Julia Muir McConnachie, horn
(Student of Jeffrey Snedeker)
HONORABLE MENTION:
William Duke Forbes, horn
(Student of Jeffrey Snedeker)
YOUNG ARTIST PIANO
WINNER:
Christopher Richardson
(Student of Miri Yampolsky)
ALTERNATE:
Xinrui Huang
(Student of Craig Sheppard)
HONORABLE MENTION:
Paige Aimi Wiesinger
(Student of Jeffrey Gilliam, NCTM)
YOUNG ARTIST STRING
WINNER:
Joel Lee, cello
(Student of John Michel)
ALTERNATE:
Lorenzo Anguiano, cello
(Student of John Michel)
HONORABLE MENTION:
Carmella McCracken, violin
(Student of Carrie Rehkopf Michel)
YOUNG ARTIST VOICE
REPRESENTATIVE:
Emma Jeanne Dorsch, soprano
(Student of Joy Dorsch)
YOUNG ARTIST WOODWIND
WINNER:
Anthony Konstantine Kandilaroff, flute
(Student of Sophia Tegart)
ALTERNATE:
Jacob Alexander Bass, saxophone
(Student of Kendra Wheeler)
2023 – 2024 WASHINGTON STATE MTNA PERFORMANCE COMPETITION JUDGES
Please click on the name of any of the judges to go to their biography (if provided).
Piano Division
String Division
Voice Division
Brass & Woodwind Division
Leonard Garrison
Jason M. Johnston
Piano Division
Roger McVey
American pianist Roger McVey has performed as a soloist and collaborative pianist throughout the United States, in Europe, Asia, Mexico, and New Zealand. He is Head of Keyboard Studies and Associate Professor of Piano at the Lionel Hampton School of Music, of the University of Idaho. He holds degrees from the University of Kansas, Indiana University, and East Carolina University. Additionally, he has studied at the Aspen Music Festival and the Chautauqua Institute. His past teachers include Menahem Pressler, Anton Nel, Jack Winerock, Herbert Stessin, and Henry Doskey.
Dr. McVey was a top prizewinner in the International Beethoven Competition (U.S.A.), and he was a Semi-Finalist at the International Franz Liszt Competition in Poland, where critics praised his “passionate artistry and electrifying virtuosity.” He has released five solo CD recordings and is featured as a collaborative pianist on four others. In addition to his solo performances, Dr. McVey was a founding member of the Trio St. Croix, and regularly collaborates as a chamber musician. He is a dedicated advocate for contemporary music, and has worked with numerous leading American composers, such as Julia Wolfe, Marc Mellits, Libby Larsen, Eric Ewazen, Harvey Sollberger, Lori Laitman, Emma Lou Diemer, and Wynn-Anne Rossi.
An active clinician, Roger frequently gives master-classes and presentations at universities, music schools, and for music teacher associations. He is an adjudicator for the Washington State Music Teachers Association, and is an executive board member of the Idaho Music Teachers Association. He has recently presented at the College Music Society National Conference, the National Conference for Keyboard Pedagogy, and the Idaho Music Teachers Association conference. Besides the piano, his other interests include cooking, playing chess, skiing, and learning to play the guitar. He is a Steinway & Sons Hall of Fame Teacher.
Greg Presley
Mr. Presley has appeared as soloist with the Spokane Symphony, the Washington-Idaho Symphony, and the Yale Symphony and has performed many concertos with the Spokane Opera Orchestra. He frequently performs two-piano and chamber music works, including recent seasons collaborating with Zuill Bailey and Connoisseur Concerts and has also appeared with Thomas Hampson and Christopher O’Riley in concert. He is principal keyboard player for the Spokane Symphony. He had a long career in modern dance music collaboration, worked closely for several years with Martha Graham.
Scott Rednour
Scott Rednour has a varied career as pianist, coach, conductor and teacher. He has collaborated in concerts with William Warfield, Tenor Robert White, Hilda Harris, Lise Lindstrom and Stephen Salters; and appeared across the US and Europe in venues such as Alice Tully Hall, Brownville Concert Series, Cadaques Music Festival (Spain) and The Rezidenz in Würzburg, Germany. In addition to appearing in many concerts in Europe and the US with Ulrike Nüßlein as Klavierduo, he has performed with the Otelia Camarata in Germany.
He has worked with Milwaukee’s Skylight Opera Theater, Spokane Opera, Chautauqua Symphony, Spokane Symphony, and served as Music Director/Conductor for productions which include The Ballad of Baby Doe (Moore), Pelleas et Melisande (Debussy), Midsummer Night’s Dream (Britten), The Medium (Menotti) and Semele (Handel).
He worked at the Prague Summer Nights Festival and served as Head Coach/Coordinator of the Voice Program at the Chautauqua Institution’s Music Festival. He has taught at Whitworth University, Spokane Falls College, The Juilliard School and The Manhattan School of Music. Currently he is on the faculty of Eastern Washington University. He coaches and performs regularly with Inland Northwest Opera.
String Division
Korine Fujiwara
Montana native Korine Fujiwara is a founding member of the Carpe Diem String Quartet, a devoted and sought-after chamber musician and teacher, and a gifted composer and arranger.
Ms. Fujiwara is Professor of violin and viola at Pacific Lutheran University in Tacoma, Washington. She served for many years on the music faculty of Ohio Wesleyan University and is in great demand for master classes and clinics throughout the United States. Korine’s students have been accepted into the performance programs of such institutions as Indiana University, Cincinnati College Conservatory, and Northwestern University to continue their musical studies.
Named as one of Strings Magazine’s “25 Contemporary Composers to Watch,” Korine has received multiple commissions including works for opera, chamber ensembles, chorus, concerti, and music for modern dance. Her works have been performed throughout the United States, Canada, Great Britain, Italy, The Netherlands, Switzerland, Spain, Australia, China, and Japan. Her musical language encompasses a wide range of influences, including classical, folk, jazz, and rock and roll. Her diverse artistic collaborations have helped to infuse her work with a rhythmic power and intensity.
Critics have remarked of Ms. Fujiwara’s music, “The ear is forever tickled by beautifully judged music that manages to be sophisticated and accessible at the same time,” “Contains a very rare attribute in contemporary classical music: happiness.” (Fanfare Magazine); “She knows how to exploit all the resources of string instruments alone and together; her quartet writing is very democratic, with solos for everyone; her solo violin writing is fiendishly difficult.” (Strings Magazine). “Fujiwara beautifully meets the challenge of weaving together different emotions across generations that make sense musically while delighting the ear.” (WOSU Classical 101 by Request) “Fujiwara’s music is rich and beguiling throughout.” (The Columbus Dispatch) “Artfully layered and knitted together…While each “room” has its own musical personality, the poignant sections in which characters in different periods actually sing together—a trio, a sextet, and even an octet—dovetail perfectly. The dramatic arc builds persuasively to the climactic moments, shifting with increasing speed between scenes to the culminating revelation.” (The Wall Street Journal)
Korine is a recipient of an Opera America Commissioning Grant from the Opera Grants for Female Composers program, made possible through the generosity of The Virginia B. Toulmin Foundation, for the composition of “The Flood,” an award-winning opera with Stephen Wadsworth, librettist, premiered by Opera Columbus and ProMusica Chamber Orchestra in February 2019.
Ms. Fujiwara is a gifted performer on both the violin and viola, and holds degrees from The Juilliard School and Northwestern University, where she studied with Joseph Fuchs and Myron Kartman, respectively. Her other mentors include Harvey Shapiro, Robert Mann, and Joel Krosnik. Ms. Fujiwara is a member of the music honorary society Pi Kappa Lambda.
Korine began her orchestral career with the Brooklyn Philharmonic and served as a principal player and soloist with the ProMusica Chamber Orchestra of Columbus. She is also a former member of the Columbus Symphony Orchestra, where she held the position of Acting Assistant Principal Second Violin.
Korine performs on a 1790 Contreras violin, 2004 Kurt Widenhouse viola, and bows by three of today’s finest makers, Paul Martin Siefried, Ole Kanestrom and Charles Espey, all of Port Townsend, WA, USA.
Kevin Hekmatpanah
Kevin Hekmatpanah has presented hundreds of solo and chamber performances throughout the country, including the Piccolo Spoleto Festival in Charleston, the Dame Myra Hess Concert Series at the Chicago Cultural Center, the Society of the Cincinnati Artist Series in Washington D.C., the Sitka Music Festival, the Lower Makefield Performing Arts Society in Pennsylvania, and the Russian Chamber Music Foundation. He has made over one hundred and twenty solo concerto appearances with various ensembles, including the Chicago Chamber Orchestra, the Richmond Philharmonic, the Pueblo Symphony, the Kingsport Symphony Orchestra, the Middle Tennessee Symphony, the Oregon East Symphony, the Boulder Chamber Orchestra, the Southern Arizona Symphony, and Gulf Coast Symphony. Outside the US, he has performed concertos in Russia, Sweden, Bulgaria and Norway. He presented recitals in Italy, Austria, Costa Rica, Norway, and Brazil.
Mr. Hekmatpanah is a Professor of Music at Gonzaga University, where he has taught since 1994. He is a member of the Spokane Symphony. He holds a DMA from the Peabody Conservatory of Music, a MM from Indiana University and a BM from the University of Southern California. His teachers have included such nationally renowned pedagogues as Stephen Kates, Fritz Magg, and Gabor Rejto, and he has received coachings from such internationally celebrated artists as Yo-Yo
Ma, Lynn Harrell, and Janos Starker.
Brendan Shea
Brendan Shea is an award winning violinist and chamber musician. His chamber music awards were won when he played with the Wasmuth Quartet and include the Bronze Medal at the Osaka International Chamber Music Competition, Gold Medal and Audience Award at the Chesapeake International Chamber Music Competition, and Grand Prize at the Coleman Chamber Music Competition. As a founding member of the Wasmuth (now Verona) Quartet, he performed across the United States, Germany, and Japan.
Brendan has performed with many world class ensembles and performers. As a soloist he has performed with orchestras in Washington D.C, Brussels, Sendai, Indianapolis, and South Bend, and Boise. His award winning duo, the Shea-Kim Duo, has competed internationally and performed recitals in Asia, Europe and North America. Their awards include the Ackerman Chamber Music Award and Gold Medal at the Manhattan International Music Competition. Their second CD, The Sound and the Fury, was released by Blue Griffin Records in November of 2021, with glowing reviews in Strings Magazine, BBC Music, American Record Guide, and Fanfare, among others. Their latest record, “All Roads Lead to Vienna”, is set for a spring 2023 release.
Brendan has been a finalist and semi-finalist at the Queen Elisabeth, Isang-Yun, Seoul, Sibelius, and Carl Nielsen, and has taken first place with Honors at the Glazunov International Competition in Paris. He also enjoys performing contemporary works, and has premiered a number of notable works, including Frederic Rzewski’s Night, Death, and Devil with the Emmy Award winning 8th Blackbird. While in the Euclid Quartet he spent two summers at the Mostly Modern Festival premiering and performing works by student and faculty composers.
In addition to his performance career, Brendan is also a sought after violin teacher and chamber musician. He has been a guest violin professor at the Oberlin Conservatory, and the Mahanaim School in New York. He was on the faculty at Indiana University, South Bend for five years where he was a violinist with the Euclid Quartet. He was a two year visiting professor of violin and viola at the University of Notre Dame. He has given masterclasses across the United States at many different universities, such as Michigan State University, Central Washington University, Texas A&M Corpus Christi, and University of Nebraska. He continues to teach and perform at several prestigious summer festivals, including the Encore Chamber Music Festival and the Anchorage Chamber Music Festival. In 2017 he founded the summer chamber orchestra intensive at Indiana University South Bend, and is co-founder of Chamber Music in the Bend with Yerin Kim. He is currently at the Boise Philharmonic as their new concertmaster, and the College of Idaho as Langroise Trio Artist in Residence.
Voice Division
Nancy Gregory
Nancy Gregory graduated from the University of Washington with a Master’s
degree in Vocal Performance and a Bachelor’s degree in Musicology. She has been teaching private voice for over 30 years. Many of her students have won top honors and awards at district and state competitions, including solo ensemble and Schmidt vocal competitions. She has assisted numerous students in preparing for college auditions, many of whom have gone on to prestigious music schools and established musical careers. She has adjudicated solo ensemble and NATS competitions. Nancy’s home studio is in Maple Valley.
Brass & Woodwind Division
Leonard Garrison
Leonard Garrison is University Distinguished Professor of Flute at the University of Idaho, flutist in The Scott/Garrison Duo and the Northwest Wind Quintet, and Principal Flute of the Walla Walla Symphony. In summers, he teaches and performs at Blue Lake Fine Arts Camp. He has released twelve CDs on major labels. Flute Talk magazine called Superflute “astounding,” and the Flute Network said “his performance was “just ‘superior’ both in brilliant technique and musicianship.” Garrison has been flutist in the Chicago Symphony and the Tulsa Philharmonic, soloist on National Public Radio’s Performance Today, winner of the Byron Hester Competition, and a frequent performer at National Flute Association conventions. He has taught at The University of Tulsa, Bowling Green State University, the University of Arkansas, and the University of Wisconsin at Eau Claire and has served the National Flute Association as Secretary, Treasurer, President, and Program Chair. The Flutist Quarterly and Flute Talk have published his articles. Leonard earned a Doctor of Music from Northwestern University, a Master of Music from The State University of New York at Stony Brook, and a Bachelor of Music from The Oberlin Conservatory of Music. He studied with Samuel Baron, Walfrid Kujala, and Robert Willoughby.
Jason M. Johnston
Dr. Jason Michael Johnston joined the University of Idaho faculty in 2015. He is currently Associate Professor of Music (with tenure) at the Lionel Hampton School of Music in Moscow, ID. He received his D.M.A. degree (Doctor of Musical Arts) in Horn Performance and Pedagogy from the University of Colorado. His duties include teaching applied horn lessons, directing the University of Idaho Concert Band, directing the Vandal Horn Choir, teaching Brass Techniques, is the Convocation Instructor of Record, and coaching several chamber ensembles. Jason founded both the Palouse Horn Club and the Palouse Brass Ensemble. He is also a member of the Northwest Wind Quintet, the Idaho Brass Quintet, the Apollo Chamber Brass, and the Korean Summer Winds based in Busan, South Korea.
Jason is Principal Horn for the Steamboat Symphony Orchestra and Opera Steamboat as well as Principal Horn for the Walla Walla Symphony, and Co-Principal Horn for the Washington~Idaho Symphony. In the past, he was Principal Horn for Fort Collins Symphony, Associate Principal Horn for the Greeley Philharmonic, Assistant/Utility horn for the Cheyenne Symphony, and section member of Opera Colorado. Jason is an active board member of the Northwest Horn Society and recently completed a certification with the Performing Arts Medicine Association and a certification with the Colorado Institute of Musical Instrument Technology in brass repair.
PAST
MTNA Performance Competition Results
WASHINGTON STATE
Results
2023-2024 Washington State Results (pdf )
2022-2023 Washington State Results (pdf)
2021-2022 Washington State Results (pdf)
2020-2021 Washington State Results (pdf)
2019-2020 Washington State Results (pdf)
2018-2019 Washington State Results (pdf)
2017-2018 Washington State Results (pdf)
2016-2017 Washington State Results (pdf)
2015-2016 Washington State Results (pdf)
2014-2015 Washington State Results (pdf)
NORTHWEST DIVISION
Results of Washington State students
2023-2024 WA State NW Division Results (pdf, available in January 2024)
2022-2023 WA State NW Division Results (pdf)
2021-2022 WA State NW Division Results (pdf)
2020-2021 WA State NW Division Results (pdf)
2019-2020 WA State NW Division Results (pdf)
2018-2019 WA State NW Division Results (pdf)
2017-2018 WA State NW Division Results (pdf)
2016-2017 WA State NW Division Results (pdf)
2015-2016 WA State NW Division Results (pdf)
NATIONAL
Results of Washington State students
2018-2019 WA State National Winners (pdf)
2017-2018 WA State National Winners (pdf)