The competition was established in 2005 to provide an additional performance opportunity for talented pianists from Washington state. It runs concurrently with the MTNA Competition, but is not part of the MTNA Competition. The Outstanding Artist Piano Competition (OAPC) may serve as a positive initial step for students desiring to compete in the MTNA Performance Competition in future years. A teacher may not enter the same student in both WSMTA OAPC and MTNA Performance Competition in the same year.
The OAPC is a state level competition with monetary awards. The 2025 OAPC Competition took place November 7-9, 2025 at Central Washington University in Ellensburg WA. Registration typically opens in mid-August and closes in mid-September each year.
Questions? Contact Amora Bussey, OAPC Chair or the WSMTA Administrative Coordinator.
What people said about the 2025 competition
“It was very beautifully organized and carried out on a high professional level.”
“The entire competition was exceptionally well organized. Every detail – from the clarity of the comment sheets to the smooth transitions between performers and the thoughtfully-timed breaks – was handled with such professionalism. Above all, there was a calm, positive energy throughout the event.”
“We appreciate how timely everything was and that there was someone guiding us through the process. The gift bag was also a very positive touch to encourage the student.”
“I do like a blind jury: music is an art of sound and sound is all that should matter.”
“As an adjudicator from Washington State who knows many of the teachers and has judged their student before, I appreciated that the competition was conducted behind a screen. It ensured complete anonymity – I had no idea whose students were performing, which effectively removed any bias… This was, without a doubt, one of the fairest competitions I’ve ever adjudicated.”
WSMTA is grateful for the generous support CWU Department of Music provides for this WSMTA program.
WSMTA is grateful for the support Tulalip Tribes provides for this WSMTA program with a generous grant in 2025.
At the competition
2025 OUTSTANDING ARTIST PIANO COMPETITION RESULTS
JUNIOR
FIRST PLACE
J-15 – Cara Fan
Student of Nino Merabishvili
SECOND PLACE
J-9 – William Hu
Student of Sasha Starcevich
THIRD PLACE
J-16 Ana Horja
Student of Kay Zavislak, NCTM
HONORABLE MENTIONS (unranked)
J-10 Rei Yamazono
Student of Peter Mack, NCTM
J-6 – Nicole Yaxuan Wang
Student of Peter Mack, NCTM
J-25 – Victoria Marie Ramos
Student of Peter Mack and Marissa Rebadulla Ramos
J-24 Jade Dong
Student of Donna Bender
J-3 – Lawrence Kim
Student of Sasha Starcevich
J-11 Angela Chang
Student of Donna Bender
J-2 Felix Zhang
Student of Sasha Starcevich
BIPOC, Women, and Underrepresented Composers Prize
Winner
J-25 – Victoria Marie Ramos
Student of Peter Mack, NCTM and Marissa Rebadulla Ramos
Honorable Mentions (unranked)
J-11 Angela Chang
Student of Donna Bender
SENIOR DIVISION
FIRST PLACE
S-4 – Andrew Jacob Lee
Student of Peter Mack, NCTM And Ivona Kaminska-Bowlby
SECOND PLACE
S-19 – Xiaoyong (Tom) Li
Student of Barbara Miller
THIRD PLACE
S-16 – Nicolas Ding Grote
Student of Peter Mack, NCTM and Ni Liu
HONORABLE MENTIONS (unranked)
S-6 – Leonardo Zhou
Student of Oksana Ejokina, NCTM
S-8 – Vivian Chang
Student of Donna Bender
S-10 – Stephanie Cheng
Student of Ni Liu
S-11 – Cindy Dou
Student of Peter Mack, NCTM and Tracy Xu
S-18 – Elsa Jonson
Student of Kay Zavislak, NCTM
S-20 – Henry Johnson
Student of Oksana Ejokina, NCTM
S-24 – Radmila Sabirova
Student of Yelena Balabanova, NCTM
BIPOC, Women, and Underrepresented Composers Prize
Winner
S-19 – Xiaoyong (Tom) Li
Student of Barbara Miller
Honorable Mentions (unranked)
S-4 – Andrew Jacob Lee
Student of Peter Mack, NCTM and Ivona Kaminska-Bowlby
S-8 – Vivian Chang
Student of Donna Bender
S-11 – Cindy Dou
Student of Peter Mack, NCTM and Tracy Xu
BIPOC, Women and Underrepresented Composers Prize
Students registered in the Outstanding Artist Piano Competition have an option to use ONE of their repertoire pieces to be considered for the new BIPOC, Women and Underrepresented Composers Prize. Only one piece per student may be eligible for this new special prize. If a student’s program has more than one piece of repertoire in this category, ONLY ONE MAY BE LISTED for consideration (this choice is up to the student and teacher). Please note, regardless of the special prize, OAPC encourages teachers and students to explore varied repertoire and to learn many pieces by underrepresented composers. The registration form will require you to clearly designate your chosen repertoire piece, in order to be included in the list for the Judges to consider for this award.
Judges will choose ONE WINNER from each of our two Divisions (Junior and Senior). Teachers and students are encouraged to peruse the compiled list of eligible composers that will be on the WSMTA website linked to OAPC information. Students are not restricted to selecting a piece by a composer on this list or any of the other links referenced. However, if a piece is selected by a composer not on the list, please email Dr. Lark Powers, by JUNE 1 to have the composer approved. This step is required only for pieces by composers not yet appearing on the OAPC list.
WSMTA Leadership and the OAPC Judges are excited to hear inclusive performances and a broader range of representation. However, this is not a requirement to enter the competition and will not affect eligibility for the usual prizes and honorable mentions, but we hope participation in the BIPOC, Women and Underrepresented Composers Prize will be embraced by many!
There will be one winner per division. The monetary prize for the Junior Division winner is $150 and for the Senior Division winner it is $250. In addition, the 2025 Junior and Senior Winners of this new prize will be invited to perform in the WSMTA Winners Recital at our Annual Conference in June of 2026.
2025 Outstanding Artist Piano Competition Judges
Ricardo de la Torre • Renato Fabbro • Ross Salvosa
Ricardo de la Torre
Active as a performer, teacher, adjudicator, curator, and scholar, Dr. Ricardo de la Torre has played in concert venues in North America and Europe and has appeared as soloist with orchestras in Mexico and the U.S. A finalist and prize winner in several competitions, he has held grants and scholarships from different cultural and government institutions. He is frequently heard as part of Duo Powers-de la Torre, which he forms with Dr. Lark Powers. The duo will release its first album, dedicated to the music of Uruguayan-American composer Miguel del Águila, next year.
He currently serves as instructor at Pacific Lutheran University and the Community Music program at the University of Puget Sound in Tacoma and was on faculty at East Central University in Oklahoma, teaching a variety of subjects.
Born in Mexico City, Ricardo attended the pre-college program at Escuela Superior de Música in his hometown. He later received a Bachelor’s degree with honors from this institution. He continued his studies at the Indiana University Jacobs School of Music, where he received a Master of Music degree and went on to graduating with a Doctor of Musical Arts degree from the University of Colorado Boulder, where he worked as a teaching assistant and collaborative pianist. His main teachers include Ana María Tradatti, Fernando García Torres, Evelyne Brancartand David Korevaar. He has taken part in numerous masterclasses with pianists Jorge Federico Osorio, Peter Donohoe, Leon Fleisher, Jörg Demus, Cristina Ortiz, Jean-Paul Sevilla, Ursula Oppens, Roberto Prosseda, Gustavo Romero, and Gregory Allen among others.
Also active in scholarly endeavors, Ricardo has been invited to present lectures and lecture-recitals at local, regional, national, and international conferences and has had articles published by peer-reviewed journals in Mexico, Colombia and the U.S. He regularly writes program notes for Mexico’s National Autonomous University’s professional orchestra OFUNAM.
Ricardo worked as Curator of Art and Music at Lakewold Gardens in Lakewood, sits on the board of Early Music Seattle, and directs Orquesta Northwest’s Latino Chamber Music Festival in Seattle every Fall.
In demand as an adjudicator throughout the state and the Pacific Northwest, he currently serves as a Visting Artist for Washington State Music Teachers Association’s Music Artistry Program.
Renato Fabbro
Pianist Renato Fabbro received the Doctor of Musical Arts degree from Rice University as a Bass Texas Fellowship recipient. His principal teachers were Larry Graham, Angela Cheng, and John Perry. Dr. Fabbro has performed at the Aspen, Sarasota, Boulder Bach, Astori, and Colorado Mozart Festivals. He has performed chamber music recitals with acclaimed violinist Frank Huang and Northwestern University clarinet professor Steven Cohen. As part of the Martingale Ensemble, he recorded music of Claude Debussy and Gustav Mahler with members of the Oregon Symphony for the MSR Classics label. He has been invited to judge many competitions, including the MTNA National Finals, Calgary Performing Arts Festival, Russian Chamber Music Foundation of Seattle, Canada West Performing Arts Festival, NSA International, Silver State, Musicians West, Chopin Northwest, Vancouver Kiwanis, Northern Nevada Steinway Festival, Seattle International Piano Festival, Washington Outstanding Artist, Spokane, Musicfest Northwest, Seattle Steinway, Portland Young Pianists, MTNA Northwest and Southwest Division, and Texas Music Teachers Association State Performance Competitions. He was a piano professor at the University of Portland and also served on the faculty at Marylhurst University and at the University of Texas at San Antonio Summer Music Institute. He was invited to give master classes for the Boise Tuesday Musicale, Musicfest Northwest, Bellingham Music Teachers Association, North Idaho Music Teachers Association, and the Nevada School of the Arts as part of their master class series.
Dr. Fabbro won the Adeline Rosenberg Memorial First Prize in the Fort Collins Symphony National Young Artist Competition as well as first prizes in the Grand Junction Symphony National Young Artist Competition, the Colorado University Honors Competition, and others. He has also won prizes and awards in the Lee Piano Competition, the MTNA Young Artist Piano Competition, and the Jefferson Symphony International Young Artists Competition. He has been a featured soloist with the Oregon Symphony, Denver Philharmonic Orchestra, Fort Collins Symphony, Grand Junction Symphony, Coeur d’Alene Symphony, and Colorado University Orchestra.
He has had five students become MTNA national finalists, including First Prize and Third Prize winners in the Senior Piano Duo and Junior Piano Competition national finals. Other student awards include the Most Exceptional Performer prize at the Charleston International Piano Competition, two Grand Prize awards at the Nevada School of the Arts International Piano Competition and first prizes in the Mondavi Center National Young Artist Competition, National Federation of Music Clubs Stillman Kelley Award, Bellagrande International Music Competition, Idaho MTNA Piano Competition and multiple first prizes in the Coeur d’Alene Symphony National Young Artist Competition, Vancouver Symphony National Young Artists Competition, Steinway & Sons Piano Competition, Portland Young Pianists Competition, Washington Outstanding Artist Competition, Oregon MTNA Piano Competition (23 state winners across Junior, Senior and Young Artist divisions), Spokane Piano Competition, Central Oregon Symphony Young Artists Competition,Monday Musical Club Scholarship Competition, Wiscarson Competition, Beaverton Symphony Young Artists Competition, Eugene Symphony Young Artist Competition, Portland Youth Philharmonic Concerto Competition, American Fine Arts Festival International Concerto Competition, Oregon Sinfonietta Concerto Competition and top prizes in the New Orleans Piano Institute International Competition and New York Debut Young Musicians Competition, among others. His students have also appeared on NPR’s From The Top and have been accepted into prestigious piano performance degree programs, including Oberlin Conservatory, Eastman School of Music, Indiana University, Peabody Conservatory, Cleveland Institute of Music, and Rice University Shepherd School of Music.
Dr. Fabbro is competition director for the Bellevue Symphony and a member of the advisory panel for the Pacific International Piano Competition.
Ross Salvosa
Dr. Ross Salvosa is a Filipino-born pianist, educator, and the founding President and CEO of Concordia Arts & Music Academy in Tukwila, Washington. He is celebrated not only for his technical mastery at the piano but also for the emotional honesty he brings to every performance. Classical Music Daily has praised his playing as “expert, secure, and fluid,” while the Atlanta Audio Club described him as a “lion tamer” of the piano.
His latest recording, Phoenix Rising (MSR Classics), stands as both a tour de force and a personal testament—an artistic journey that weaves together fire and finesse with a narrative of heritage, healing, and resilience.
Guided by his roots as the son of Filipino immigrants, Dr. Salvosa is a passionate advocate for representation and access in music education. He has worked tirelessly to champion underrepresented voices, serving on national leadership committees for Advocacy and Representation within the Music Teachers National Association and the Washington State Music Teachers Association. He also co-chairs the 2025 Community Impact Committee for the National Conference on Keyboard Pedagogy, helping to shape the future of the field with a vision of belonging and accessibility.
As an educator, Dr. Salvosa has touched the lives of countless students, from his work at Interlochen Arts Camp and the Chopin Academy of Music to his time as Lecturer of Piano and Piano Pedagogy at Central Washington University. There, he not only mentored young pianists but boldly redesigned the Class Piano curriculum, creating a model that is more equitable, inclusive, and responsive to the diverse needs of today’s students. Many of his students have gone on to study at world-class institutions—including the Eastman School of Music, Oberlin Conservatory, University of Southern California, University of Toronto, University of British Columbia, and James Madison University among many—and have distinguished themselves as prizewinners in national and international competitions and as guest soloists with symphony orchestras.
Dr. Salvosa has offered masterclasses, lectures, and recitals across North America and Asia, and has served as an adjudicator for MTNA, Steinway Canada Young Artists, the Seattle International Piano Competition, and the Philippine National Music Competition for Young Artists.
Dr. Salvosa holds a Doctor of Musical Arts degree from the University of British Columbia, where he studied under Dr. Sara Davis Buechner as a recipient of the Mildred Johnson Scholarship award. He earned both his Master and Bachelor of Music degrees from the Conservatory of Music at Lynn University with full scholarships and manga cum laude distinction under the mentorship of Dr. Roberta Rust.
Past Outstanding Artist Competition Results
(Click on the year to view the results from past years)