Congratulations Fall CIM Concerto Competition Winners!

The results are in! This fall’s CIM Concerto Competition winners are Rachel Lee Hall (harp, Kondonassis), Michael Harper (trumpet, Sachs), Christine Wu (violin, Laredo) and Shih-Hsien Yeh (piano, Paik). Emma Pin-Hsiu Liu (piano, Brown/Paik) and James K. Thompson (violin, Preucil) received honorable mentions. The winners have each earned a coveted spot to perform a solo with the Cleveland Institute of Music Orchestra this spring.

The winners were very grateful to be chosen and are already looking forward to their solos in the spring. “I'm honored to be selected to perform with the CIM orchestra,” says Harper. “I very much look forward to making music with my friends and colleagues next semester!”

For Hall (pictured above) the experience helped her appreciate her fellow CIM musicians. “It was such a joy to perform and humbling to have been able to compete next to so many absolutely fantastic musicians,” she says. “What a wonderful reminder of how incredible it is to share with so many talented and hard-working artists. I'm so excited to have been given the opportunity to work alongside these artists in concert next semester!”

Wu had fun sharing Elgar’s wonderful music with the panel of judges. “It felt liberating to just let loose and play my heart out. I'm so grateful for the encouragement of all my incredible teachers, family and friends, and I look forward to collaborating with my wonderful colleagues in the CIM orchestra next semester!”

Yeh felt good about his performance, but was still excited to hear he’d won. “I felt I tried to play my best on stage and to prepare as best I could,” he says. “I was very excited to hear I won.”

Congratulations to all for this wonderful achievement. We can't wait for next semester either!