Eleven Local Students Take Top Prizes in Piano Competition.

Twenty-seven students from Karen Amlaw Music in Westborough, MA participated in this year's Young Artist Piano Competition at Westfield State University on Saturday, April 28th, 2018. Eleven of them earned top prizes in their respective divisions. They were as follows:

Nine-year-old Emmanuel Yu of Shrewsbury, MA – First Place, Junior Division of the Length of Study Competition. Emmanuel was also the First Place winner of the Early Study Division in this competition last year.

Six-year-old Shiven Kataria of Grafton, MA and five-year-old Cody Tran of Shrewsbury – Second Place, Early Study Division of the Length of Study Competition.

Eight-year-old Sreejon Saha of Upton, MA – Second Place, Junior Division of the Length of Study Competition.

Jiyoo Jeon of Westborough, MA – Third Place, Age Achievement Division for 7-year-olds. Jiyoo also took third place last year in the Age Achievement Division for 6-year-olds.

Seven-year-old Riya Mukherjee of Grafton, MA – Third Place, Junior Division of the Length of Study Competition. This is Riya’s second year as a top prize winner – last year she earned second place in the Early Study Division.

Five-year-old Huy Thai of Shrewsbury and seven-year-old Aaryav Shridhar of Westborough, MA - Third Place, Early Study Division of the Length of Study Competition.

Eight-year-old Victoria Njuguna of Westborough, MA – Third Place, Junior Division of the Length of Study Competition.

Seven-year-old Isabella Wu of Southborough, MA - Honorable Mention, Early Study Division of the Length of Study Competition.

Nine-year-old Luke Lee of Grafton - Honorable Mention, Intermediate Division of the Length of Study Competition.

In addition to the various competitive divisions students also have the opportunity to perform with the sole goal of receiving an evaluation. This year all of our students played in the evaluation round first and then performed in their respective competition divisions.

Jiyoo Joen, Aaryav Shridhar, and Emmanuel Yu received a grade of superior in their evaluation round.

Shiven Kataria; Luke Lee; Sreejon Saha; Cody Tran; Isabella Wu; Victor George (age 6) and Vincent George (age 10) of Marlborough; Westley Tuttle (age 8) of Shrewsbury; Timothy Leedberg (age 7) and Meredith Wu (age 11) of Southborough; and Diya Arun (age 10), Shreya Gopinath (age 7), and Arushi Vora (age 9) of Westborough received an excellent rating in their evaluation round.

Riya Mukerjee; Victoria Njuguna; Huy Thai; Daniel Perinsky (age 9) of Ashland; Mihir Bhat (age 8) of Upton; and Sanvi Gowda (age 10), Annabelle Koshy (age 11), Darsh Nayak (age 7), Veronica Njuguna (age 11), and Vanshika Seku (age 9) of Westborough received a grade of good in their evaluation round.

Aaryav, Annabella, Arushi, Cody, Daniel, Darsh, Diya, Emmanuel, Huy, Isabella, Jiyoo, Mihir, Riya, Sanvi, Shiven, Shreya, Sreejon, Timothy, Vincent, Vanshika, Veronica, Victor, Vincent, and Wesley are students of KAM’s director Karen Amlaw. The remaining three (Suhas, Meredith, and Jake) are former students of Ms. Amlaw who now study with Stan Schertzer at KAM.

For nineteen of these students this was their first time in a major music competition. It was impressive to see many perform at a higher level on their second round as they learned about and became more comfortable with the competition experience.

The Young Artists Piano Competition (YAPC) is an annual piano competition for serious classical pianists from New England. Since its inception in 2003, YAPC has collaborated with Westfield State University to provide students, from kindergarten through adult levels, with an opportunity to develop their skills and professionalism in a high-level competition. Its mission is to provide serious piano students with an opportunity to compete with level-appropriate competitors in a safe, structured environment where they can meet others who share their love of classical music, develop friendships, and retain a desire for learning the classics that remains with them well after the competition is over.

For students who do not want to compete yet but are interested in having an evaluation of their skills and achievement, YAPC has a non-competitive "Evaluation" category. This category allows students the opportunity to be evaluated by professional music teachers. It is a helpful tool for both teacher and student as it gives written feedback about the individual student's progress and development.

YAPC is currently counted among the top piano competitions in New England. It has achieved recognition for its high standards of excellence in every area of the competition from preparation to delivery. The organizers of YAPC value the educational atmosphere at Westfield College where students can meet others who share their love of classical music and grow in the knowledge of the classics. In addition, with the excellent standards and collaboration of their judges, evaluators, parents and community, YAPC offers students who wish to pursue piano performance, an outstanding opportunity to reach for their dreams. Through YAPC students learn about themselves and grow musically while learning to compete against others in a professional environment.

Since 2005 Karen Amlaw Music has been bringing quality music to students of Westborough, Northborough, Southborough, Marlborough, Shrewsbury, Boylston, Holliston, Hopkinton, Millbury, Milford, Upton, Ashland, Grafton, Worcester, and beyond. KAM’s over 120 students include multiple young artist competition winners, district and all-state musicians, opera and musical theater cast members, and more. KAM’s teachers have over 100 cumulative years of experience in the industry as both performers and educators.

In addition to private piano lessons, Karen Amlaw Music also offers Kids on Keys (group music instruction for 4 - 8 year olds), Intro. to Singing (group classes for 2nd - 5th graders), and private instruction in bass, guitar, ukulele, violin, and voice. Along with participating in competitions like the YAPC, student have the opportunity to perform in Young Musicians' Recitals, Community Showcases, and more. Lessons/classes are available Monday - Saturday at Karen Amlaw Music's home in Downtown Crossing - 57 East Main Street, Suites 203 & 204, Westborough, MA 01581.

For more about

The Young Artist Piano Competition visit www.yapccontest.com

Karen Amlaw Music

visit www.karenamlaw.com/karenamlawm... or www.facebook.com/KarenAmlawMus...

or contact Karen Amlaw at karen.amlaw.music@aol.com / (508) 366 – 6000

For more pictures from KAM's hours of musical fun at the competition please visit the YAPC 2018 photo gallery on Karen Amlaw Music's Facebook Page.