Contact: Lois Robinson, Executive Director
(318) 222-7496 
FOR IMMEDIATE RELEASE

THE SHREVEPORT SYMPHONY ORCHESTRA PRESENTS THE WIDEMAN PIANO COMPETITION FINALS ON SATURDAY, JANUARY 28
 
SHREVEPORT, LA, JANUARY 12, 2017 - On Saturday, January 28, the final round of the Wideman Piano Competition will be a night of incredible piano music featuring three different piano concerti performed by the finalists with the SSO, concluding with the live announcement of the winner.
 
Wideman Piano Competition Finals
SATURDAY, JANUARY 28, 2017 - 7:30 PM
RiverView Theater
Shreveport Symphony Orchestra
Michael Butterman, conductor

Finalists & Repertoire:
Alison Chiang, Eastman School of Music, Brahms: Concerto No. 1 in D minor
Tzu-Yin Yuan, University of Michigan, Barber: Piano Concerto
Chloe Zhang, The Juilliard School, Rachmaninoff: Concerto No. 3 in D minor

Tickets are available online at www.shreveportsymphony.com or by phone at 318-227-8863. Ticket prices range from $19-$59. Student tickets are $12.
 
A free shuttle service starts at 6:30 PM before each concert. The shuttle picks up at Regions Bank parking garage at the corner of Milam and Market Streets.

The SSO's season sponsor is Willis-Knighton Health System. The concert sponsor is Shreveport Symphony Guild.
 
About the Finalists

ALISON CHIANG
Eastman School of Music
Brahms: Concerto No. 1 in D minor

Starting piano at age five in Champaign, Illinois, Alison Chiang won her first piano competition two years later in the 1999 St. Charles Illinois Music Competition. When her family moved to Cleveland, Ohio, in 2000, she studied with Olga Radosavljevich at the Cleveland Institute of Music with full scholarship support for seven years. During that time, Alison made her concerto debut (at age 13) with the Lakeside Symphony Orchestra under Robert Cronquist playing Mozart's Piano Concerto No. 21. Two years later, she also performed Beethoven's Piano Concerto No. 2 with both the Cleveland Woman's Orchestra and the Lakeside Symphony. 

After her family moved to Dallas, Texas, in 2008, Alison won several top prizes in piano competitions, including the Vernell Gregg Young Artist Competition, Collin County Young Artist Competition, and Lynn Harrell Concerto Competition, performing concertos with the Lewisville Lake Symphony and the Plano Symphony Orchestra. While attending high school during this time, she continued piano studies with Pamela Mia Paul at the University of North Texas. 

Alison is currently pursuing her doctorate degree in piano performance at the Eastman School of Music, where she also received her bachelor's and master's degrees. During her
college years, Alison won top prizes in the Seattle International Piano Competition (Youth Division), Mondavi Young Artist Competition (Senior Division), Coeur d'Alene Symphony Young Artist's Competition (College Division), Jefferson Symphony International Young Artists Competition, and Thousands Islands International Competition for Young People.

Continuing her master's and doctorate degrees with Natalya Antonova, Alison also teaches class piano and secondary piano.  She studies secondary organ as well.  Her most recent honors include top prizes in the Kosciuszko Foundation Chopin Piano Competition and Lennox International Young Artists Competition. 

Recently, she has attended Plano,TX, Aspen, and Bowdoin Music Festivals, playing in masterclasses for José Feghali, John Perry, John Owings, Alon Goldstein, Alexandr Shtarkman, Tamás Ungár, Arie Vardi, Yoheved Kaplinsky, Jeffrey Kahane, and Yong-Hi Moon. 
 
TZU-YIN YUAN
University of Michigan
Barber: Piano Concerto

Tzu-Yin Huang began playing the piano at the age four in Taiwan. After many years of study, including an undergraduate degree from National Taiwan Normal University, she won the school concerto competition and the YAMAHA Piano Competition as a student of
Chung-Wen Tsai. She subsequently come to the United States where she received her master's degree from the University of Michigan as a student of Louis Nagel. While at Michigan she won the University of Michigan school concerto competition. She has served as performing pianist for the Innsbrook and Meadowmount music festivals.

Most recently, she was awarded First Prize and Orchestra Prize at the 12th Hastings International Piano Concerto Competition in East Sussex, England. This has led to numerous performances in England including her London debut in 2016, and concerto performances with the Royal Philharmonic Orchestra. She is a performing artist of Chamber Music Michigan, and is currently finishing her doctoral degree studies at the University of Michigan
as a student of Logan Skelton. In all of her studies, she has learned that the most important thing is to play music from the heart. It is only this way that allows music to touch people's souls.

CHLOE ZHANG
The Juilliard School
Rachmaninoff: Concerto No. 3 in D minor

Chloe Zhang has been lauded with numerous competition prizes and honors, including First Prizes at the Haiziman Asia Piano Competition, the European Piano Teachers' Association International Piano Competition, the Xinghai Cup Piano Competition (Guangdong regional competition), as well as prizes at the Toyama Asia Piano Competition and the Grieg Asia Competition.

Notable performances include an invitation to perform on the WSKG Channel in 2015, also the opening ceremony of the Third China (Shenzhen) International Cultural Industries Fair in 2007 and at the Mid-Autumn Festival Large-Scale Literary Performance Party, sponsored by SZTV. Other appearances include performances in the United States, Europe, and in her
native China. In March 2011, Chloe collaborated with the Shenzhen Symphony Orchestra, performing Liszt's First Piano Concerto and the Yellow River Piano Concerto and has since been invited back for several additional performances with the symphony.

Chloe currently studies with Mr. Lowenthal at the Juilliard School. She finished her Bachelor of Music degree program in piano performance at the Eastman School of Music in Rochester, NY, where she studied with Natalya Antonova. Past teachers include Mingqiang Li, Yinghong Chiu, and Guangquan Chen. Chloe has received additional coaching in master classes of Zhaoyi Dan, Tamas Ungar, Yonghi Moon, Mengchieh Liu, Jun Yang, and Ying Wu.

About the Judges
  • STANISLAV IOUDENITCH - Overland Park, KS, Concert Pianist, 1998 Wideman Gold Medalist and 2001 Gold Medalist of the Cliburn Competition
  • ALFRED MOULEDOUS - Dallas, TX, Concert Pianist and Professor of Piano, Southern Methodist University
  • JOHN PERRY - Pasadena, CA, Concert Pianist and Professor of Piano at half the music schools in the North America
About the Awards
  • GOLD MEDAL - The  William Peyton Shehee & Virginia Kilpatrick Shehee Award
  • SILVER MEDAL - John & Alice Frazier (in memory of Genevieve & Carlton Frazier) and Martha & Bill Smith Award
  • BRONZE MEDAL - The Magnolia Award given by the family of Marilyn Johnson King
 
About the Wideman Piano Competition
 
The Nena Wideman Piano Competition , which began in 1950, has been held annually the first weekend of December, at Centenary College-Hurley School of Music. Outstanding pianists from across the United States and foreign countries and from major music schools have been attracted to the Competition. Nationally and Internationally known pianists and conductors are chosen to be judges.
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About the Shreveport Symphony Orchestra 
Since its founding in 1948, the Shreveport Symphony Orchestra (SSO) has become Louisiana's oldest continually operating professional orchestra and one of the most respected regional orchestras in the United States. The SSO's mission is: To Embrace - to embrace the community we serve and to be embraced by the same community; to broaden the level of supporters and their involvement with the orchestra; to work across the region with various arts organizations through cooperation and partnerships. To Enlighten - to educate; to enlighten the senses beyond the norm. To Experience - to provide the unique aesthetic experiences of live orchestral music; to give depth and enriching life; to connect people through music; to foster cultural diversity. To Excel - to foster artistic, organizational, and financial excellence.  www.shreveportsymphony.com