2026 Kaufman Music Center International Youth Piano Competition
WILLIAM FENG
William Feng, an eighth-grade student at Lakeside School in Seattle, began studying piano at age six with Dr. Christopher Bowlby at the Frédéric Chopin Academy of Music. He is currently studying with Dr. Peter Mack. William has earned recognition in numerous national and international competitions. Most recently, he advanced to the final rounds of the 2026 Ettlingen International Piano Competition and 2026 MostArts Young Pianist Competition. His recent achievements include First Place at the 2024 MTNA Washington State Competition; First Prizes at the 2024 Seattle International Piano Competition and 2024 Carmel Klavier International Piano Competition; Second Place at the 2025 Oberlin Piano Festival; Grand Prix at the 2024 Bellevue Symphony Concerto Competition; and a Gold Medal with the Helen Belvin Scholarship at the 2023 Frédéric Chopin National Foundation Northwest Competition.mHe also received Absolute First Prize and Expressive Performance Award at the 2023 UK International Music Competition, First Prize with the Judges’ Distinction Award at the 2022 American Protégé International Competition and has been a seven-time Distinguished Gold Medalist at the Seattle International Piano Festivals. In 2026, he won First Prize with the Musical Excellence Award at the SMTA Competition and First Place with the Judith Thiel Artist Award at the PAFE Competition. William has performed at Zankel Hall and Weill Recital Hall at Carnegie Hall, the Scottsdale Center for the Performing Arts in Arizona, and Benaroya Hall in Seattle. He has participated in masterclasses and lessons with distinguished artists including Sara Davis Buechner, Angela Cheng, Alvin Chow, Haewon Song, Robert Shannon, Ernest Barretta, Francesco Nicolosi, and Alexander Tutunov. Beyond piano, William enjoys composing, singing in choir, and playing the violin. At Lakeside School, he founded the Music Inspires New Day (MIND) Club, along with its blog, magazine, and chamber ensembles, to foster musical engagement within the community.
Final Repertoire
Ludwig van Beethoven – Sonata No. 21 in C Major, Op. 53, “Waldstein”
I. Allegro con brio
Frederic Rzewski – North American Ballads: III. Down by the Riverside
Frédéric Chopin – Etude in A-flat Major, Op. 10, No. 10
Henri Dutilleux – Piano Sonata, Op. 1
III. Choral et Variations
WINNIE WEITONG GENG
Winnie (Weitong) Geng is an energetic and thoughtful 12-year-old pianist whose playing combines focus, imagination, and a natural sense of musical storytelling. She began studying the piano at the age of five in Vancouver, Canada, and is currently a student of Professor Langning Liu at the Royal Conservatory of Music’s Phil and Eli Taylor Academy, where she is enrolled in the Junior Piano Program. Winnie has appeared in numerous major national and international competitions and festivals, consistently demonstrating artistic growth and a strong commitment to her musical development. Her recent and notable achievements include First Prize at the Taylor Academy Concerto Competition (2025), First Prize at the Burlington New Millennium Orchestra “Amazing Talent” Competition (2025), and Second Prize in the Piano Category of the Canadian Music Competition (2025). She has also received Special Awards at the Sixth Canadian Frédéric Chopin Piano Competition (2025) and the Kaufman Music Center International Youth Piano Competition (2024). Earlier highlights include First Prize at the IPPA Conero International Piano Competition (Final Round, 2023), the Gold Award at the Steinway Piano Competition (2023), and the Gold Award at the Vancouver International Music Competition (2021). Beyond the piano, Winnie enjoys visual art—particularly drawing—as another outlet for creativity and imagination. She is also an active tennis player, valuing the balance between physical discipline and artistic focus. An enthusiastic reader with wide-ranging curiosity, Winnie continually draws inspiration from books and new ideas, which enrich both her musical expression and personal growth.
Final Repertoire
Wolfgang Amadeus Mozart – Piano Sonata No. 9 in D Major, K. 311
Frédéric Chopin – Rondo in E-flat Major, Op. 16
Maurice Ravel – Sonatine, M. 40
I. Modéré, II. Mouvement de menuet, III. Animé
JOHN HAN
John Han has been studying with Hung-Kuan Chen and Tema Blackstone at Julliard pre-college since 2021. His past teachers include Jinyoung Kwak, Haeryung Kwon, Yoojung Kim and Victoria Mushkatkol. He won the Grand Prix Prize in the Junior Category of XV Frédéric Chopin International Piano Competition in Hartford CT, First Prize + Exceptional Young Talent Special Prize at the Grand Prize Virtuoso Competition, First Prize at the American Protégé International Music Competitions, the Crescendo International Competition, the Third Annual Youth Competition of the PSNYC, and the Korea Times Competition for Music (Korea). John has been invited to perform at the Bruno Walter Auditorium at Lincoln Center, Steinway Hall, The DiMenna Center, Tenri Cultural Institute, Pusan University (Korea), Ujung Art Hall (Korea), and the Oculus for the 2019 Make Music New York Winter Festival. He made his Carnegie Hall debut at the Weill Recital Hall and Zankel Hall in 2019. In Korea, he was featured in the 12th Opus Feast Concert as the youngest pianist performing both solo and chamber music and was also selected to perform at Hanseo University’s Piano Pedagogy Academic Seminar. Recently, he gave both a solo recital and concerto performance with orchestra, conducted by Eitan Globerson, in Perugia, Italy. Besides playing piano, John enjoys science, math, and basketball. He lives in Great Neck, New York with his parents and sister Esther.
Final Repertoire
Ludwig van Beethoven – Piano Sonata No. 18 in E Flat Major, Op. 31, No. 3
I. Allegro
Felix Mendelssohn – Variations sérieuses, Op.54
Sergey Prokofiev – Piano Sonata No.1 in F minor, Op.1
ALVIN LEE
Twelve-year-old Alvin Lee is a seventh-grade student in the Bellevue School District, WA, and has been a dedicated student of Allan Park since the age of seven. Within two months of beginning formal lessons, he won his first Gold Medals at the Classical Viennese Festival and the Sonafest Competition. In 2025, he earned two Grand Prix awards at the International French Music Piano Competition (solo and concerto divisions), the Grand Prix Gold Medal at the Frédéric Chopin Northwest Piano Competition, the Grand Prix at the Pacific International Piano Competition, and was named Concerto Winner at the Seattle Young Artist Music Festival. At the 2025 Washington State MTNA Competition, he achieved the First Place Junior Piano Winner by unanimous vote of all three adjudicators. In total, Alvin has accumulated over 150 Grand Prix, Platinum and Gold titles in just five years. Alvin has made his Carnegie Hall debut and performed with the Eastside Symphony, Bellevue Symphony and Mukilteo Community Orchestras. He won a Platinum Medal at the Pacific Northwest Piano Competition and earned the 2024 and 2025 Grand Prix at the Music Era Music Festival. Over the years, Alvin has earned Gold and Platinum Medals from numerous distinguished organizations, including the Virtuoso Artists Festival, Frédéric Chopin Northwest Competition, Pacific Northwest Piano Competition, Performance Arts Festival of the Eastside, Eastside Symphony Concerto Competition, Bellevue Symphony Concerto Competition, Russian Chamber Music Competition, and Pacific International Piano Competition. Internationally, he has garnered First Prize awards from the Rome, Brussels, German, French, and Canadian International Music Competitions. He received the highest possible score at the 2024 Ravel International Music Competition. Outside of his musical pursuits, Alvin enjoys international travel, cooking, and spending his summers at his family’s second home in Seoul, South Korea.
Final Repertoire
Johann Sebastian Bach – Italian Concerto in F Major, BWV 971: I. Allegro
Wolfgang Amadeus Mozart – Piano Sonata No. 13 In B-flat Major, K. 333
III. Allegretto Grazioso
Frédéric Chopin – Etude in C Minor, Op. 25, No. 12
Maurice Ravel Gaspard – De La Nuit: I. Ondine
Sergei Prokofiev – Piano Sonata No. 2 in D Minor, Op. 14
IV. Vivace – Moderato – Vivace
BRADLEY LIM
A creative and passionate musician, Bradley Lim is currently in eighth grade at St. George’s School. He began to learn piano at the age of three and is currently studying with Dr. Sun Sung Kong at KL Piano Academy. Bradley’s most recent achievements include winning the Royal Conservatory of Music Regional Gold Medals for Level 10 Piano in 2025 and Level 8 Piano in 2023. In January 2025, Bradley competed in the final round of the Canadian Frédéric Chopin Competition Junior Division and was the recipient of the Jury Discretionary Award. In June 2023, 2024, and 2025, Bradley was nominated for three consecutive years to compete in the British Columbia Provincial Festival of Performing Arts. In 2024, he was awarded Honorable Mention in Junior B Piano and Runner-Up in the Canadian Junior Piano divisions at the BC Provincial Festival. In the 2024 Vancouver Kiwanis Festival, Bradley was the recipient of the VKMF Senior Piano Haydn Medallion and the VKMF Scholarship for Piano, Woodwind, and Brass. In the 2023 Vancouver Kiwanis Festival, Bradley received the Tom Lee Most Outstanding Performance Intermediate Piano Award, and the Intermediate Piano Baroque Composers Medallion and Scholarship. In addition to classical piano, Bradley was part of the Student Government as the Assistant Head Boy at St. George's Junior School from 2024-2025. He enjoys playing jazz piano and percussion in his school band and accompanying the school’s primary grade concerts. He is also a member of the “All for One Name” worship band at Thrive Church. In his spare time, Bradley loves to arrange video game music, play badminton, spend time with his family, and volunteer at his church.
Final Repertoire
Joseph Haydn – Keyboard Sonata in D Major, Hob. XVI:33
I. Allegro
Felix Mendelssohn – Fantasie, Op. 28
Alexander Rosenblatt – Variations on a Theme of Paganini
SHANWEI LIU
Shanwei Liu, 14, began studying piano at the age of four and made his public debut soon after. At nine, he was admitted to the Music Middle School Affiliated to the Shanghai Conservatory of Music, where he currently studies under Professor Zhe Tang. Shanwei has garnered numerous international accolades, including First Prize and the Young Jury Prize at the Zhuhai International Wolfgang Amadeus Mozart Competition for Young Musicians; First Prize at the Melbourne International Youth Piano Competition; First Prize at the Japan International Youth Pianist Competition; First Prize at the Pearl River Kayserburg International Youth Piano Competition; First Prize at the Mendelssohn International Youth Piano Competition; First Prize at the International Fryderyk Frédéric Chopin Piano Competition for Youth; First Prize at the Xiamen International Piano Competition and First Prize at the Shanghai International Piano Competition. Shanwei has performed at prestigious venues such as the Teatro Marrucino , the Bulgarian National Opera, Shanghai Symphony Orchestra Concert Hall, Mitsui Sumitomo Shirakawa Hall, among others. He has collaborated with orchestras including the Salzburg Chamber Soloists, the Shanghai Philharmonic Orchestra, and the Shanghai Opera House Orchestra. He has also graced the stages of numerous prestigious music festivals, such as the ClaviCologne International Piano Festival and the Melbourne International Music Festival, earning widespread critical acclaim.
Final Repertoire
Joseph Haydn – Keyboard Sonata No. 60 in C Major, Hob. XVI:50
I. Allegro
Valentin Malinin – Dance of Shadows
Johannes Brahms – Variations on a Theme of Paganini, Op. 35 (Book I)
MAX LU
Max Lu, 11, is a sixth grader at Dwight Englewood School. He began playing the piano at the age of five and currently studies with Natela Mchedlishvili. Max has received many top prizes in numerous competitions. His most recent accomplishments include First Place at the NJMTA Young Musicians Competition, the Chopin International Piano Competition in Hartford, CT, the NJMEA Piano Competition, and the Special Award in the VIVO International Music Competition.
Final Repertoire
Ludwig van Beethoven – Piano Sonata No. 3 in C Major, Op. 2, No. 3
I. Allegro con brio
Frédéric Chopin – Scherzo No. 1 in B Minor, Op. 20
Pyotr Ilyich Tchaikovsky/Mikhail Pletnev – Andante maestoso from The Nutcracker
JOHN SAMUELL
John Samuell, 14, is a pianist and composer based in Northern Virginia. He studies piano with HieYon Choi at the Peabody Institute of The Johns Hopkins University; studies composition, harmony, counterpoint, and orchestration with Bohdan Syroyid of the University of Salamanca (Spain); and receives additional artistic guidance from his mentor Nikita Fitenko of The Catholic University of America. John began formal musical training at age nine. In 2025, he won First Prize in the Rosalyn Tureck International Bach Competition (Category 6) and received the Kern Foundation Aspiration Award. In 2024, he won First Place in the Ylda Novik Concerto Competition and First Place in the Music Teachers National Association Piano Competition for Virginia. He has also received the Colleague (CAGO) Prize from the American Guild of Organists, and top distinctions in piano, organ, and harpsichord through the Royal Conservatory of Music. He has presented several full-length solo recitals and appeared in the Steinway Concert Series at Silo Hill, the Chevy Chase Bach Marathon, and the Norwood Concert Series. He has served as a guest organist and pianist at National Presbyterian Church for three years. In November 2025, he performed a solo program for the Roth Concert Series in Washington, D.C., a benefit performance supporting relief efforts for the victims of Hurricane Melissa. John has participated in masterclasses with Alexander Kobrin, Alan Chow, Marina Lomazov, Jerome Rose, Lukáš Vondráček, and others. His compositions include Prelude in C Major, Op. 1 No. 1; Prelude in A Major, Op. 1 No. 2; Theme and Five Variations, Op. 2; and Night, Op. 2.
Final Repertoire
Joseph Haydn – Divertimento in A Major, Hob. XVI:12
I. Andante, II. Menuet, III. Finale: Allegro molto
Johann Sebastian Bach – Chaconne in D Minor, BWV 1004
(trans. Ferruccio Busoni)
