Three Violinists Advance to the 2022 Cooper Competition's Concerto Finals

Six violinists gave poised performances in the August 19 recitals during Round Two of the 2022 Cooper International Competition. Three of the artists have earned the right to perform once again in the Concerto Finals beginning at 7:30 p.m. Friday, August 19, in Oberlin Conservatory's Warner Concert Hall. Admission to the Friday Final Round is free and open to the public.

Each remaining participant will perform a complete concerto with the Canton Symphony Orchestra, with Gerhardt Zimmermann, Music Director. Friday’s Concerto Finals will be streamed live on oberlin.edu/cooper and on The Violin Channel.

Sameer Agrawal (age 17) of Chicago, Illinois and Calvin Alexander (17) of Shreveport, Louisiana will both perform Tchaikovsky's Concerto in D Major, Op. 35. Seohyun Kim (13) of Seoul, South Korea will perform Brahms' Concerto in D Major, Op. 77.

In Wednesday’s Recital Round, Audrey Goodner (16) of Reston, Virginia; Bianca Ciubancan (16) of Chicago, Illinois; and Kento Hong (age 16) of Edgemont, New York; earned fourth through sixth place, respectively, and each takes home a prize of $1,500. Hong also earned the Audience Prize, which includes an award of $500. Ciubancan earned a special prize for the best Bach performance. Goodner won special prizes for best performance of Mozart and best performance of the 2022 Competition compulsory work, Rhapsody No. 1, by Jessie Montgomery.

Video recordings of Wednesday’s Round Two recitals will be shared on YouTube later this week.

On Friday, one violinist will emerge as champion with a cash prize of $20,000. Second and third prize winners will earn $10,000 and $5,000, respectively. 

In addition to the cash awards, this year's expanded prize package includes full-tuition scholarships to Oberlin Conservatory for the top three violinists; a two-year loan of a rare Italian violin from Jonathan Solars Fine Violins, made by Venetian violinmaker Marco Antonio Cerin circa 1785-90; a two-year partnership with MKI Artists for ten engagements over the next two seasons; and exclusive rights to the premiere and performances for two years of a new six-minute work for violin and orchestra composed by Jeff Scott. The piece is titled ​O Canto do Uirapuru or "The Song of the Musician Wren."​ 

Tomorrow evening, Thursday, August 18, is the annual Cooper Honors Recital at 7:30 p.m. in Oberlin’s Warner Concert Hall. Outstanding Round One performers will present a free performance of selections from their programs earlier in the competition. This program will be live-streamed at oberlin.edu/cooper.

Learn more about the 2022 Cooper International Competition at the official Cooper Competition website.