6 Pianists Advance to the Recital Finals of the 2018 Cooper Competition

Four days and three rounds of the 2018 Thomas and Evon Cooper International Competition are complete, and a field that once numbered 31 pianists now is down to six following the completion of Tuesday's Concerto Round at Oberlin.

Each remaining pianist will perform a 30-minute program in the Recital Finals, scheduled for 7 p.m. Wednesday, July 18, in Warner Concert Hall.

The 2018 Recital Finalists are:

Ryan Zhu (age 14), Vancouver, Canada

William Yang (17), Natick, Massachusetts, U.S.

Kai-Min Chang (17), Changhua County, Taiwan

Tony Yun (17), Toronto, Canada

William Chen (15), New York, New York, U.S.

Yunchan Lim (14), Siheung-si, Gyeonggi-do, South Korea

Wednesday's top three performers will advance to the Concerto Finals on Friday, July 20, at Cleveland's Severance Hall. There, each finalist will perform a complete concerto with The Cleveland Orchestra under the direction of Jahja Ling. One of them will emerge as the 2018 Cooper champion—with a grand prize of $20,000.

Admission to the Recital Finals at Oberlin is free. The performances will be followed by a reception for all participants and guests during jury deliberations.

Tickets for the Concerto Finals at Severance Hall begin at $13, and all students under age 18 are admitted free with a paying adult. Tickets for the Concerto Finals can be obtained at the Cleveland Orchestra website.

In addition, Oberlin will host an evening of standout performances from the competition's Semifinal Round in an Honors Concert in Warner Concert Hall at 7 p.m. Thursday, July 19.

Can’t be here? Follow the action live online: All preliminary rounds on campus and Thursday's Honors Concert will be live streamed at oberlin.edu/cooper. Wednesday's Recital Finals and Friday's Concerto Finals will be broadcast live by Cleveland's classical music station, WCLV 104.9 FM.