2016 Cooper Competition Field Cut to 15 After First Semifinal Round

In the opening weekend of the 2016 Cooper International Competition for piano, 29 young artists hailing from across America and around the world performed for a panel of esteemed judges at Oberlin Conservatory. On the line is a $20,000 first prize and the opportunity to perform a complete concerto with The Cleveland Orchestra at the Concerto Finals on Friday, July 22, at Severance Hall in Cleveland.

Following jury deliberations on the evening of Sunday, July 17, 15 pianists were advanced to the second Semifinal Round. The advancing pianists, in alphabetical order, are as follows:

Ádám Balogh
Zixi Chen
Kyle Hu
Chaewon Kim
Brian Le
Nathan Lee
Tommy Jing Yu Leo
Andrew Li
Xingyu Lu
Evren Ozel
Clayton Stephenson
Allison To
Ryota Yamazaki
William Yang
Tony Siqi Yun

Congratulations to all the pianists on their beautiful performances!

Please join us as the competition continues with Semifinal Round II performances at 10 a.m. and 2 p.m. Monday, July 18. The top 10 musicians will advance to Concerto Round performances at 2 and 7 p.m. Tuesday, July 19. All performances in Oberlin are free and take place in Warner Concert Hall.

On Wednesday, July 20, at 7 p.m., six performers will participate in the Recitals Finals at Oberlin, with the top three advancing to the Concerto Finals with The Cleveland Orchestra on Friday, July 22, at 7 p.m. Tickets for the Concerto Finals start at $25, and students under 18 are free with a paying adult. For ticket information, visit the Cleveland Orchestra website.

Please join us in Oberlin at 7 p.m. Thursday, July 21, for an Honors Recital featuring outstanding performances from the semifinals.

Can't be there? Catch all Cooper Competition performances at Oberlin at oberlin.edu's Listen Live.

For live updates on the action, follow the Cooper Competition on Facebook. Learn more about the 2016 Cooper Competition at oberlin.edu.