The Thomas & Evon Cooper International Competition (also known simply as the Cooper International Competition) is a piano and violin competition held annually at the Oberlin College in Oberlin, Ohio, and is one of the most prestigious competitions for young musicians in the world. It is sponsored by Thomas and Evon Cooper and is presented jointly by the Oberlin Conservatory of Music and the Cleveland Orchestra. The competition is for young musicians 13–18 years of age and awards more than $35,000 in prize money, with a first prize of $20,000. The competition gives three finalists the opportunity to play a complete concerto with the Cleveland Orchestra. The competition debuted in the summer of 2010 with a piano competition, followed by a violin competition in 2011, and the competition alternates annually between both instruments. George Li won the first prize in the first piano competition and Sirena Huang won first in the first violin competition.
History The competition originated as the Oberlin International Festival, first organized by Emeritus Professor Joseph Schwartz in 1985. In 1995, Professor Robert Shannon became the director and the first annual Oberlin International Piano Competition was launched. In 1999, Yeol Eum Son won 1st prize. By the time of its final edition, it gave the winners opportunities to perform with leading orchestras in China, such as the Shanghai Philharmonic. In 2009, the competition was not held due to renovations of the concert hall. In 2010, a new competition named after sponsors Thomas and Evon Cooper replaced it. Since then, the competition holds its final rounds with the Cleveland Orchestra in Severance Hall. In 2016, the competition doubled its prizes to a $20,000 first prize.
Prize winners
Thomas & Evon Cooper International Competition (2010-present) Year 1st prize 2nd prize 3rd prize 4th prize 5th prize 6th prize7th prize 2010 (piano) George Li John Chen Kate Liu Sahun Hong Anna Han Tristan Teo 2011 (violin) Sirena Huang Alexandra Switala Laura Park Mayumi Kanagawa Gergana Haralampieva Kelly Talim 2012 (piano) Leonardo Colafelice Bruce Liu Micah McLaurin Sahun Hong Annie Zhou not awarded Sarina Zhang 2013 (violin) William Ching-Yi Wei Kyumin Park Ming Liu not awarded Gallia Kastner Jieming Tang Angela Wee 2014 (piano) Tony Yike Yang Zitong Wang Saeyoon Chon Gyu Tae Ha Evren Ozel Min Jun Lee2015 (violin) Gallia Kastner Belle Ting Joshua Brownnot awarded Karisa Chiu Alice Lee Maya Buchanan2016 (piano) Ryota Yamazaki Evren Ozel Nathan H. Lee Chaewon Kim Andrew Li Clayton Stephenson2017 (violin) Johan Dalene Christina Jihee Nam Qing Yu Chennot awarded Zachary Brandon Maya Anjali Buchanan Kiarra Saito-Beckman2018 (piano) Tony Siqi Yun Kai-Min Chang Yunchan Lim Ryan Zhu William Chen William Yang2019 (violin) Eric Charles Chen Shihan Wang Isabella Brown Jin Yucheng Yiyang Hou Enrique Rodrigues2022 (violin) Seohyun Kim Sameer Agrawal Calvin Alexander Audrey Goodner Bianca Ciubancan Kento Hong2023 (piano) Pyotr Akulov Sophia Liunot awarded Taige Wang Yanyan Bao Andrew Sijie Li Seoeun Lee Filip Trifu
Oberlin International Piano Competition (1995-2008) Year1st Prize2nd Prize3rd Prize4th Prize5th Prize6th Prize1995Gloria Chien199619971998Hyo-Sun Lim1999Yeol Eum SonMarko Pavlovic2000Ying LiTian TianEsther Park2001Darret ZuskoEun Taek Kim Ji Yeon Shin2002Jung Lim KimJeanette FangMartin Leung2003Rachel Naomi KudoKevin KordiYe Jin LeeSarah OhKei Neidra2004Wang DaSejoon ParkSun-A ParkKei Neidra Hyo Kyun ShinYing Cheng Yang2005Ruoyu HuangSun-A ParkFangzhou FengHanmo QianVicki Ning Wang2006Rui (Ellen) Wang2007Yuqing MengMinsoo HongYunqing ZhouXiao Pei XuChai Yu JenJohn Choi2008Junle LiGeorge FuWanting ZhaoEunjin BangJae Young KimDong June Kim
References
External links
A documentary about the first Cooper International Piano Competition A documentary about the first Cooper International Violin Competition